For the last several days, NewsBusters has been showcasing the Media Research Center’s “Best Notable Quotables of 2014” as a way to review the worst media bias of 2014. Today’s categories: the Pantsuit Patrol Award for Boosting Hillary Clinton, and the America’s Royal Baby Award.
As she gears up for another presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton clearly has a fan club in the national media. Taking first prize in the “Pantsuit Patrol” category was departing ABC’s Barbara Walters, who gushed over Clinton on ABC’s The View back on May 16, Walters’ last day as co-host of the program:
“I think you’ve been on our ‘most fascinating’ list more than anyone, and — and you were THE most fascinating....No matter what their political views, you are someone we admire — and, for me, it’s more than admiration — it’s very deep affection, and I thank you for coming on....No matter what she does, she will always, to me, be the most fascinating.”
Second place went to CBS/PBS host Charlie Rose, who introduced Clinton for a July 17 interview on his late night PBS program by reading a laudatory poem about the former First Lady:
“Maya Angelou, the late Maya Angelou, wrote a poem about her during the 2008 presidential campaign. It contains these lines: ‘There is a world of difference between being a woman and a being an old female. If you’re born a girl, grow up, and live long enough, you can become an old female. But to become a woman is a serious matter. A woman takes responsibility for the time she takes up and the space she occupies. Hillary Clinton is a woman.’ Some say she may be the first woman in the White House. I am pleased to have Hillary Clinton back at this table. Welcome.”
Doesn’t exactly suggest a hardball interview to come, does it?
“Navigating through a buttoned-down sea of Brooks Brothers and Talbots as she made her way to the podium, Hillary was surrounded by applause, and by groupielike bureaucrats waving camera-phones. It was a historic moment, at least in the world of State…If her debut was a rock concert, Hillary was Bono — a bona fide international celebrity, with credibility as a crusader for the disadvantaged. In that regard, she was one of a kind.”
The Clinton campaign received a different kind of media boost as reporters gushed over the birth of Chelsea Clinton’s baby, crowning it a “royal” baby and part of an American “dynasty.” First place in the “America’s Royal Baby” category went to ABC’s Bianna Golodryga, who helped start the trend on the April 18 edition of Good Morning America soon after news of the impending birth broke:
“Move over, Prince George. This morning, Americans have their own royal, or, rather, presidential baby, to look forward to.”
“Leading astrologers say that Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky is destined for a future working on social justice and will enjoy a strong relationship with her proud grandparents, Hillary and Bill. After Chelsea Clinton and Mark Mezvinsky’s daughter was born..., Politico asked astrologers to weigh in on what is written in the stars for the former first daughter’s first daughter.”
That’s solid journalism — not. Tomorrow: the MSNBC = Mean-Spirited, Nasty, Belligerent Chris Award. As always, you can check out all of the awards and the Quote of the Year at www.MRC.org.
