Day: 3/16/2007

If It’s Sunday, It’s Still Conservative

Posted by on March 16, 2007 at 4:27 pm. NO Comments :

Media Matters has published a report that documents the conservative bias of some of the most prominent political programs on television. Their extensive research shows that…

“During the 109th Congress (2005 and 2006), Republicans and conservatives held the advantage on every show, in every category measured. All four shows interviewed more Republicans and conservatives than Democrats and progressives overall, interviewed more Republican elected and administration officials than Democratic officials, hosted more conservative journalists than progressive journalists, held more panels that tilted right than tilted left, and gave more solo interviews to Republicans and conservatives.”

This report comes at a time when conservatives are still complaining that the media is unabashedly liberal. Bruce Bartlett at the National Review concedes that, while there is still an overall liberal slant, the press is becoming more neutral:

“In my view, the media did have a strong left-wing tilt for many years. But over the last 20 years or so, I think that has mostly disappeared. Major newspapers like the Post and New York Times are now fairly evenhanded in their news coverage. Their editorial pages are still pretty liberal, of course, but the Post in particular is far less liberal in its editorial positions than it was in the 1970s.” […and…] “If, as I believe, the major media tilted left and have moved toward the center, then this means they moved to the right. It is this movement that the left has picked up on and is complaining about. But the idea that the media now tilt toward conservatives is absurd.”

It makes for an interesting contrast to juxtapose Bartlett’s personal recollections with Media Matters’ scholarly documentation. The Media Matters project clearly demonstrates that the press has been deferential to conservatives for some time. If, as Bartlett believes, the media has moved to the right of late, then that would just compound the imbalance. It is also interesting to compare their conclusions:

Bartlett: “I would advise my liberal friends to stop whining about media bias. You had a free ride for a long time, and now it’s over. Get used to it, and learn how to use the media.”

Media Matters: “As ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox make decisions about their coverage of political affairs in the coming days, they should consider how they could better serve their viewers and the public.”

Bartlett takes the more cynical view that the press is just there to be exploited and spun. Media Matters hopes to nudge the press and its subjects to aspire to higher journalistic ethics and integrity. Which conclusion sounds better to you?

Paparazzi Pursuing Peccant Politicians

Posted by on March 16, 2007 at 2:44 pm. NO Comments :

From the folks who brought you Michael Richards ranting, Britney Spears flashing, and Princess Di crashing fatally in a Paris tunnel, get ready to dish the Washington dirt. TMZ.com is opening a branch in DC.

I can hardly wait. No longer will the elite politicos be able to hide behind the grey walls of Congress. No more will they run from unpleasant truths that they thought they could conceal. Now they will run from SUVs filled with smarmy photogs with ultra-zoom lenses and camcorders.

TMZ via News Corpse


So many stories with profound relevance to the country have gone unreported for years. Stories like military hospitals that mistreated wounded soldiers; intelligence services spying on American citizens; federal agencies lying to congressional oversight committees; White House operatives outing CIA agents; and the fixing of evidence of WMDs to justify pre-emptive war. While we all had to wait years for many of these stories to come to light, we will no longer have to wait to find out which senator’s aide is having an affair with what deputy chief of staff who slammed their car into a convenience store while under the influence of NyQuil. It’s good to see that the media’s priorities are in order.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) weighs in on TMZ’s prospects for success:

“Washington is where the term ‘celebrity’ includes former surgeons general, defense lawyers and Pat Buchanan. TMZ is going to be bored out of its mind.”

That’s true. But Arianna Huffington sees it differently:

“Let’s see, Mark Foley, ‘Duke’ Cunningham, Ted Haggard, Claude Allen at Target, William Jefferson’s frozen 90 Gs, the Bush twins, ‘Scooter’ Libby, Ann Coulter, Deborah Jeane Palfrey and her 10,000-name trick book. Too boring? I don’t think so.”

Hmm. That’s true too. I guess the ultimate truth is that there will be a lot of ugly, boring people, doing a lot of stupid, titillating things, and TMZ will be there to record it all for the American people and the world.

I can hardly contain my pride.