Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Monday April 25, 2011 @ 08:57 AM EDT
On Friday night, the Fox News Channel debuted a Hannity special, ‘Behind the Bias: The History of Liberal Media.’ The promo declared: “Double standards? Groundless attacks? Blatant bias? Sean calls out the mainstream media! Don’t miss Behind the Bias: The History of Liberal Media.” The Media Research Center made available to Fox News Channel producers video clips from our archive going back more than 20 years and they are scattered throughout the hour – as are soundbites from MRC President Brent Bozell. The hour began with what Sean Hannity described as “how and why this bias began,” illustrated with several classic examples of left-wing journalistic advocacy and/or denigration of conservatives. Watch that segment, about seven minutes in length.
2. ABC Spins Soaring Gas Prices as a Weapon to Bash the GOP, Ignores Potential Problems for Obama
While the morning show hosts on NBC and CBS showcased the looming political threat of high gas prices for Barack Obama, ABC, Friday, simply repeated White House talking points and explained how the President will try and blame Republicans. Reporter Bianna Golodryga noted that Obama "wasted no time" in going after the GOP. She parroted, "During his speech in Reno, President Obama argued that budget cuts proposed by Republicans would keep the country from making critical investments in new alternative technologies that could wean our dependence on foreign oil."
3. Penitent CNN Anchor Confesses 'Eco-Sins' for Earth Day
In a bizarre wrap-up to the 2 p.m. EDT hour of CNN Newsroom on Thursday, anchor T.J. Holmes confessed his "eco-sins" to the audience. Commemorating the eve of "Earth Day," Holmes admitted to his "green" faults which included driving an SUV by himself to work daily, blasting the heat in his house during winter, and using "less efficient" incandescent bulbs for lighting. "These are my eco-sins. I'm confessing them to you because tomorrow is Earth Day," Holmes announced to the audience.
4. Today Show Features GOP vs Dem Fight Over Styrofoam Cups in Capitol Cafeteria
As part of Green is Universal week, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell highlighted a fight between Republicans and Democrats over the use of Styrofoam in the House cafeterias. On Thursday's Today show, O'Donnell reported, "Many Democrats are boiling mad because Republicans, now in charge of building operations, put a fork in the bio-degradable utensils Democrats had picked." O'Donnell went on to relay the concerns of Democratic Congressman George Miller as she noted that he had alarmingly tweeted to Republicans, "Stop serving carcinogens to constituents," and then aired a soundbite of Miller (while he was brandishing a Styrofoam cup) hyperbolically exclaiming: "This cup is a very expensive cup. It's very expensive to the environment, it's very expensive to our energy policy and it's very expensive, in some cases, to the health of individuals."
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Video: Opening Segment from Hannity's 'Behind the Bias: The History of Liberal Media'
On Friday night, the Fox News Channel debuted a
Hannity special, ‘Behind the Bias: The History of Liberal Media.’ The promo declared: “Double standards? Groundless attacks? Blatant bias? Sean calls out the mainstream media! Don’t miss Behind the Bias: The History of Liberal Media.”
The Media Research Center made available to Fox News Channel producers video clips from our archive going back more than 20 years and they are scattered throughout the hour – as are soundbites from MRC President Brent Bozell.
The hour began with what Sean Hannity described as “how and why this bias began,” illustrated with several classic examples of left-wing journalistic advocacy and/or denigration of conservatives.
Watch that segment, about seven minutes in length.
The
Hannity show page on FoxNews.com
has video of all the segments from the April 22 program.
— Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter. 
ABC Spins Soaring Gas Prices as a Weapon to Bash the GOP, Ignores Potential Problems for Obama
While the morning show hosts on NBC and CBS showcased the looming political threat of high gas prices for Barack Obama, ABC, Friday, simply repeated White House talking points and explained how the President will try and blame Republicans.
Reporter Bianna Golodryga noted that Obama "wasted no time" in going after the GOP. She parroted, "
During his speech in Reno, President Obama argued that budget cuts proposed by Republicans would keep the country from making critical investments in new alternative technologies that could wean our dependence on foreign oil."
Golodryga offered no hint of political danger for the President, instead highlighting his claim to expose "speculators." She touted, "President Obama told a crowd here he's going to go after anybody who gouges." CBS, on the other hand, painted a different picture.
Early Show correspondent Chip Reid skeptically observed, "You know, whenever we ask White House officials about poll ratings, they always say 'Ah, the President's not focused on the polls. He's focused on the policy.' " He added, "[Obama] said he believes the reason his ratings are going down is because gas prices are going up."
The Early Show also debuted a new CBS poll finding that 70 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. Reporter Jan Crawford pointed out that 57 percent of respondents disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy.
She warned, "That's his highest disapproval rating on the economy since he took office. That is potentially a real problem for the President, because as we know, the economy is going to be a key issue in next year's presidential elections."
Over on the Today show, guest co-host Willie Geist, unlike the reporters on Good Morning America, didn't appear to buy Obama's claims about price fixing: "Is there price gouging or is this political so the President can say, 'look, I'm concerned about oil and gas prices?'"
A transcript of the ABC segment, which aired at 7:02am EDT, follows:
ROBIN ROBERTS: But, we're going to begin with those soaring gas prices rising again overnight. The average price for a gallon of gas is now at a two and a half year high. And this is having a huge effect on everything from fueling our cars to flying. And our Bianna Golodryga, you've been tracking all of this.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: We haven't even hit the peak driving season just yet.
ROBERTS: I know.
GOLODRYGA: The U.S. Energy department projects that the average U.S. household will pay $825 more for gas this year than in 2011. So, we went to an entire team to my ABC News colleagues [sic] across the country to report on how these prices are affecting every aspect of our lives. They keep going up, up and up.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I don't like to fill it all the way because I don't want to see the number.
GOLODRYGA: It's the same story from coast-to-coast, even in the big, little cities.
DAVID KERLEY: In Reno, prices are already averaging more than $4 a gallon, highest in the state. Drivers are not happy. President Obama told a crowd here he's going to go after anybody who gouges.
BARACK OBAMA: That includes the role of traders and speculators. We're going to make sure nobody is taking advantage of American consumers.
GOLODRYGA: Seattle, average price per gallon $3.94, leading some drivers to join forces.
NEAL KARLINSKY: Commuters are trying something a little strange. It's called slugging and it's essentially legal hitch-hiking. They meet up and get a ride in a stranger's car. And the driver gets to speed through traffic by having an extra passenger so they can go in the car pool line.
GOLODRYGA: For drivers, the trips to the pump has meant a new, smaller car. Sales for compact cars up six percent since the beginning of the year.
BARBARA PINTO: Gas prices here in Chicago are among the highest in the nation. And more drivers are now looking for relief here in smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. This model is a top seller, the Hyundai Elantra. Sales up more than 72 percent over last year.
BILL WERTHMAN (Hyundai sales manager, Rogers Auto Group): In the last four hours, I had eight on my grounds. Now, I'm down to about three of them.
GOLODRYGA: But the pain doesn't end on the streets. Airfare's up seven percent since this time last year.
YUNJI DE NIES: If you think it's bad on the roads, consider the skies. For every penny per gallon that fuel goes up, airlines lose $175 million a year. Rising prices are decimating their profits, which means you can count on higher ticket prices and added fees.
GOLODRYGA: There's just no escaping these painful gas prices, even in the air. And the President wasted no time before turning the issue into a political one. During his speech in Reno, President Obama argued that budget cuts proposed by Republicans would keep the country from making critical investments in new alternative technologies that could wean our dependence on foreign oil. A lot of pressure on this administration.
— Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
Penitent CNN Anchor Confesses 'Eco-Sins' for Earth Day
In a bizarre wrap-up to the 2 p.m. EDT hour of CNN Newsroom on Thursday, anchor T.J. Holmes confessed his "eco-sins" to the audience. Commemorating the eve of "Earth Day," Holmes admitted to his "green" faults which included driving an SUV by himself to work daily, blasting the heat in his house during winter, and using "less efficient" incandescent bulbs for lighting.
"These are my eco-sins. I'm confessing them to you because tomorrow is Earth Day," Holmes announced to the audience.
"It often goes ignored by many of us, including me. Not going to ignore it this year. Why? Well, maybe it was an awakening. Maybe I was scolded recently by an environmentalist. Maybe I'm tired of wasting my own money," he rambled, before wishing the audience a happy Earth Day.
The awkward segment grew a little more so at the end, when 3 p.m. EDT anchor Brooke Baldwin applauded Holmes for his honesty and Holmes sheepishly replied that "there's some other stuff."
A transcript of the segment, which aired on April 21 at 2:59 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
T.J. HOLMES, CNN anchor: Well, in today's "XYZ," I'd like confess my sins.
I drive a Chevy Tahoe. It gets 15 miles to the gallon in the city. While some people have SUVs to haul their large families around, it's just me driving by myself to work every day.
I have a number of TVs in my high house and leave them on just about all day, every day.
I often turn the water on in the shower, then I walk downstairs to maybe grab breakfast, leave the water running, then I go back upstairs to take a shower.
I buy 24 packs of bottled water at a time. Then I throw those bottles away without recycling.
In the winter I crank the heat up to 75 or 76.
All the light bulbs in my house are still the old school, less efficient incandescent bulbs.
Those are my eco-sins. I'm confessing them to you because tomorrow is Earth Day. It often goes ignored by many of us, including me. Not going to ignore this year. Why? Well, maybe it was an awakening. Maybe I was scolded recently by an environmentalist. Maybe I'm tired of wasting my own money.
Whatever my reasons, whatever yours, happy Earth Day.
Brooke, I just confessed to you on national TV.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN anchor: I'm impressed, it was just 60 seconds of confessions, friend. Oh, T.J. Holmes.
HOLMES: There's some other stuff.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Thank you, sir. You just walk on out of that shot. Thank you.
--
Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center.
Today Show Features GOP vs Dem Fight Over Styrofoam Cups in Capitol Cafeteria
As part of
Green is Universal week, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell highlighted a fight between Republicans and Democrats over the use of Styrofoam in the House cafeterias. On Thursday's Today show, O'Donnell reported, "Many Democrats are boiling mad because Republicans, now in charge of building operations, put a fork in the bio-degradable utensils Democrats had picked."
O'Donnell went on to relay the concerns of Democratic Congressman George Miller as she noted that he had alarmingly tweeted to Republicans
, "Stop serving carcinogens to constituents," and then aired a soundbite of Miller (while he was brandishing a Styrofoam cup) hyperbolically exclaiming: "This cup is a very expensive cup. It's very expensive to the environment, it's very expensive to our energy policy and
it's very expensive, in some cases, to the health of individuals. "
However O'Donnell did present the GOP side of the story as she reported that the House composting program, first implemented by a then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was costing the taxpayers "a half million dollars a year" and added: "Many diners complained those compostable cups, forks, and spoons broke easily and even melted in hot soup or coffee."
O'Donnell also allowed GOP Congressman Dan Lungren to tell viewers that it wasn't just Republicans who were upset with the flimsy forks:
REP. DAN LUNGREN, HOUSE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE, CHAIR: They were bipartisan complaints. I've had more thanks from Democrats, who whisper it to me, and Republicans, staffers and members thanking me for actually giving them utensils that will work.
The following is the full story as it was aired on the April 21 Today show:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: Back now at 7:49am with a heated debate on Capitol Hill, not over the deficit or even the bombing in Libya. This fight hits closer to home for members of Congress. It's about their coffee cups. NBC's Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell explains.
[On screen headline: "It Ain't Easy Being Green, Congress Battles Over Cups On Capitol Hill"]
KELLY O'DONNELL: Stacked and barely noticeable but those cups runneth over with controversy.
REP. GEORGE MILLER: Not a lot of people come to Washington chanting, "I want a Styrofoam cup."
O'DONNELL: Styrofoam and plastic wear are back in cafeterias at the House of Representatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's probably going to be in a landfill for the rest my life and, you know, it just seems to be a waste.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I like Styrofoam. It doesn't really matter what my drink comes in.
O'DONNELL: Many Democrats are boiling mad because Republicans, now in charge of building operations, put a fork in the bio-degradable utensils Democrats had picked.
MILLER: Vote for the Republicans, Vote for Styrofoam.
O'DONNELL: When Nancy Pelosi was Speaker she proudly launched a greening of the Capitol campaign.
REP. NANCY PELOSI: The House has reduced its carbon emissions by 72 percent, a remarkable achievement for the Congress.
O'DONNELL: But it ain't easy being green. The House composting program cost nearly a half million dollars a year. Many diners complained those compostable cups, forks, and spoons broke easily and even melted in hot soup or coffee.
(Clip of someone breaking a fork while trying to cut food.)
REP. DAN LUNGREN, HOUSE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE, CHAIR: They were bipartisan complaints. I've had more thanks from Democrats, who whisper it to me, and Republicans, staffers and members thanking me for actually giving them utensils that will work.
O'DONNELL: Outraged Democrats used Twitter and Facebook, asking constituents to urge Republicans to bring back the paper cups. More than 100 Democrats signed a letter to Speaker Boehner. Congressman George Miller tweeted "Stop serving carcinogens to constituents," saying chemicals in Styrofoam pose a health risk.
MILLER: This cup is a very expensive cup. It's very expensive to the environment, it's very expensive to our energy policy and it's very expensive, in some cases, to the health of individuals.
LUNGREN: Well if anything were proven to be a cancer risk we wouldn't have it around here.
O'DONNELL: Republicans say, "Wait! It was the Democrats, who previously ran House operations, who actually recommended cancelling the House composting program." In this letter saying, "It was not a "sustainable or cost efficient enterprise for the House." Republicans say those cheaper Styrofoam cups may only be temporary. They are going to test bringing in permanent utensils that can be washed and reused, calling that, environmentally friendly. For Today, Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News, the Capitol.
—Geoffrey Dickens is the Deputy Research Director at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here*****
You may have heard of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). He recently made national headlines when he compared those of us who oppose unchecked union power to Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
