Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right (41 page)

(“New York Times columnists traditionally do not endorse any candidate, and I’m for traditional values. But any reader who cannot figure out against whom this lifelong Republican is voting this year isn’t trying.”)

21. CNN’s
NewsNight,
December 18,2001.

22. Walter Goodman, “Television; They Let the Talking Heads Talk, but They Set the Tone,”
New York Times,
April 19,1998.

23. There are hundreds of such sites. This one is titled “Liberal Media? Yeah, Right!” at www.radio4all.org/anarchy/crock2.html. The conservative journalists are Pat Buchanan (TV, P), Robert Novak (TV, P), William Buckley (TV, P), Cal Thomas (P), Paul Gigot (TV, P), Pat Robertson (TV), Arianna Huffington (P), Charles Krauthammer (P), John Leo (P), James J. Kilpatrick (P), Ben Wattenberg (TV, P), Armstrong Williams (TV, R, P), Thomas Sowell (P), Fred Barnes (TV), G. Gordon Liddy (R), Michael Reagan (R), James Dobson (R), James Pinkerton (P), Suzanne Fields (P), Bob Grant (R), George Will (TV, P), Rush Limbaugh (R), William Safire (P), William Kristol (TV), Bay Buchanan (TV), John McLaughlin (TV), Oliver North (R), Kate O’Beirne (TV), Linda Chavez (P), Tony Snow (TV, P), James Classman (TV, P), Robert Bartley (P), Mona Charen (P), Laura Ingraham (TV), John Stossel (TV), Ken Ham-blin (R), Michael Barone (P), Maggie Gallagher (P), Sean Hannity (TV, R), and R. Emmett Tyrrell (P). Those listed as “Centrist or Right-of-Center ‘Moderates’ “ are Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Bill Press, Michael Kinsley, Bob Beckel, Margaret Carlson, Al Hunt, Mark Shields, David Broder, Juan Williams, and Susan Estrich.

24. Diane Sawyer,
Good Morning America,
July 24,2001.

25. See, e.g., Kausfiles.com: 01.07.00. Jeffrey Toobin, Hypocrite; 01.23.00. Jeffrey Toobin, Hypocrite, Part III!; 05.11.00. Toobin’s Cave-in; 02.19.00. Jeffrey Toobin, Chicken!; 05.26.00. The Toobin Crisis, Day 141.

26.
Penguin Books and Jeffrey R. Toobin v. Lawrence E. Walsh, Office of Independent Counsel,
929 F.2d 69 (2d Cir. 1991). Giving Walsh one of his rare legal victories, Judge Irving Kaufman refused to affirm the lower court ruling and found the case moot—because of Toobin’s manipulation of procedure by publishing the book before a ruling.

27. Since that -was in violation of the motto requiring that the news “fit,” the
Times
poked around and a month later finally produced a second reviewer who was sufficiently unfamiliar with the facts of the Clinton investigation to praise Toobin’s book fulsomely. The make-up review complained only that Toobin might not have gone far enough in saying Clinton was “the good guy in this struggle.”

28. “Pundit 101 with Lawrence O’Donnell,”
The Shuttle Sheet.

29. “CNBC,
Vanity Fair
Hire Dee Dee Myers,” Associated Press, May 3,1995.

30. See, e.g., Monica Yant, “Myers Doesn’t Regret Late-Night Decision,”
St. Petersburg Times,
July 12, 1995. (“Myers, who was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Washington, D.C., on June 27 ... had been scheduled to appear on Leno’s show Monday along with Grant, who was charged with lewd conduct with a prostitute, also on June 27.”)

31. “James Carville Interviews Sam Donaldson and Others,”
Larry King Live,
March 30, 1995.

32. Dean E. Murphy and Michael Cooper, “What’s Next for Green? Politics (and a Beard) May Be Out,”
New York Times,
December 3,2001.

NOTES,
pp. 65-70

33. Inderfurth -worked for Senators George McGovern and Gary Hart, the Carter administration, and the Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

34. Elizabeth Brackett was a candidate for the Democratic National Committee and the 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman.

35. Editorial, “The Lindsay Legacy,”
New York Times,
December 21,2000, p. A38.

36. Al Kamen, “The Federal Page; In the Loop,”
Washington Post,
November 26,1997, p.A17.

37. Melinda Henneberger, “Naomi Wolf, Feminist Consultant to Gore, Clarifies Her Campaign Role,”
New York Times,
November 5,1999, p. A26.

38. Lewis W. Wolfson, “The Beltway Allure: Switch-Hitting Journalists, Government Spokesmen May Damage Press Credibility; Campaign “92”
Quill,
March 1992, p. 24; and Eleanor Randolph, “Crossing Over: From Politics to Journalism; Old Taboo on Image-Makers Switching to News Media Careers Seems to Be Disappearing,”
Washington Post,
May 3,1988, p. Al 1, final edition.

39. John Carmody, “The TV Column,”
Washington Post,
April 13,1987, p. B8, final edition.

40. Daniel Williams, “Coping with Shortcomings at State; Talbott’s Selection Made with Two Weaknesses of Secretary in Mind,”
Washington Post,
December 29, 1993, p. A4, final edition.

41. Jane Hall, “CNN Readies Jesse Jackson Talk Show,”
Los Angeles Times,
July 30,1991, p. F10.

42. Editorial, “Bad; Jesse Jackson’s Candidacy,”
New Republic,
April 18,1988, p. 7.

43. Howard Rosenberg, “Jackson’s New CNN Talk Show Widens Spectrum of Thought,”
Los Angeles Times,
January 20,1992, p. Fl.

44. Phil Rosenthal, “Air Jackson; Congressman to Host Show in Early 2000,”
Chicago Sun-Times,
November 11, 1999, p. 45.

45. Howard Kurtz, “Susan Molinari Pulled from CBS Anchor Slot,”
Washington Post,
June 24,1998, p. Dl.

46. Adam Nagourney, “A New Job Requirement for Molinari: Nonpartisanship,”
New York Times,
May 29,1997. (“Yes, Ms. Molinari said, she would be offering analysis of the news, but not, Mr. Heyward hastened to add, any commentary.”) See also Sandy Grady, “Molinari Joins List of Pols Becoming Quasi-Journalists,”
Fresno Bee,
June 1, 1997. (“ ‘She’ll be doing commentary, not analysis,’ said the CBS man.”)

47. Sandy Grady, “Molinari Joins List of Pols Becoming Quasi-Journalists.”

48. Lawrie Mifflin, “CBS’s Remake Now Includes Molinari,”
New York Times,
May 29, 1997, p. B3.

49. The quote was made on May 31, 1997, on CBS’s
Inside Washington
(source: Media Research Council). See also Simon Beck, “The News Is It’s Politics as Usual,”
South China Morning Post,
June 5,1997.

50. Frazier Moore, “CBS Adds Molinari, Loses Credibility,”
Chicago Tribune,
June 11, 1997, p. 6.

51. Editorial by Lee Coppola, “Hiring Susan Molinari, A Ratings-Hungry CBS Gave TV Journalism a Setback,”
Buffalo News,
June 9,1997, p. 2B.

52. Marianne Means, “Molinari Move to CBS Blurs Journalistic, Political Lines,”
Chattanooga Times,
June 5,1997,p. All.

53. Lewis Wolfson, “Government-Media Revolving Door a Threat to Press,”
Houston Chronicle,
June 3,1997, p. 21.

54. Sandy Grady, “Is It News, or Is It Propaganda?”
Buffalo News,
May 31,1997, p. 3C.

55. Bradley F. Norpell, “The Faces Are New, the Biases Aren’t,”
Plain Dealer,
June 11, 1997, p. 10B.

56. Eric Mink, “Susan Molinari’s Signing with CBS News Causing Quite a Stir,”
Florida Times-Union
(Jacksonville, Fla.), June 6,1997, p. E2.

57. Editorial, “Susan Molinari Is Not Walter Cronkite,”
Hartford Courant,
June 2,1997, p. AS, Statewide correction appended.

NOTES,
pp. 71-76

58. This is not one freakish search result. Both Molmari and Bradley were hired by CBS in 1997, and no matter how the search is formulated, the indignation was about Molinari alone. A LexisNexis search of “all newspapers” in 1997 for “susan molinari and cbs and partisan or protest or complaint” produces 117 documents. A LexisNexis search of “all newspapers” in 1997 for “bill bradley and cbs and partisan or protest or complaint” produces 25 documents. A LexisNexis search of “all newspapers” in 1997 for “susan molinari w/s cbs and revolving door” = 29 docs. Adding to that search “and bill bradley” yields 7 docs. A LexisNexis search of “all news” in 1997 for “susan molinari w/s cbs and revolving door” = 50 documents. Adding to that search “and bill bradley” yields 12 docs. A LexisNexis search of “all newspapers” in 1997 for “bill bradley w/s cbs and revolving door” = 17 docs. Adding to that search “and susan molinari” yields 17 docs. A LexisNexis search of “all news” in 1997 for “bill bradley w/s cbs and revolving door” = 10 documents. Adding to that search “and susan molinari” yields 10 documents.

59. Jacqueline Sharkey, “Prime-Time Pete; Is the Pentagon’s Truth-Blocking Spokesman Fit for Network Journalism?”
‘Washington Post,
May 2,1993.

60. Ibid.

61. Editorial by Bonnie Erbe, “Gay Socialist Gets Journalism in a Tizzy,”
Denver Rocky Mountain News,
August 24,1996, p. 56A.

62. Jacqueline Sharkey, “Prime-Time Pete.”

63. Piper Fogg, “People for May 5,2001,”
National Journal,
May 5,2001.

64. Tony Schwartz, “From Nixon Aide to Kuralt’s Co-Anchor,”
New York Times,
September 30,1981, p. C23.

65. Richard Zoglin, Melissa August, Mary Cronin, and William Tynan, “Star Power; Diane Sawyer, with a New Prime-Time Show and a $1.6 Million Contract, Is Hot. But Are Celebrity Anchors Like Her Upstaging the News?”
Time,
August 7,1989, p. 46.

66. After Nixon resigned, Sawyer joined her boyfriend Frank Gannon in San Clemente, where he was helping Nixon write his autobiography. See, e.g., Richard Zoglin, “Star Power.”

67. John Carlin, “Dying Rabbi ‘Names’ Watergate’s Deep Throat,”
Independent
(London), June 28,1995, p. 12.

68. Harry F. Waters with George Hackett and Mary Lord, “CBS’s New Morning Star,”
Newsweek,
March 14,1983, p. 74.

69. Tony Schwartz, “From Nixon Aide.”

70. Richard Zoglin, “Star Power.”

71. “Nixon Chastises ‘Ladies of the Press’,” UPI, June 2,1982.

72. Harry F. Waters, “CBS’s New Morning Star.”

73. Ibid.

74. Kenneth R. Clark, “Journalist of the Hour Lesley Stahl’s Impossible Dream Comes True on ‘60 Minutes’,”
Chicago Tribune,
December 1,1991, p. 4.

75. All years, all news LexisNexis search for items on John Lindsay, including the words “Lesley Stahl” or articles about Lesley Stahl, including the words “John Lindsay” yield eight documents. Same searches for diane sawyer and (richard w/2 nixon) = 748 docs.

76. Kenneth R. Clark, “Journalist of the Hour.”

77. Eric Boehlert, “Fox Guarding the Henhouse,”
Salon.com,
November 15, 2000.

78. Todd Gitlin, “How TV Killed Democracy on Nov. 7,”
Los Angeles Times,
February 14,2001.

five. advance as if under threat of attack: fox news channel and the election

1. FAIR Special Report, “The Most Biased Name in News: Fox News Channel’s Extraordinary Right-Wing Tilt,” FAIR Press Release (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting), 130 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001, July 2,2001.

2. Joan Konner, “Eye on the Media: Media’s Patriotism Provides a Shield for Bush,” Newsday.com, January 9,2002.

NOTES,
pp. 77-83

3. Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, “Is the Media Too Conservative?”
Fox Hannity & Colmes,
April 6, 2001 (interview with Cheryl Guttman).

4. Mark Jurkowitz, “Exit-Poll Flap Keeps Flapping,”
Boston Globe,
December 16, 2000.

5. hotlinescoop.com, “Media: Murdoch Defends Ellis, Fnc to Drop VNS?” The National Journal Group, Inc., November 16, 2000.

6. Eric Boehlert, “Fox Guarding the Henhouse,” Salon.com, November 15, 2000. (“By hiring George Bush’s cousin to run a crucial part of its election coverage, the right-wing Fox Network hits a new low in conflict of interest.”)

7. Jake Tapper, Bill Sammon, Bill Press, and Robert Novak, “Revisiting Election 2000: Who Should Have Won?” CNN
Crossfire,
May 28, 2001.

8. Howard Kurtz, “Bush Cousin Made Florida Vote Call for Fox News,”
Washington Post,
November 14,2000.

9. Michiko Kakutani, “Critic’s Notebook: Books That Make a Case for Shades of Gray,”
New York Times,
June 18, 1993, p. Cl. (“Of the Clinton adviser Paul Begala, Mr. Rosenstiel writes that he ‘believed the teachings of Republican strategist Roger Ailes that the press was mostly interested only in conflict, scandal, polls, process and gaffes.’ Mr. Rosenstiel adds: ‘So to get coverage of a speech, he usually included attack lines, making his speeches more malicious than they would otherwise be.’ “)

10. Diane Sawyer, Charles Gibson, Antonio Mora, George Stephanopoulos, “Highlights from Presidential Debate; How Al Gore and George W. Bush Feel They Did on Last Night’s Debate; Post-Debate Analysis,”
Good Morning America,
October 18,2000.

11. Minneapolis, Minn.,
Star Tribune,
November 14, 2000, p. 6A.

12. “Notebook; Fox News Says Bush Cousin Had Role in Projecting He’d Won,” hotli-nescoop.com, “Media Monitor,” February 15, 2001.

13. Roger Ebert, “GOP Won by Planting Seeds of Deception,”
Chicago Sun-Times,
December 14,2000, p. 7.

14. David Barstow and Don Van Natta Jr., “Examining the Vote; How Bush Took Florida: Mining the Overseas Absentee Vote,”
New York Times,
July 15, 2001. (“The
Times
asked Gary King, a Harvard expert on voting patterns and statistical models, what would have happened had the [unpostmarked absentee] ballots been discarded. He concluded that there was no way to declare a winner with mathematical certainty under those circumstances. His best estimate, he said, was that Mr. Bush’s margin would have been reduced to 245 votes. Dr. King estimated that there was only a slight chance that discarding the questionable ballots would have made Mr. Gore the winner.”)

15. Howard Kurtz, “Bush Cousin Made Florida Vote Call for Fox News.”

16. John R. Lott, Jr., “Documenting Unusual Declines in Republican Voting Rates in Florida’s Western Panhandle Counties in 2000,” December 10,2000, revised May 8,2001.