The Biased (Or Attention-Deficit) Media
Captain Ed
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Howard Kurtz notes a disconnect in the coverage of Joe Wilson's disintegrating credibility. In a secondary article<font size=3> washingtonpost.com. <font size=4>of his Media Notes column, Kurtz has the numbers to demonstrate either a leftist bias or simply lousy and lazy journalism in the mainstream media, especially broadcast outlets:
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Former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV's allegations that President Bush misled the country about Saddam Hussein seeking uranium from Africa was a huge media story, fueled by an investigation into who outed his CIA-operative wife.
According to a database search, NBC carried 40 stories, CBS 30 stories, ABC 18, The Washington Post 96, the New York Times 70, the Los Angeles Times 48.
But a Senate Intelligence Committee report that contradicts some of Wilson's account and supports Bush's State of the Union claim hasn't received nearly as much attention. "NBC Nightly News" and ABC's "World News Tonight" have each done a story. But CBS hasn't reported it -- despite a challenge by Republican Chairman Ed Gillespie on CBS's "Face the Nation," noting that the network featured Wilson on camera 15 times. A spokeswoman says CBS is looking into the matter.
Newspapers have done slightly better. The Post, which was the first to report the findings July 10, has run two stories, an editorial and an ombudsman's column; the New York Times two stories and an op-ed column; and the Los Angeles Times two stories. Wilson, meanwhile, has defended himself from what he calls "a Republican smear campaign" in op-ed pieces in The Post and Los Angeles Times.
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In case you can't track Kurtz's numbers, here's a handy scorecard for you:
Outlet...........Wilson Before...Wilson After
CBS...........................30...................0
NBC...........................40...................1
ABC...........................18...................1
Washington Post......96..................2
New York Times.......70..................3
Los Angeles Times...48.................2
Either this demonstrates a severe liberal bias in the
media, or a mass epidemic of attention-deficit disorder
amongst American journalists. Howard Kurtz reports, y'all
decide.<font size=3>
Posted by Captain Ed at July 25, 2004 10:00 PM
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