Connect the dots

Scooter Libby pits George W. Bush against Natalee Holloway

Now let's see whether cable news nets give this (Libby Says Bush Authorized Leaks) more attention than the disappearance of a young woman in Aruba. And let's see whether the major print outlets give it the prominence it deserves. And let's see if the Russerts of this world hammer administration officials about it with the fierceness they reserve for Democrats. And let's see if The Note finds some way to mitigate it and play defense for Bush (a rhetorical question, of course).

I've written about scandal fatigue and about the trajectory of these kinds of Bush fiascos. The media's role in the process is undeniable. So here we are yet again. Let's watch what happens with the media...

The Surreality of Media Rhetoric Today

“Liberals just ignore inconvenient facts.” That’s columnist Thomas Sowell, and he’s one of the lot I read as often as I can. He writes well, his research is impeccable, and he deals in facts. As far as they go. I also read Leonard Pitts religiously, same reasons. There are others – reasons for reading them the same. There’s just that one trouble with them all, and the “trouble” is the further fact that while truthful, the “facts” very carefully omit anything that doesn’t tend to support them.

Sowell, for instance, does not mention the thunderously obvious fact that “conservative” (I always use quotes with the word – check its dictionary definition) columnists and news media do exactly the same thing. On last night’s Hannity and Colmes segment, for instance, Hannity and Iran-Contra conspirator Oliver North conducted another of their patented propaganda campaigns for the Bush Administration concerning Iraq.

Bias in News Reporting

I am prompted to blog on bias because my local paper ran an op-ed piece yesterday by Cal Thomas, a regular contributor, titled "The Words are Out: Big Media bias is becoming more and more evident." He may not be responsible for the precise language used in this head but he would surely approve of it. In his piece we find the continuing conservative refrain that the broadcast networks like to employ liberal democrats and they exhibit a liberal bias.

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What we have here in the claim by Thomas that the networks like to hire Liberal Democrats rather than Conservative Republicans is the Big Lie. If you tell a whopper long enough people will tend to believe it and conservatives have been harping on the anti-conservative, pro-liberal bias they claim exists in the major media for years -- decades, perhaps. Interestingly, Thomas does not name names -- we must accept his point of view on faith.

77 TV stations aired 'fake news reports'

An Oklahoma City FOX station owned by Sinclair is pegged as the "report's top repeat offender," airing five VNRs (Video News Release) in full on its news broadcasts, with "the publicist's original narration each time."

Three stations "not only aired entire VNRs without disclosure, but had local anchors and reporters read directly from the script prepared by the broadcast PR firm."

White House Press Corps Fails to Ask McClellan About Bush’s Authorization of Leak

When the White House press corps had an opportunity this morning to ask Press Secretary Scott McClellan questions, they didn’t ask him about it. At 9:30AM, on route to Bush’s speech in North Carolina, reporters asked McClellan about immigration, terrorism, Katrina and Iran. But there wasn’t a single question about President Bush authorizing Scooter Libby to share highly classified information with reporters.