Dayhoff Soundtrack: 20071128 CyberAlert

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

20071128 CyberAlert

CyberAlert

Wednesday November 28, 2007

1. NBC's Williams Avoids Controversy with Edwards, Not with Giuliani Three weeks ago, when NBC anchor Brian Williams interviewed Rudy Giuliani, Williams raised Giuliani's closeness to Bernard Kerik and pressed him on Iraq as he pointed out how 2007 had become "the bloodiest year" in the war, but in an interview with John Edwards aired Tuesday night, Williams stuck to softballs and didn't bring up the indictment of a major Edwards donor or push Edwards about how the "surge" in Iraq he rejected is working. The two interviews are the most recent in the "Making of the President" series on the NBC Nightly News. In the taped session with Republican presidential candidate Giuliani aired on November 6, Williams inquired: "Let's talk about your friend Bernard Kerik. Press reports are, as recently as today, that he could be a few days away from indictment, perhaps. When was the last time, first of all, that you spoke with him?" And on Giuliani supporting the war: "We just learned today '07 is the bloodiest year in Iraq. What would you do in Iraq starting today?" But with Democratic candidate Edwards Tuesday night, Williams stuck to the horse race and sympathetic personal issues.

2. ABC's Moran: Obama a 'Fresh Face' Who Represents 'Real Change' According to Nightline host Terry Moran, Iowa voters are listening to Barack Obama's "real argument, that he is tomorrow, a fresh face who represents a real change from our bitter, polarized politics." The ABC anchor, who profiled the Democratic candidate for the Tuesday edition of the program, spent part of the interview interpreting the feelings of caucus voters. He gushed: "You get the sense they know they might be part of something big here, something historic." After listening to one Iowan laud Obama's leadership, he prompted the man: "It would be an historic thing, Barack Obama?"

3. Russert Praised Clinton on Mideast Peace Then, Scoffs at Bush Now On Tuesday's Today show NBC's Washington bureau chief, Tim Russert, scoffed at President Bush's attempt to broker Middle East peace at the Annapolis conference, as he derided it as a "Hail Mary pass." However, nine years ago, when Bill Clinton made a failed attempt at Mideast peace, in the midst of his impeachment, Russert praised the former President on the October 23, 1998 Today show: "As the impeachment hearings grind on, could you have a situation where next year the President cannot go to the Judiciary Committee on a particular day because he's receiving the Nobel Peace Prize? That's the kind of irony the White House looks at as they look at the success of President Clinton on this day."

4. NBC Highlights Returning Iraqis: 'I Can't Wait to Get Back' "There is a noticeable trend under way. A growing stream of Iraqis who left to escape the killing, many of them going to Syria, now reversing their migration," anchor Brian Williams highlighted Tuesday evening as the NBC Nightly News became the first broadcast network evening newscast to air a full report on the trend. From Baghdad, reporter Tom Aspell showcased a mother who exclaimed: "I'm so excited" and "I can't wait to get back." Aspell explained: "Though safer, life in Syria turned out to be hard. $300 a month rent and food for the family of seven wiped out their savings. So when the Iraqi government offered free bus tickets to Baghdad, today's opportunity was too good to miss." Adding the caveat that a safer Iraq is not the main motivator, Aspell noted: "A recent UN survey...found most Iraqi refugees are returning home not because Iraq is any safer, but because they're running out of money, and Syria is clamping down on visas." Aspell, however, acknowledged upbeat trends: "Refugees coming back to Baghdad are going to see a lot of changes. There are more people in the streets, shops are open and traffic everywhere." Though Aspell pointed out how "it is still a dangerous city," another mother, nonetheless, decided: "Thank God we returned and found the situation better than when we left."

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A usually-daily report, edited by Brent H. Baker, CyberAlert is distributed by the Media Research Center, the leader since 1987 in documenting, exposing and neutralizing liberal media bias.

The 2,535^th CyberAlert. Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
6:35am EST, Wednesday November 28, 2007 (Vol. Twelve; No. 208)