Media Matters for America summary, June 29, 2007
 
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:03:04 -0400

<x-html>
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/"><img src="http://mediamatters.org/static/images/logo_email.jpg" border="0" /></a>
<p><b></b></p>
<p><a href=""></a></p>

<style type="text/css"><!--
body    	{ font-family: verdana, sans-serif; margin: 20px}

#spread 	{ float: left; width: 560px; clear: both; }

#spread a	{ text-decoration: none; color: #003366 }            
#spread a:hover	{ text-decoration: underline }

#spread p	{ font-size: 0.9em; }

#spread h1	{ font-size: 100%; }
#spread h2	{ font-size:  90%; }
#spread h3	{ font-size:  85%; }

#spread a.read	{
	font-size: .8em;
	/*font-weight: bold;*/
	text-transform: uppercase;
}
--></style>
<div id="spread">
<p>Here are today's news items from <i>Media Matters for America</i>, 
click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.</p>
<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/2008_elections?src=other">2008 Elections</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290011?src=other">On <em>Glenn Beck</em>, Shapiro misrepresented <em>NY Times</em> poll's Obama findings</a></b><br />
On the June 28 edition of CNN Headline News&#39; <i>Glenn Beck</i>, conservative columnist Ben
Shapiro claimed that "the funniest thing about" a June 15-23 <i>New York Times</i>/CBS News/MTV <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20070627_POLL.pdf">poll</a> of 17- to 29-year-olds "was the idea that people
were looking very closely at" the 2008 presidential race. According to
Shapiro: "[Y]ou had a poll question about whether people thought that
they would vote for someone who had used cocaine, and they said, by vast
majorities, no. And yet, they said the candidate they were most enamored of was
Barack Obama, who has admitted to using cocaine. So, clearly, they&#39;re not following all that
closely." But Shapiro misrepresented the first <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20070627_POLL.pdf#page=9">poll
question</a> he
referenced: It
did not ask whether the respondent would personally vote for a candidate who
admitted to having used cocaine; it asked whether the respondent thought "<i>most people you know</i> would vote for a presidential candidate who has ever used cocaine." [Emphasis added.]
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290011?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290007?src=other">Cameron again did not mention Thompson's conflicting views on abortion</a></b><br />
On the June 28 edition of Fox News&#39; <i>Special Report with Brit Hume</i>, Fox News
chief political correspondent Carl Cameron again did not mention evidence that former Sen. Fred Thompson
(R-TN) has taken
conflicting positions on abortion since 1993. During an "exclusive
national interview" with Thompson,
who has <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4243.html" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=other&http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4243.html">strongly indicated</a> that he
will seek the Republican presidential nomination, Cameron asserted that
"some say he is not pro-life enough" but did not note his inconsistent reported statements. As <i>Media Matters for America</i> <a href="http://mediamatters.org//items/200706010008?src=other" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200706010008">noted</a>, Cameron claimed on May 31
that Thompson is "consistently pro-life."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290007?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290004?src=other">CNN's Crowley called Thompson speech -- in which he decried illegal immigrants originally from Cuba -- "Reaganesque"</a></b><br />
On June 28, the Associated Press <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=3323320">reported</a> that former Sen. Fred Thompson
(R-TN), who has <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4243.html">strongly indicated</a>
that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination, made a <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCSMWl-3E3A&amp;NR=1">speech</a>
in South Carolina on June 27 in
which he "expressed his opposition to the immigration bill in Congress
and decried the flow of illegal immigrants from Cuba, saying: &#39;I don&#39;t
imagine they&#39;re coming here to bring greetings from [Fidel] Castro. We&#39;re
living in the era of the suitcase bomb.&#39; " From Thompson&#39;s June 27 speech: 
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290004?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290002?src=other"><em>LA Times </em>noted firefighter "wrath" at Giuliani but didn't explain the cause</a></b><br />
A June 28 <i>Los Angeles Times</i> article, headlined "<a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-rudy28jun28,0,6038739,full.story?coll=la-home-center">Terrorism: Giuliani&#39;s running mate</a>,"
asserted that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) is the only
presidential candidate who "inspires both wrath and respect in
firefighters for his actions in response to Sept. 11." But the article
did not explain why Giuliani "inspires ...wrath ... in
firefighters," despite the <i>Times</i>&#39;
own reporting on the issue several months ago. The article also touted
"what he did in the terrifying hours and days that followed" the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as "an argument that Giuliani&#39;s
experience is as close to presidential as it is possible to get without storing
your BlackBerry in the Oval Office." However, the article made no mention
of the criticism surrounding Giuliani&#39;s handling of the 9-11 terror
attacks.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290002?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/propaganda_noise_machine?src=other">Propaganda/Noise Machine</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290009?src=other">In <em>Time</em>,<em> </em>Rupert Murdoch claimed to "play it absolutely straight" like "Brit Hume and his team on the nightly news"</a></b><br />
In the July 9 issue of its magazine, <i>Time</i> <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1638182,00.html" target="_new" title="This external link will open in a new window">reported</a> that when asked if the Fox News Channel is
"an expression of his political views," News Corp. chairman Rupert
Murdoch answered: "Yes! No! Yes and no. The commentators are not. Bill
O&#39;Reilly certainly not. Geraldo Rivera certainly not. But Brit Hume and his
team on the nightly news? Yes. They play it absolutely straight!" <i>Time</i>, which interviewed Murdoch for the
magazine&#39;s cover story, offered
no challenge to this claim despite the fact that Hume, Fox News&#39; Washington bureau
managing editor, and "his team" on Fox News&#39; <i>Special Report</i> have been <a href="http://mediamatters.org//issues_topics/shows/specialreportwithbrith?src=other" target="_new" title="This external link will open in a new window">prolific
sources</a> of conservative misinformation. Fox News Channel is a subsidiary of
News Corp.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290009?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290005?src=other"><em>Fox and Friends</em>' Doocy misrepresented Inhofe talk radio allegation, NPR audience</a></b><br />
On the June 28 edition of Fox News&#39; <i>Fox &amp; Friends</i>, co-anchor Steve Doocy discussed Sen. James Inhofe&#39;s (R-OK) disputed claim that he overheard Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) discussing a "legislative fix" for right-wing talk radio. However, Doocy did not note that Inhofe had altered a crucial element of the story since his allegations were first made public, or that the Democratic senators&#39; offices have both denied that the conversation took place. Fox News reported both of these developments on June 22. Doocy also incorrectly asserted that "not so many people listen to NPR [National Public Radio]," which has a weekly audience of 26.5 million.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290005?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290008?src=other">Ignoring GOP opposition, NBC's Reid repeated Republican claim of a "do-nothing" Dem Congress</a></b><br />
On the June 29 edition of <i>MSNBC Live</i>, NBC News congressional
correspondent Chip Reid asserted that after the failure of a June 28 cloture motion
on the Senate immigration bill, "[t]he Democratic Congress is a big loser
because, more and more, Republicans are accusing them of being a do-nothing
Congress." However, in uncritically reporting Republicans&#39;
description of the Democratic majority as "do-nothing," Reid
ignored the dominant role Senate Republicans played in killing the
immigration bill. He also ignored what Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS)
(who voted for the cloture motion) has described as the party&#39;s
"strategy of being obstructionist."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290008?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/domestic_spying?src=other">Domestic spying</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290003?src=other">Media uncritically reported White House claim that Dems chose "confrontation" in issuing wiretapping subpoenas</a></b><br />
In their reports on subpoenas issued by the Senate Judiciary
Committee over the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program,
media outlets uncritically quoted the
White House claim that "[i]t's unfortunate that congressional
Democrats continue to choose the route of confrontation" to suggest that
Democrats were solely responsible for the committee's action. In fact,
three Republicans voted with the Democrats to approve the subpoenas.

<br />
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290003?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/supreme_court_nominations?src=other">Supreme Court Nominations</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706300001?src=other">Will <em>Wash. Post </em>reconsider its Supreme Court endorsement criteria after Roberts, Alito?</a></b><br />
<em>The Washington Post </em>editorial board endorsed the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, asserting of Roberts that he possesses "a modest conception
of the judicial function and a strong belief in the stability of
precedent." Since then, the <em>Post</em> has criticized several Supreme Court
decisions written by or joined by Roberts or Alito, claiming that they show a
lack of judicial restraint and fidelity to precedent. Yet the <em>Post</em> has given no indication that its
evaluation of either nominee was flawed, or that it intends to revisit its
criteria for evaluating Supreme Court nominees.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706300001?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>

<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290010?src=other">On radio show, Beck read "ad" for refinery that turns Mexicans into fuel; posted it on website</a></b><br />
On the June 28 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio
show, <a href="http://mediamatters.org//issues_topics/people/glennbeck?src=other">Glenn Beck</a>
commented on a mock ad
-- produced by subscribers to his
website known as "<a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.glennbeck.com/insider/">Insiders</a>" --
depicting a "giant refinery" that produces "Mexinol," which,
according to the ad, is a fuel made from the bodies of illegal immigrants from
Mexico. Beck read from the ad: "At Evil Conservative Industries, we know
four things for certain. The country
needs cheap,
alternative fuel source. Two, the human body is 18 percent carbon. Three, carbons can be turned into hydrocarbons. Four, we have a buttload of
illegal aliens in our country."
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200706290010?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>




<hr />
<p>This mail was sent by <i>Media Matters for America</i>
to 'news@energy-net.org'. Please visit us at
<a href="http://mediamatters.org">http://mediamatters.org</a></p>

<p>You can help support our work; become a 
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200407200002?src=other">volunteer media
monitor</a>, or 
<a href="https://mediamatters.org/donate?source=email">donate</a>
to <i>Media Matters for America</i>.</p>


<p>To change your email subscription preferences, visit <a href="http://mediamatters.org/users/prefs.html?src=other">http://mediamatters.org/users/prefs.html</a></p>

<p>If you'd like to unsubscribe from all <i>Media Matters for America</i> emails, you can just click on <a href="http://mediamatters.org/users/unsub/_TFiSm6WIkiaci7iLu6ZtH8gu6JaPh8t_vLvpt4dfhY">http://mediamatters.org/users/unsub/_TFiSm6WIkiaci7iLu6ZtH8gu6JaPh8t_vLvpt4dfhY</a>.</p>

<p>To contact us directly, reply to this mail or visit <a href="http://mediamatters.org/contact_us?src=other">http://mediamatters.org/contact_us</a></p>
</div><img src="http://mediamatters.org/static/images/tracker.gif?src=other" style="display: none;" />
</x-html>