The Media Research Center’s Rich Noyes on Thursday slammed journalistic hypocrisy on leaks and when they are good for the country. Talking to Neil Cavuto on Fox Business, the research director highlighted the difference between how Republican Congressman Devin Nunes is being treated in comparison to liberal leakers.
Noyes exposed, “If you come out with information that confirms the media’s bias, you are a hero. But if you challenge the media’s bias, all of a sudden you are not fit for public office.”
Noyes highlighted calls on MSNBC that Nunes should resign for claiming that the intelligence community was spying on Trump, saying, “[Nunes] comes out on Wednesday was something that, you know, sort of, gently suggests there's something going on with the way the Obama people are handling intelligence and all the sudden he should be resigning from office? That makes no sense at all.”
A transcript is below:
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
Cavuto: Coast to Coast
3/23/17
12:53NEIL CAVUTO: The media is already questioned anything having to do with Donald Trump maybe being right and not so willing to point out the stuff when it looks like Donald Trump could easily be proven wrong. [sic] That is a bias that comes up again and a gain. So, to the Media Research Center’s Richard Noyes on what he makes of that standard. One of the things that stands out to me, Richard, there’s never any doubt when the chairman comes out with his ranking minority member to say there’s no proof that, you know, Donald Trump’s phones were tapped and everyone accepts that at face value. All of a sudden when there’s a wrinkle in the story, albeit a different type of wrinkle, that the administration could have still been in spying on Donald Trump, even indirectly, well, that everyone goes nuts over. What do you think of that?
RICHARD NOYES: Well, I think you’re exactly right. I mean, this morning you had an anchor on MSNBC asking if Nunes should resign. On NBC, you had Matt Lauer asking if the whole committee should shut down because of this. You know, they weren’t criticizing him for characterizing the investigation on Sunday when he was basically saying things that confirm the media’s bias, that there was no evidence. But he comes out on Wednesday was something that, you know, sort of, gently suggests there's something going on with the way the Obama people are handling intelligence and all the sudden he should be resigning from office? That makes no sense at all.
CAVUTO: But it’s the same in the coverage of leaks. They didn't matter last year when they involved Hillary Clinton and damaging information that got out. They all of a sudden matter now because of who the leaks are about. But this is fairly glaring and obvious. And it seems to be out of control.
NOYES: Yeah. And look — I mean, look, Chairman Nunes could've done what apparently people in the Obama administration are doing. He could've leaked this information to a reporter. It could have showed up in a newspaper this morning. His fingerprints wouldn’t have been on it. But it still would have gotten out there. Instead, he was very up front. People saw what he was doing. He gave a press conference. He explained what was going on.
CAVUTO: Do you think it would have gotten out if he had leaked it to a reporter? That organization would have allowed it to get out or given it much prominence?
NOYES: Well, he would have had to picked the right news organization, I guess. But yes, I think it would have gotten out there. And, you know, the President could have learned about it in secret from him or from his own people, for that matter. He could get the same information from his own intelligence people. But instead he did this in public and he’s being vilified for it. And I think that just shows you know, like you said, if you come out with information that confirms the media’s bias, you are a hero. But if you challenge the media’s bias, all of a sudden, you are not fit for public office.
CAVUTO: What I also know, and it’s also your point of view, but the length of time he spent talking to reporters yesterday outside the White House, that all of a sudden the media had a problem with that. Generally, they don’t have a problem with being accessible. But accessible on that stuff, no so much.
NOYES: Right. And it’s almost as if they say, “We don’t want this information.” You know, a week or two ago, we were hearing, “You don’t want to suppress leaks. We live on leaks. This helps the public know what’s going on.” Well, here’s a public official coming forward, not anonymously, telling the public what’s going on and the media are, like, “He shouldn’t be talking to us. We shouldn’t be hearing this.” It’s a very different standard.
CAVUTO: Quite well put. Rich Noyes. Media Research Center. Research director.
