ABC's Hidden Partisans

VOLUME 7 ISSUE 7 June/July 2003 www.MediaResearch.org The Media Research Center’s Monthly Members’ Report ABC’s Hidden Partisans INSIDE Kaplan attended Clinton campaign staff meetings PAGE 3 Dear Member, and helped set up the campaign’s press office. Hillary’s When it comes to a commitment to All while working as a supposedly objective Pity Party objectivity and fairness, ABC News reminds me producer for ABC! ■ of a line from an old Seven-Up commercial: Kaplan’s hard work did not go unrewarded. PAGE 4 Never had it, never will. He played golf with the President-elect before Bits & Pieces: On June 9, Peter Jennings’ network his first inauguration and later, at the urging of Raines Over at announced it had hired Rick Kaplan, the former Clinton, spent a night in the Lincoln Bedroom. the Times President of CNN, to be the number-two man After 18 years at ABC, Kaplan left the network ■ in its news operation. This is terrible news for in 1997 to become president of CNN’s United PAGE 6 anyone interested in fair and objective political States operations. Under his direction, the news Hogie Notes: reporting. organization became The First Five Years In his new role as notorious for its unflag- ■ Senior Vice President, ging support of Clinton Kaplan will oversee World and was disparaged, by PAGE 7 Hypocrisy Now News Tonight, Nightline, both conservatives and This Week and the ABC others interested in the ■ News Political Unit. While truth, as the “Clinton PAGE 7 he will remain unseen, News Network.” MRC in the News you can bet his liberal Kaplan couldn’t keep ■ prejudices will influence his hands off politics. In PAGE 8 almost every major news his first year in charge, MRC Internship story as the nation moves Bill Clinton’s close friend Kaplan set aside his Program Attracts closer to the 2004 Rick Kaplan has been named managerial responsibilities Students From Presidential election. second-in-command at ABC News. to return to the studio, Across the Nation The Clintons may not where he personally be running the White House, but the Clintonites produced a special on campaign finance reform. are still running the networks. A long-time Friend According to U.S. News & World Report, of Bill and Hillary, Kaplan is as partisan as any Kaplan demanded that reporters limit their use journalist in America and has never been shy of the word “scandal” in reference to Clinton’s about using his position and influence to support fundraising activities. The result was that the liberal politicians. As an executive producer at phrase “Clinton scandal” was never uttered ABC’s Prime Time Live in 1992, Kaplan advised during the 120-minute program despite the candidate Clinton on how he should answer numerous questions surrounding Clinton’s questions about the Gennifer Flowers affair for campaign contributions. a 60 Minutes interview. A few weeks later, That bit of activist journalism was but a Kaplan arranged for Clinton to appear on the prelude to the Monica Lewinsky matter. With America’s Media Don Imus radio program and helped prepare his good friend under investigation by special Watchdog him for that interview. It was also reported that Continued on page 2 MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER FLASH JUNE/JULY 2003 Continued from page 1 With such a checkered past, one prosecutors and congressional wonders why ABC News would hire committees, Kaplan dumped any pretense Kaplan. The answer can be found at the of objectivity and used his network to very top of the network in the person of attack, often viciously, Clinton’s critics. ABC News President David Westin. CNN broadcast a two-hour “Media Westin is the man who told a Madness” in January 1998 that Columbia University journalism class sanctimoniously asked, “What the hell are shortly after 9-11 that he had “no opinion” you people doing?” investigating Clinton’s as to whether the Pentagon was a legitimate terrorist target. Westin later sex life. An “Investigating the ABC News President David Westin, Investigator” special followed and apologized, but only after MRC Vice the same man who has President Brent Baker told the world about suggested that Special Prosecutor regularly promoted former Clinton Kenneth Starr was “suspect” because of the remark via our daily CyberAlert. aide George Stephanopoulos, ABC’s top man is just as partisan as his “religious and Republican roots.” In was instrumental in bringing Kaplan and perhaps more thorough. With May, Kaplan devoted an hour to Kaplan aboard. demonizing Rep. Dan Burton, a Clinton the lone exception of George Will, Westin critic who CNN correspondent Bruce The CNN chief’s partisan efforts has steadily removed from ABC personnel Morton compared to the English dictator haven’t been restricted to helping Clinton. considered right of center, such as ABC Oliver Cromwell. Newsweek reported that in March 2000 commentator (and current Fox News Kaplan was at Al Gore campaign analyst) William Kristol and former This headquarters helping the former Vice Week executive producer Dorrance Smith. President prepare for an upcoming debate When Smith, who had served as an with Democratic opponent Bill Bradley. A official in the first Bush administration, month later, Kaplan spent another night at was let go in 1999 Westin defended the the White House courtesy of the Clintons. decision. He told the Washington Post’s In Kaplan’s mind, there was nothing Howard Kurtz that “‘over time we have wrong with it. “No, I do not feel an obligation to our viewers to make sure embarrassed, ashamed, or compromised we present both sides of any issue.’ While in any way, shape or form,” an no one’s previous employment should be unrepentant Kaplan told the April 10, 2000 held against him…‘we shouldn’t have USA Today. executive producers who have identifiable Just as troubling as Kaplan’s alliances either way.’” partisanship are the ethical breaches that Kaplan’s hire, like the relentless have dotted his past. While with Prime promotion of former Clinton aide George www.MRC.org Time Live in 1991, he produced an Stephanopoulos to the top job at This investigative piece on the Food Lion Week, makes a mockery of Westin’s The MRC’s website is grocery chain. ABC News employees claim. It’s clear that “identifiable updated daily and loaded falsified resumes so they could be hired alliances” are just fine at ABC News, as with our latest research at Food Lion stores and even staged long as they’re identifiable liberal alliances. and publications. events that later became part of that The MRC has documented the activist, biased antics of Kaplan for years. Log on every day for controversial news “expose.” Food Lion sued and a jury fined Kaplan $35,000 The day Kaplan was hired, we issued a these great features: personally, a judgment that was later Media Reality Check detailing his partisan overturned. past, and we are prepared to refute the CyberAlert Seven years later, Kaplan was a driving onslaught of biased reporting that will Media Reality Check force at CNN in creating NewsStand, a emanate from ABC now that he has joined Notable Quotables television magazine show patterned after forces with Westin and ultraliberal anchor Peter Jennings. Media Bias Videos CBS’s 60 Minutes. The program’s heavily advertised first story was “Tailwind,” yet We would not be able to expose this Bozell Columns another journalistic fiasco that claimed bias with your generous support. As Media Profiles in Bias American soldiers had used nerve gas in always, I thank you. Special Reports Laos during the latter stages of the Vietnam Until next time, War. The story was so wrong that CNN DisHonors Awards Videos and was forced to take the highly unusual step Pictures of publicly retracting the story, fired two And MUCH More! producers and eventually let Peter Arnett go for his role in it. L. Brent Bozell III MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER 2 FLASH JUNE/JULY 2003 HILLARY’SHILLARY’S PITYPITY PARTYPARTY Hillary Clinton’s Living History, back tears and confessed to his wife never addres- that supposed “tell all” book about the that he’d also lied to her.” sed and re- Clinton White House, has put the Are we really supposed to believe solved a former First Lady at the center of a this foolishness? Where were the single one of media frenzy unlike any in history. No skeptical, prove-it-to-me questions the alphabet politician – not even Hillary’s media- from the press? Where were the soup of coddled husband – has ever received demands, that if she didn’t know of scandals that such sympathetic and unquestioning the affair Hillary should have occurred during her coverage from the national press corps. apologized to the truth-seekers she so husband’s administration. famously condemned as the “vast Did Hillary hire goon Craig right-wing conspiracy?” Livingstone to collect the FBI files of Answer: They’re too busy political opponents, for instance? (And defending Hillary. “Mrs. Clinton if not, who did? Why?) How did the believed him,” CNN’s Jonathan Karl First Lady turn $1,000 investment into pronounced in his initial report on $100,000 in one year? And how did Hillary’s book, “and famously went on subpoenaed Rose Law Firm billing national television, unwittingly records, absent for a considerable period repeating his lies and denouncing the of time, wind up in the White House reports about Lewinsky as the product residence? of a vast right-wing conspiracy.” Those are just three of many, many Katie Couric conducted a fawning questions. But never mind: Hillary didn’t interview of Hillary… say and the so-called journalists In news story after news story, interviewing her didn’t care to ask.

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