We’re sure most of you do not believe there’s a left-wing media bias in Mainstream Media. Uh-huh, right!
Did anyone catch former Richmonder Campbell Brown on CNN last night? (See transcript and video here.) She grilled John McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds over Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s foreign policy credentials and asked him to name one instance in which she commanded the Alaska National Guard. It turned out to be quite the donnybrook. It wasn’t Bush 41 vs. Dan Rather all over again, but it was pretty intense. Bad enough, in the McCain camp’s view, that the senator cancelled a live, previously scheduled interview for last night with Larry King. To be fair, it didn’t help that Mr. Bounds was not all that competent.
But for those who do not think the mainstream media is biased, please explain this quote from Ms. Brown to Mr. Bounds as she ended the interview:
I appreciate you coming on and taking the time to have this debate (emphasis added). I think it’s important. … We’re not beating you up here. We’re not trying to.
Debate? Debate? Since when is a journalist supposed to debate a guest? Journalists are supposed to get information, not advance an opposing view. While it was clear Mr. Bounds did not have the answer to her question, he should have said he would research it and get back to her. In lieu of that, she should have prompted that from him and moved on to the next question. (Eventually, a slate.com writer confirmed Governor Palin’s command experience and Brown announced it later during a panel discussion.) Instead, Ms. Brown was intent — repeating the question, in one form or another, six times with increasing agitation in her voice and body language — on nothing more than making political points as if she was the opposing camp’s PR hack.
If she wasn’t trying to “beat him up” she certainly was trying to belittle him with this quote, sarcastic facial expressions and body language included:
All right. Tucker, I’m just going to give it to you, baby. We’ll end it there. (Emphasis not added.)
“Baby”? Are you kidding me? “Baby”? Imagine if Bill O’Reilly called a Democrat spokeswoman that — there would be shrieks for his head by leftist feminists, sort of like when Barack Obama called a reporter “sweetie.” Actually, that’s not a good comparison since the hypocrites said nothing about it.
Speaking of Senator Obama and Ms. Brown: Does anyone credibly think she would press him, or one of his aides, with the same intensity in asking him to name just one significant accomplishment? The double standard is pretty clear. He’s been running for president for two years and he can’t name one and the media isn’t interested. (By the way, speaking of Senator Obama and Fox News: How is Barack Obama going to negotiate with Iranian and Russian despots when he won’t even talk to Fox News, despite his promise to O’Reilly?)
Some commentators are saying this is the year journalism ended. Some of us have considered it long gone. But if there was any doubt, last night at least one in the mainstream media — Campbell baby — exposed her true colors.
Does Bill O’Reilly qualify as a journalist?
I think you’re mistaking bias with tenacity. Her questions were valid; Bounds wouldn’t or couldn’t answer them. She refused to let him off the hook, which performs a vital public service. The public needs to know the credentials of someone who could shape the future of this country.
O’Reilly is a commentator and calls himself that. He makes no bones about it. Fox clearly labels him as such. Not like the creeps on MSNBC and some on CNN who claim they have no bias and are reporting the news straight. Remember what O’Reilly said about his experience in Harlem? He was complimenting the people he saw and met there and the left wingers STILL trashed him. If a conservative did what Brown did or called a woman “sweetie” they would get hammered.
What about Chris Wallace? Libs loved him when he was at NBC and ABC. He asked Clinton a question about his failure to get bin laden and Clinton screamed and yelled and tried to intimidate Wallace. When has a conservative acted like that to a journalist? Yet, Wallace was labeled as doing something unprofessional by the left — just for asking ONE legitimate question.
As for Brown, she said it herself — she was “debating” him. Why can’t you accept her own words? She crossed the line. If she wants to be a commentator, then disclose that and openly define your point of view and fire away. But don’t do it under some elitist pretense that you’re an “objective” journalist. The post makes a good point. Name one journalist who’s asked Obama the same question 6 times when he didn’t provide a straight answer. And he’s given lots of non-answers.
I have to laugh when anyone refers to the “liberal mainstream media.” All TV news networks regardless of whether it’s CNN, Fox, NBC, CBS….are in the entertainment business; entertainment in a “news” format. All the networks have about 90% commentary and about 10% “news.” First and foremost they want to sell advertisements. The way they do that is to entertain us. If some networks present “news” and commentary with a seemingly liberal twist it’s because they’ve studied the market and believe that that’s what keeps people tuned in to their channel. Some networks like Fox have bet on the fact that they can capture the bulk of the conservative viewers and thereby sell plenty of ads that way. “Liberal” media? If that’s what you see it’s because that’s what most Americans WANT to see. The BBC, while not perfect by any means, is the best news service in the world. They make the US news networks look pathetic.
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