Borzou, I checked out those sites and even re-read some of the New York Times articles regarding the previous bombing. I remained convinced of the profound major media bias toward Democrats and a liberal ideology.
Let's take a look at another recent news item below.....And I strongly recommend you read these sites for a balanced look at this issue. :-)
mediaresearch.org
commonsense2000.com
conservativenews.org
worldnetdaily.com
After months of whining by many in the media about the lack of bi-partisanship in the impeachment debate, on Wednesday a special select House committee of five Republicans and four Democrats released a unanimous report which concluded that U.S. technology deals with China have boosted the accuracy of their missiles and harmed America's national security.
Network reaction: of the broadcast networks, only CBS considered it worth a full story. ABC's World News Tonight gave it a piddling 22 seconds and NBC Nightly News allocated a mere 26 seconds. FNC and CNN also provided full stories, but only FNC reminded viewers that Loral's Chairman donated $100,000 to Democrats just before his company earned a technology transfer waiver.
(Wednesday night ABC and CNN led with Iraq firing missiles at U.S. planes, NBC began with the "extreme weather," CBS opened with the China report and FNC started with the report from the Oklahoma City bombing grand jury. All but CBS featured full stories on Trent Lott's proposal for a short trial followed by a vote on whether the charges are even impeachable, a plan opposed by Henry Hyde. The stories included at least one soundbite from Ohio Senator Mike DeWine who flew to Washington to make his case that the Senate can only acquit or convict, not censure. NBC's Claire Shipman added: "NBC News has learned that a group of conservative Republicans in the House are poised to announce their support for censure, worried that since it appears there aren't the 67 votes necessary to convict him, the President might escape without punishment.")
Here's how each network's Wednesday, December 30 evening show handled the China report:
-- ABC's World News Tonight. Anchor Kevin Newman gave it 22 seconds: "A report released today by a special congressional committee claims that technology deals over the past two decades with China have damaged U.S. national security, but a lot of the details were not made public. The investigation was begun after allegations that contributions to the Democratic Party influenced the illegal transfer of satellite technology to China which China then used in weaponry."
-- NBC Nightly News. Anchor Brian Williams took 26 seconds to relay: "Across town at Capitol Hill there is news that a new report concludes some technology deals made between American businesses and China did in fact hurt U.S. national security. The report is from the special bi-partisan House committee and reveals China got access not only to rocket and satellite technology, but also to sensitive military technology. The report offers almost 40 different proposals to keep that from happening again."
-- CNN's The World Today. Pierre Thomas provided a full report with soundbites of select committee Chairman Chris Cox and ranking Democrat Norman Dicks. Thomas emphasized the bi-partisan aspect: "The 700-page report unanimously approved by five Republicans and four Democrats focuses in part on two U.S. space and communications companies, Loral and Hughes Electronics." But Thomas concluded by worrying about the impact on relations with China: "The classified report makes 38 recommendations, including some that would make it more difficult for the Chinese to obtain U.S. technology. That could have a chilling effect on U.S.-Chinese relations."
-- FNC's Fox Report. Gary Matsumoto summarized the Cox committee report, explaining how after a 1996 crash of a rocket carrying a satellite, in helping the Chinese identify the problem, Loral transferred missile guidance technology to the Chinese. Over video of Bernard Schwartz shaking hands with Clinton, Matsumoto uniquely reminded viewers: "There's been lingering suspicion, still unproven, that Loral CEO Bernard Schwartz, seen here with the President, received a waiver to export the technology after making a $100,000 contribution to the Democratic Party in June 1994. Schwartz says there was no connection. It was a unanimous ruling reached by a bipartisan committee..."
-- CBS Evening News. Anchor John Roberts topped the broadcast:
"The alarm bells have been ringing for years, over trade deals that sent U.S. military technology to communist China. Tonight a congressional investigation has concluded that some of those deals did in fact pose a danger to U.S. national security. Much of the report is secret, but CBS's Jim Stewart has the big picture of how American hardware and know-how wound up in China's war machine."
Stewart explained how "the business deals at issue date back to 1989 when former President Bush, and later President Clinton, approved waivers allowing U.S. satellites to be launched aboard Chinese rockets." He concluded: "At least two more shoes are set to drop in this matter. Still unanswered is whether any of those trade waivers were influenced by campaign contributions to the Clinton administration and the outcome of a Justice Department investigation into whether any U.S. companies broke the law by giving the Chinese perhaps too much advice."
The alarm bells have been ringing for years? Bells that haven't previously awoken CBS. As two MediaWatch items from earlier this year detailed, except for FNC, the networks have shown little interest in this non-Monica scandal.
From the June 1 MediaWatch:
Another Clinton headache arrived in the April 4 New York Times. Jeff Gerth and Raymond Bonner reported the Justice Department was looking to prosecute two defense contractors who may have illegally provided China with space expertise that "significantly advanced Beijing's ballistic missile program." But in February, Bill Clinton "quietly approved the export to China of similar technology by one of the companies under investigation." The Times noted the Chairman of that company, Loral, one Bernard Schwartz, was the largest individual contributor to the Democratic National Committee last year. Network coverage? Nothing except on the Fox News Channel, which reported it 11 days later.
On May 15, the New York Times reported that Johnny Chung told investigators that a large part of the almost $100,000 he gave Democrats in the summer of 1996 came from Liu Chaoying, who works on defense modernization, such as satellite technology, for China's People's Liberation Army. Two days later, the Times added how Clinton overrode then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher's decision to limit China's ability to launch U.S.-made satellites on Chinese rockets.
Where were the networks? On the 15th, in the midst of heavy coverage of Frank Sinatra's death, ABC devoted 75 seconds to it, CBS 27, and NBC 15. Two nights later, ABC reported one story, but CBS and NBC ignored it. A few nights later, the networks each devoted a few seconds to Newt Gingrich's announcement of a special committee to investigate the China matter (ABC 17, CBS 18, NBC 23). It took CBS five nights before it aired a full story, NBC six (offering only 62 seconds in the first five nights)....
From the November 2 MediaWatch:
In a front-page story for the October 19 New York Times, reporters Jeff Gerth and Eric Schmitt followed up on the controversial sale of missile technology to China with a story on how Clinton's decision to relax export rules, made after he met high-tech executives who later contributed to the DNC, "enabled Chinese companies to obtain a wide range of sophisticated technology, some of which has already been diverted to military uses."
So did the networks jump at the chance to cover a story involving something other than Monica Lewinsky? No. After spending months lamenting their obsession with sex scandals, the networks did not devote a single word that night, the following morning or rest of the week to the substantive issue of China diverting U.S. technology for military use. While all the networks focused on Clinton's role in negotiating a new Middle East peace accord, none have aired a single story on the missile technology diversion story since early June.... |
