MRC/NB News

Updated with new statements | Fury over the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts’ continued refusal to report the lawsuits Catholic entities have filed against the Obama administration has spread beyond the Media Research Center watchdog group and Catholic leaders to 11 additional Christian leaders equally concerned about this decision to deliberately not report national news. Below are statements released by FRC’s Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer of American Values and nine more leaders.

When then-President George W. Bush visited U.S. troops, saying similar things to what President Barack Obama said in his recent visit, MSNBC's Chris Matthews snarled that it was a mere "photo-op," NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted last night on FNC's "Hannity."

Yet when President Obama made his surprise visit to Kabul earlier this week, Matthews ridiciculously gushed that Obama's speech was "right out of Henry the Fifth," alluding to the St. Crispin's Day "band of brothers" speech in the Shakespeare play. [Watch the full "Media Mash" segment below the page break; MP3 audio here]

NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell recently awarded two members of the Media Research Center (MRC) field team --  Ryan McNicholas and Paul Thurman --  with Apple iPads for their diligent work so far this year.

The MRC field team liaises with Tea Party leaders and conservative Americans around the nation. Ryan and Paul are two outstanding members of our 10-person field team which has traveled the country, bringing MRC signs, buttons, bumper stickers and hand fans to Tea Party rallies and conservative events in more than 35 states thus far. Paul and Ryan have worked especially hard, logging thousands of miles and working nights and weekends. Brent sought to recognize their hard work with a token of his esteem.

NBC's "apology" for their selective editing of the  Zimmerman 911 call was "two whole sentences of nothing," complained NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell on the April 5 edition of Fox News Channel's Hannity. The network claimed it was a simple "error in the editing process." "This was no error, this was no mistake, this was deliberately done," Bozell protested during the programs "Media Mash" segment

What's more, NBC "never told its viewers," instead simply putting out a press release, Bozell noted. "How about doing it on the air, maybe just, you know, say, whoops, we were wrong," Hannity agreed. [see video below page break]

Christians are entering the most important season on the annual calendar, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. But the national media often treat Christianity as a religion that imposes itself too aggressively on American society. To review this hostility, MRC has compiled a new Special Report titled "Secular Snobs: Documenting the National Media's Long-Standing Hostility to Religion."

Even in this campaign, reporters have sneered that conservatives like Rick Santorum are seeking a theocracy like Iran or a Christian version of Sharia law. We've gone all the way back to the MRC's founding in 1987 to remember this bias over the years.

Last night, Bill O’Reilly had some very nice things to say about the Media Research Center and for that I’m grateful.  But he made a major criticism of this organization, and rather than have me on to respond to it, he brought on two other guests to discuss it. So I’ll respond here.

Bill O’Reilly is wrong.

Our friends at MRCAction.org, a division of our parent company the Media Research Center, are urging folks to put the pressure on the White House to give back comedian Bill Maher's $1-million Super PAC donation.

For how you can join the campaign, click here. Be sure to watch the corresponding video embedded below the page break:

Editor's Note: MRC President Brent Bozell sent the following letter to CNN Host Piers Morgan on Tuesday, March 6, 2012:

Dear Mr. Morgan,

I am disturbed by your ongoing double standard when it comes to coverage of political rhetoric. On your show, you recently called Rush Limbaugh out for his insulting comment about a Georgetown law school student: “Limbaugh’s disgusting comments are the work of an archaic old dinosaur living in a warped, ugly swamp, who thinks it’s okay to degrade decent young women for sport and ratings. Well, it isn’t it. Shame on you, Rush Limbaugh.” Fair enough. However you have seemingly turned a blind eye to the similar rhetoric of one of your guests – Bill Maher.

The crew from MRCTV headed to heart of New York City to see what passers-by thought of the Media Research Center's two giant 'Don't Believe the Liberal Media' billboards in Times Square. Considering New York is the center of the liberal media universe, the response from average New Yorkers was quite positive. Take a look after the jump:

Appearing on the February 23 Hannity on Fox News for the weekly Media Mash segment, Media Research Center president Brent Bozell exposed the media attempts to downplay high gas prices and refusal to hold President Obama accountable for the rising energy costs.

"Why is it, Brent, do you think the media is not so interested" in noting skyrocketing gas prices under President Obama's watch, substitute host Liz Cheney asked [video embedded below page break].

In a one-time only break with his longstanding policy of not discussing the far-left Media Matters, MRC President and NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night that the group has been exposed by the Daily Caller as "radicals" doing "the dirty work for the Obama administration."

Bozell praised the Daily Caller series on Media Matters, and predicted that as the group becomes more irrelevant, they could also become more dangerous: "I think the tactics they are employing are the tactics of desperation. When they go this personal, this savage, this ugly, that's desperation. And that's when I say to conservatives: Watch out."

Video and a partial transcript below the jump.

Editor's Note: What follows is a letter that NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center president Brent Bozell sent to the presidents of the news divisions of ABC, CBS, and NBC as well as to CNN president Jim Walton. It has also been carbon copied to 10 leaders representing various Catholic and Protestant faith organizations.

The broadcast and cable television networks need to report the current, unprecedented assault against freedom of religion in this country, as well as the millions of Americans who would be left out in the cold by the Obama administration if it does not rescind HHS’s recently issued insurance mandate requiring contraceptive coverage.  As our statistics and analysis below outline, they are not, and it’s a glaring double standard.

Editor's Note: What follows is a statement released this morning by NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center (MRC) president Brent Bozell.

Come on, Tell The Truth, Tom! What really irks you is not that you're part of a presidential ad; it's that you're part of a Republican candidate's ad. You used NBC and your anchor chair as a platform to promote Democratic agendas and delight in Republican setbacks for more than 20 years. And you stood behind that reporting as a fair exercise in journalistic ethics, even when it was far from the truth.

If Tom Brokaw really cared about this kind of bias, he would do something about his own network and especially its sister network MSNBC given their outrageous pro-Obama nightly commentary disguised as news.

ABC News's Marianne Gingrich interview has "that awful, awful taint of Rathergate to it," timed as it was "to do the most amount of damage it possibly could to Newt Gingrich's career," NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell complained in an interview with Washington, D.C. news-talk station WMAL's Morning Majority program.

While Marianne Gingrich may be "entirely honest" in her claim, she is "lashing out at her ex-husband" and her story is an unconfirmable account. "I think it was a mess of a story, I think it hurts the media," the Media Research Center (MRC) founder added. [interview embedded below page break]

At the very least the timing of ABC News's interview with Gingrich ex-wife Marianne Gingrich is suspect. At the very worst, it is completely inappropriate if it failed to be newsworthy and respectful, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told CNBC's Larry Kudlow on his January 19 Kudlow Report.

"In some respects, aren't they obliged to get it out as fast as they can," Kudlow countered, adding that maybe by putting it out the night of the debate, "it actually lessens the impact and significance of the interview." [see video embedded below page break; see related Bozell statement here]

First the Washington Post, now CBS's evening newscast.

During a segment of the CBS Evening News for January 10, East Coast viewers could see a man in the background holding up an MRC "Don't Believe the Liberal Media!" poster as anchor Scott Pelley introduced CBS News political director John Dickerson, who was live at Ron Paul's post-election rally site. [video embedded below the page break]

Talk about irony. The front page of today's Washington Post featured a large photo of a Rick Santorum rally in New Hampshire, with two of MRC's "Don't Believe the Liberal Media!" signs front and center. That's nice, but perhaps the Washington Post should read its own front page more often.

Just days ago, a Post columnist personally and  viciously attacked Senator Rick Santorum's family over how they dealt with the death of their newborn son. Even though some at the Washington Post recognize their paper's dislike of  Santorum and his social-conservatism, this hasn't stopped the paper from printing outrageous and offensive content on its pages.

There it is in living color on the front page of today's Washington Post. In a photo accompanying stories on pre-primary campaigning in the Granite State are two "Don't Believe the Liberal Media!" posters outside Mary Ann's Diner in Derry, New Hampshire.

The Media Research Center (MRC)* posters advertise StoptheBias.org, a website for the MRC's 2012 Tell the Truth! campaign. See the photo below the page break.

When Democrats have primary presidential contests, we never hear about "extreme-left, in-your-face liberals," playing to the left-wing base of their party, yet when it comes to this year Republican primary contest, the media are quick to slather the extreme-right label on candidates like Rick Santorum, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted on the January 6 edition of Fox News Channel's Hannity.

"ABC believes that if you support the traditional family as Rick Santorum does, that makes you in-your-face. CNN believes that it makes you extreme," Bozell complained, arguing that President Obama has the "most radical pro-abortion record in the history of the presidency of the United States" but was never called on it as a liability when facing the American electorate [video embedded below the page break]

It's always interesting to see how the several thousand readers who voted in the MRC's "public ballot" differed from the 48 media experts who selected our Best Notable Quotables of 2011 (a panel which included talk radio hosts Mark Levin and Neal Boortz, Human Events editor-in-chief Tom Winter and Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby). This year, there were six categories where our readers and the judges disagreed -- although sometimes the margins were extremely close.

Let's start with the biggest disagreement, in the "Media Millionaires for Higher Taxes Award." By a healthy margin (68 to 53), our judges chose an April 17 quote from CBS's Bob Schieffer, as he was questioning Rep. Paul Ryan on Face the Nation: "Why do these rich people need another tax cut? I mean, they’re already rich....Why cut their taxes some more?"

Last week, MRC announced the results of our "public ballot" for the worst media quotes in 2011, sort of the "People's Choice Awards" version of our Best Notable Quotables of 2011. This morning, the official results -- chosen by a distinguished panel of 48 radio talk show hosts, magazine editors, columnists, editorial writers, and expert media observers -- are in, and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has won the dubious honor of "Quote of the Year."

On the morning of September 11, 2011, during the ceremonies marking the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Krugman wrote on his NYTimes.com blog that conservative opportunists had "poisoned" the date: "The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.”

Every year a panel of leading conservative media observers and experts picks the most-biased media quotes for the Media Research Center’s annual awards for the year’s “worst reporting.” And these judges have done so.

But earlier this week, we let our fans and all concerned about liberal media bias to also participate via a separately-compiled Web ballot. More than 3,000 MediaResearch.org and NewsBusters.org visitors took part. Now you can see which quotes were judged the “worst” of the year in this online ballot.

Every year a panel of leading expert conservative media observers pick the most-biased media quotes for the Media Research Center’s annual awards for the year’s “worst reporting.” And these judges have done so again this year to decide the 2011 award “winners,” with the choices to be announced on Monday, December 19.

In the meantime, you can have some fun making your own choices now in this unofficial “public ballot” tabulation.

"You know, we have a saying in the military: You don't receive flak unless you're over the target," retired Army colonel Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) told NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell in an interview earlier this week.

"I think that too often on the Republican side of the House" that conservatives have been gun-shy about "taking the flak" from the liberal media for their conservatism. "When you start to water down your message, when you start to say I can maybe get the other side to really like me, then you get yourself in trouble" and the liberal media are "going to hate you anyway," West added. [see video of the interview embedded below the page break]

"The media loves the idea of being able to push someone out of the race by saying they're dead," not because they want to show off they are political prognosticating geniuses but simply because they want to push them out of the race, NewsBusters senior editor Tim Graham noted on today's Your World program on Fox News.

"I think you can really hear this with Cain" as we're now into "day three" of the media pushing Cain to drop out of the 2012 race, Graham told anchor Neil Cavuto.

The Washington Post should either fire Aaron Blake or "acknowledge that it doesn't have a semblance of objectivity left to it," NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto on his Your World program this afternoon.

The Media Research Center (MRC) founder was reacting to this November 28 tweet by the Post political blogger (video of segment follows page break):

Four years ago, the ABC, CBS and NBC morning shows celebrated the “rock star” Democrats running to replace George W. Bush, and no candidate set journalists’ pulses racing faster than Barack Obama. Now, after three years of high unemployment, trillion dollar deficits and an onerous new health care law, how are those newscasts covering Obama’s re-election campaign and the candidates vying to replace him?

To find out, the MRC’s Geoff Dickens and I (with a huge assist from Scott Whitlock, Kyle Drennen and Matthew Balan) examined all 723 campaign segments, including 101 interviews, which aired on the three broadcast network weekday morning programs from January 1 to October 31, 2011, using the same methodology we employed to study campaign coverage on those same programs for the same time period in 2007. Excerpts following the jump; read the full report here. (or download the printer-friendly PDF version)
 

NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center debated liberal CNN contributor Roland Martin on the November 1 John King USA regarding the media's coverage of anonymous 15-year-old sexual harassment allegations against Herman Cain.

"What's the accusation?!" Bozell demanded, noting the media's frenzy over what amounts to incredibly vague, anonymously-sourced accusations from 15 years ago.

"What's he being accused of?" Bozell asked. "None of us know, and we're talking about this for 36 hours?! That's a lynching." Watch the full segment in the video embed below the page break: