that were reported in the press and forced him to make his famous “Checkers” Writings on George W. Bush speech on TV. After taking office as President in 1968 he was breaking his September, 2004 promise to wind down the war in Vietnam — in fact, he was expanding it, and Part 3 — Capturing the Media the press was pointing this out. He did not like that and started a campaign to muzzle the press. He let his vice president speak for him in denouncing the press The opening paragraph of a book by David Corn, a respected Washington as biased in its reporting. His speech writers, Pat Buchanan and William Safire, correspondent, says: needed a way of showing that the major TV networks were biased. To do this they invented the “silent majority.” Nixon then said he spoke for this imagined “George W. Bush is a liar. He has lied large and small. He has lied directly silent majority, which was, of course, much more conservative in its outlook and by omission. He has misstated the facts, knowingly or not. He has than the networks. Safire has admitted that the “silent majority” was the brain misled. He has broken promises, been unfaithful to political vows. Through child of Pat Buchanan. It worked beautifully in berating the networks. Safire and his campaign for the presidency and his first years in the White House, he Buchanan knew that the very conservative viewpoint that they were espousing has mugged the truth — not merely in honest error, but deliberately, had only a small following in the country, but to make it grow they had to invent consistently, and repeatedly to advance his career and his agenda. Lying something with which to bully the networks and major newspapers. greased his path toward the White House; it has been one of the essential tools of his presidency.” (The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Advisers working with the Nixon White House also told the president that those Politics of Deception. David Corn. Crown Publishers, 2003.) folks making up the right-wing minority, and those who might be pulled into that circle, were mostly folks who felt left behind, downtrodden, unrewarded, If our president is as described by Corn, how is it that we do not have continuing and who did not like intellectuals or folks who could be seen as “elite.” So those reports in our newspapers, magazines and TV about his deceptions? The answer crafting the assault on the TV networks and big city newspapers cast the is that the media has been beaten into submission by a continuing assault from reporters as “effete” or “elite” “eastern liberals” who only spoke to each other right-wing forces for the past thirty years, and is now essentially cowed into over cocktails in the bar, or at dinner in the best restaurants, and who never pulling its punches when it comes to reporting on the activities of Republicans. talked to common folks. Casting the TV reporters and newspaper journalists as If you doubt this, let me first quote Paul Krugman and then proceed to review of elitists who were out of touch with the rest of the country outside of New York the evidence from the past thirty years so you can see how this all played out. City and Washington, DC seems to be the beginning of the “class warfare” we Paul Krugman is a professor of economics at Princeton, and is thought by some currently hear of today. to be of sufficient standing that he is in the running for a Nobel Prize in the next Were TV and Newspapers Objective? few years. He was recruited to be a columnist for the NY Times a few years ago; he expected to be writing on economic issues but was drawn to the It should be noted that newspapers in this country had changed drastically since statements that the candidates were making in the presidential election of 2000. the last century. At the founding of our republic newspapers were biased and He was astonished that the numbers being put forward by candidate Bush did subscribers picked the newspaper they read according to the views they held. As not make sense — they simply did not add up. As he said in one of his columns such each newspaper reflected the viewpoint of its owner and editors and not following the election when he was still trying to make sense of what happened: only were the opinion pages biased, but so too could be the regular news stories. About the turn of the 20th century a move began to make journalism a “In the early months of the 2000 campaign I had trouble believing what was profession; universities began turning out graduates who were instructed in how happening. Was the presidential candidate of a major political party really lying, to keep their opinions to themselves and to base news stories on the facts, for blatantly, about the content of his own program? Were the media really letting which the reporter would have to dig. By the time of the 1970s the standards of him get away with it? He was, and they were.” journalism were well established and strong. Opinion was limited to the In the early columns Krugman wrote the editor at the NY Times, Howell Raines, editorial page; the news was based on the facts, not the reporter’s opinion. would not let him use the words liar or lying. Instead words like ‘distortion’ had So when the Nixon administration began attacking newspapers and TV as to be used. Later when the lying became utterly apparent Raines relented and having a “liberal bias” the networks and newspapers began a self-review to see allowed Krugman to use stronger language. Krugman has continued to devote if it could be true, and tried to accommodate the administration by bringing in some of his columns to politics. He is one of the few columnists that actively persons from suggested by the ultra-right to be heard and read. But the liberal take on the Bush Administration. He has received a number of death threats for bias campaign continued unabated — it even appeared on bumper stickers. Of his writing which he now takes seriously and passes along to the FBI. course, as Buchanan and Safire knew, there was no liberal bias; it was just a tool Starting in the Nixon Years to move the media toward a more conservative viewpoint. In fact, as one book that was written about CBS in 1988 said, “CBS News was about as left-wing as Richard Nixon did not like the media. He thought that they “had it in for him” the Cedar Falls Chapter of the American Legion.” ever since he ran for office back in the early 1950s and used some dirty tactics
Page 1 of 8 Edith Efron published a book, The News Twisters, in 1971, which was her own propaganda rather than research and investigation of issues. In charge were Paul private evaluation of the bias shown by the TV networks during the 1968 Weyrich and Edwin Feulner. Weyrich was excellent at putting together election. Since Efron was a strong ultra-right figure it is no surprise that she organizations, but came with extreme right-wing views: he was part of George found a strong liberal bias. Nixon propelled her book onto the best seller list by Wallace’s American Independent party, the John Birch Society, and belonged to taking funds from his reelection campaign funds and secretly buying thousands religious organizations that backed segregation, the death penalty for of her books to boost its sales figures. But while the sales figures were good the homosexuality, and was strongly anti-Semitic. Working as an assistant was reviews of the book were universally sour — her “research” was so bad that it Stuart Butler who wanted to dismantle the federal government using the ideas of was considered worthless, she might as well have made up the numbers for her Lenin. writing expressed nothing except her view of the world. Nevertheless, once a book is on the best seller list it attracts other readers, and once in print the Many think tanks were created in the 1970s with funding coming from opinions expressed get amplified and are accorded more general support. That is multimillionaires and their foundations — usually nonprofit foundations that to say, the damage is done. purported to be educational in their mission. That the money went illegally for political purposes has rarely been examined by the IRS. By 2000 it was The Powell Memo estimated that $1 billion had been spent on just the top twenty think tanks, and by then there were more than 800 right-wing think tanks out there. And by 2000 Just before Lewis Powell was nominated for the Supreme Court by Nixon in about $1 billion a year was being spent in total on the think tanks. The big 1971 he wrote a memo on how business should get itself viewed in a better light. funders, the “Four Sisters,” are Bradley, Olin, Richardson and Scaife. The He thought the universities, the media, the political establishment and the courts Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is funded from an auto parts fortune all were attacking business, and he suggested a sneak counter-attack. He started in Milwaukee (Mr. Bradley is a member of the John Birch Society). The proposed a hidden “guerilla war” that would enlist a “movement” that would Olin Foundation was set up and funded from the profits of a chemical company underwrite “scholars, writers, and thinkers” who would put out propaganda to earned long ago; the foundation is controlled by William Simon (more on Simon put business and conservative views in a good light. Moreover, he thought below). The Smith Richardson foundation comes from the long ago profits of organizations would have to be formed that would monitor the TV networks and Vicks VapoRub. Richard Mellon Scaife a is multimillionaire from Pittsburgh the newspapers and harass them for their supposed liberal views and press for who is very active and of whom we will learn much more later. Another heavy “balance” and “equal time” for conservative views. Eventually, he thought the contributor is Koch Industries (an oil and gas firm run by two Koch brothers, conservatives would have to penetrate the media to reshape the issues and their sons of Fred Koch, who was one of the original members of the John Birch coverage, change mass public opinion and thereby quash the views of the Society). All these contributions are matched by on going corporation political elites. This almost revolutionary toned memo from a moderate foundations such as Amoco and Alcoa, JM Foundation, Rockwell International Democratic lawyer in Richmond, Virginia was to strike fire in several ways and Corp Trust, and Ford Motor Company Fund. to become the marching plan for the right-wing conservatives. The think tanks first employed their folks to write op-ed pieces. What is op-ed? Powell was apparently unaware of the monitoring that the Nixon White House Newspapers have an editorial page were the editors print opinions of the was already carrying out and using to badger the TV networks. But shortly after newspaper and often run several opinion columns and letters to the editor. In the the Powell memo began circulating the organization Accuracy in Media (AIM) 1970s the page opposite to the editorial page (hence op-ed) became popular and was brought into being by Reed Irvine, who was on Nixon’s Federal Reserve was a way for the editors to get other opinion pieces from folks who were Board (the guys who keep tabs on our banking system and set interest rates). outside the newspaper. The right-wing folks took this opportunity to turn out a Irving had originally been a communist sympathizer who then switched over to large number of such opinion pieces that would be sent to newspapers to use if the far right to fight the communist cause. He thought there were many they wished. These op-ed pieces from the right-wing think tanks were used often journalists who were spreading communist propaganda and that they needed to and were much more powerful than the more traditional letter to the editor. be stopped. He was joined at AIM by two propaganda experts from the U.S. military. The research they did was worthless — when checked by other Another way the think tanks used their hired talent was to make them available organizations it was often found to be false, even made up. But AIM produced a for speeches and for interviews in magazines, and on radio and TV. The think stream of reports which it used to bash the news organizations. A number of tanks would often have offices specially set up listing their experts and serving other right-wing monitoring organizations were also set up that joined with AIM as booking agencies for them. They also employed their experts to write books, in maintaining a constant stream of harassment about liberal bias in the media. for which they were well paid in advance, or to make documentaries (and later videos) for use on TV. They also did reports on topics that were of major Think Tanks and Big Money concern to the ultra-right or that were on the political agenda in Washington. When Joseph Coors read Powell’s memo in 1972 he was moved to set up Here is an example of the latter done by the Cato Institute (in the 1990s). Analysis Research Corp, which later became the Heritage Foundation. This was The Cato Institute was formed in the mid-70s with the purpose of moving public the first of many “think tanks” that were to be set up that would engage in opinion to the right. It will not publish a study unless it supports its ideas, same
Page 2 of 8 for Heritage — they do not give “equal time.” Trudy Lieberman, editor at reform, supply-side economics, property rights, medical savings accounts, Columbia Journalism Review, wrote a book (Slanting the Story: The Forces missile defense/star wars. The main conservative ideas being promoted were: That Shape the News) showing the clever distortions used by these organizations spending levels were inverse to education progress, racial preferences were to misinform the public. In our own backyard, the John Locke Foundation taking away opportunities for whites while hurting minorities, tax cuts for the (Raleigh, NC) did a “study” of the Head Start program for the Cato Institute. very rich would “trickle down” to the lower classes while increasing The “research director” was John Hood, who had no credentials in science or in government revenue, that gun ownership decreased crime and that liberal child development. All he did was find newspaper and magazine pieces “activist” judges had distorted the true meaning of the Constitution starting with criticizing the program and “strung them together” and released them as a Brown v Board of Education. The think tanks paid good salaries and this drew “report.” He thought that heredity so strongly determined behavior that working in many folks. They hired good writers who turned out memorable slogans and with young kids to boost their learning skills and teach them social skills was a good public relations copy. waste of time. He wrote an op-ed piece bashing Head Start for the Wall Street Journal which was then picked up by the Washington Post, which said that as Just a very brief sampling of the output of these think tanks includes: “The Bell Congress looked at expanding the program experts were raising questions about Curve”, which purported to show that blacks are less intelligent than whites its efficacy. Of course Hood was no expert, but the reader could not learn that (Manhattan Institute), an article in The New Republic denouncing Clinton’s from the article, and would never know that there was no study either — just a health plan (which was given some credit for its downfall despite that the article biased bunch of newspaper accounts that appeared over the years. Other major was later shown to be based on false assertions), a number of articles against newspapers picked up the article as fully trustworthy — it had been published in affirmative action, a book (Galileo’s Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom) the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post — and some wrote editorials claiming misuse of science against conservative ideas, and a book (The Dream criticizing the program based on the content of those articles. This happened just and the Nightmare) by Myron Magnet who proposed tough reforms for the when the Clinton administration was trying to get more funding for the program “underclass” in our society (such as unwed mothers having to live in special (which actually had been highly successful — just the reverse of the “report”). homes or else give up their babies to government orphanages (W said this book was second only to the Bible in his reading material). Beyond Think Tanks William Simon, Nixon’s Treasury Secretary and Wall Street capitalist who had The money that was pouring out of the corporations, multimillionaires and made a fortune in using junk bonds to finance hostile takeovers of businesses, conservative foundations funded many activities. One activity was the training was also forging a path toward building a bigger public acceptance of the ultra- of and encouragement of folks to become leaders and workers for the right. He was at war not only with the liberals, but also with the moderates conservative cause. Some of the money was set up as scholarships that would within the Republican Party. He published a book in 1978 (that was ghost fund college students with an appropriate conservative attitude. Another written by Edith Efron [mentioned above]) that railed against environmentalists, investment along this line was to hold seminars that train those on college consumer groups, and minorities. He echoed the Powell idea that business go campuses that already held positions of leadership in conservative ideas. out and buy scientists and other professionals who would speak to defend business interests. He suggested getting the coal industry to fund “research” that The Institute for Educational Affairs funds college right-wing newspapers. It is would undermine environmental regulation and for the banking industry to fund now funded by the Four Sisters, and was started in 1978 by Irving Kristol. He economists who would work to discredit the Social Security system. As got his original funding from the Olin Foundation (William Simon is chairman chairman of the Olin Foundation he had millions of Olin money to spread of its board). Young America’s Foundation sends right-wing speakers to around in addition to his own millions to spend in pursuit of his ideas. campuses. Annihilate Your Enemy Some foundations work to spread conservative ideas to the court system. The most common is to hold seminars several days in length at popular resort spots Some folks on the ultra-right have come from the ultra-left. They brought their or on cruise liners for judges to indoctrinate them into the idea of solving things communist tactics with them — the ideas of Trotsky and Lenin. One such tactic through marketplace solutions rather than by using laws. For instance, instead of is that you do not debate with your enemy; you annihilate them. Let me make forcing utilities to clean up their power plants to reduce air pollution leave them that clearer. William Buckley, the premier advocate for conservative thought in a free hand to see how natural market forces will move them to improve their America, used to have a program on PBS called “Firing Line” in which he and plants. This is a favorite issue of the foundations controlled by Richard Mellon his guest would discuss/debate ideas. There was no shouting and each person got Scaife. to have adequate time to express their ideas. That was not what the ultra-right wanted. If there was to be an appearance of a liberal on a TV show that person’s What Did They Want? ideas would have to be shown to be utterly stupid and without merit. Moreover, The focus of the work of the think tanks was to discredit liberal programs and the person, himself, would also have to be “exposed” as weak, stupid, confused, push for right-wing conservative programs: deregulation, school vouchers, tort and if possible a liar and a coward. They did not want to discuss issues; they wished to annihilate the liberals. This usually meant that the format of the show
Page 3 of 8 would have to be set up so as to position the liberal as weak and worthless. shouting at each other and cutting each other off. It was more entertainment than discussion, and the persons that were picked put a strong debater in the Another tactic of the ultra-left adopted by the ultra-right was the flooding of the conservative seat and a weak liberal in the other. Other panels were soon to market with position papers, public letters, journals, magazines, newspapers and follow on TV such as the Capitol Gang and The McLaughlin Group. In each finally TV channels. Irving Kristol was one of the original neocons (neo- case there were two or three non-journalist conservatives and one or two weak conservatives) — disaffected ex-communists and far-left intellectuals who liberal or moderate journalists representing the other point of view. The migrated to the ultra-right — who brought with them connections to New York journalists followed the rule of being objective and keeping personal feelings intellectuals and Trotskyite tactics. He was given a position at the American out of the talking; the conservative non-journalists felt no such restrictions. This Enterprise Institute from where he spent his time forming foundations and small follows the annihilation principle where the liberal must be put down; businesses to pass money around so that those who wrote or spoke could not be reasonable debate will not be permitted. Shouted, fast-paced sloganeering was identified with the original source of funding. While doing this he also founded the guiding principle of these shows; rational discussion of issues was nowhere The American Spectator to have a newspaper of his own to publish ultra-right in sight. The idea that reasonable persons could talk to each other and possibly ideas with a free hand. His goal was to swing public opinion to the right so they find a middle ground was, likewise, not part of this universe. would eventually accept right-wing ideology as their own. A brief aside: This style of discussion polarizes issues and gives people the Democracy and Small Rural Newspapers notion that this is an appropriate model for political discussion. But in a The ultra-right started small newspapers in rural areas everywhere in America. democracy we must seek ways of getting things done that satisfies the greatest Small newspapers do not cost much to operate and so, if funded by tax exempt number of people while minimizing harm to those whose wishes do not get foundations for “educational” purposes, they can be used to shape opinion over followed. Polarization of issues is the worst way of getting things done. Panel time for a relatively small investment. No one comes checking the credentials of discussions seeking solutions, while not as entertaining, would seem the better the reporters or editors of these papers. The professionalism of these reporters way to go — and I have seen many of those (especially those done by Bill and editors were mostly lacking. The point in having the paper was to have a Moyers) that were gripping while moving to possible solutions. forum from which to dispense ultra-right ideas. One example of their power is First with UHF channels and then with cable TV came the possibility of having their role in the 2000 election in Tennessee. The small rural papers were full of a channel that spoke only to a narrow but reliable audience. One of the first to stories of how Al Gore was straying from his values, lying, cheating on his wife, take this road was Christian broadcasting. There had always been a radio and all sorts of other “tabloid” type material. None of this was picked up by the audience that had stayed mostly away from politics. But now politics and metropolitan newspapers, TV or magazines. But these stories were on the lips of evangelical fundamental religion came together for power and profit. Paul everyone in rural Tennessee. One large Tennessee newspaper wrote up one of Weyrich (of the Heritage Foundation) got funding from Richard DeVos the stories reported in one of the small newspapers and discovered that folks (Amway Corp), Nelson Bunker Hunt (Dallas billionaire) and George Wallace were driving in from 100 miles away to get copies to see if it supported what (Media Research Center) to put Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on TV. they had been reading in their small hometown paper. The fact that Gore lost his Robertson had hired Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in 1963 and the three of them home state may very well be due to the influence of these many small ran the 700 Club. Robertson expanded to form the Christian Broadcasting newspapers. Network with a news department and correspondents in 1977. By 1980 there Democracy depends on well informed citizens. If these small newspapers, that was not only CBN, but also the PTL Television Network and the Trinity were losing money, and kept alive only by support from multimillionaires Broadcasting Network. They were grossing about $140 million in that year. By hiding behind their educational, nonprofit foundations, can sway public opinion the mid-80s the number of affiliates rivaled ABC and CBS. by spewing forth lies than democracy takes a huge hit. There seems to be no Weyrich (head of Heritage Foundation) coined the term “moral majority” and easy fix for this problem other than educating our citizens to be wiser about appeared often as a guest on the PTL and the 700 Club where he pushed the what they accept as true. The motto of the marketplace surely must be “let the relationship between religion and politics. He met with many ministers to show buyer beware.” how they could mix politics with religion without running afoul of the law. He Enter CNN, Crossfire and Cable TV was also weaning them away from Jimmy Carter and toward Ronald Reagan. While several of the TV evangelists had scandals that put them in jail or off the The conservatives had tried to set up their own news network but it had failed. air the remaining ones still had a great deal of clout and mixed religion with But in the early 1980s Ted Turner started CNN and it went on to serve the politics in ways that went far beyond the pale. For instance, Jerry Falwell on his conservatives cause almost as well. While the reporting of the news on CNN “Old-Time Gospel Hour” sold a video, “The Clinton Chronicles,” which was mostly objective, Turner had included opinion segments that were strongly portrayed the Clintons as murderers. Robertson and Falwell are now famous for slanted toward the conservative message. Worse, a new style of discussion was their claim that “abortionists, feminists and gays and lesbians” were a major introduced with Crossfire. Two persons with opposing views were set to element in what brought on the attack on 9/11. Beyond the ministers there is
Page 4 of 8 James Dobson, a psychologist who ties his message strongly to religious during Nixon’s time in office. Turns out by waiting a few years the same teachings. He runs a large operation (it has its own zip code), Focus on the objective was reached and Scaife never needed to spend a dime. In 1979 the Family, which coordinates 80 Christian ministries. His message is very right- Washington Post, which had been a beacon of liberalism, moved Meg wing and has part of his daily broadcast set aside for current developments in Greenfield into the editorship. The Post quickly became right of center and then public policy. moved further right as it accumulated more columnists and op-ed page writers from the far right. Greenfield died in 1999 and was replaced by Fred Hiatt who Removing the Fairness Doctrine had been a foreign correspondent. Today it continues strongly right of center on When the FCC was established by Congress in 1934 to regulate the public its opinion pages with, for instance, 39 hawkish commentaries on going to war airwaves it was written in the legislation that one of its mandates was to in Iraq and only 12 dovish ones. The Post backed Dubya in going to war, backed maximize “the public interest and to encourage a diversity of voices so as to school vouchers, and also backed even his most extreme right-wing judges, promote a vibrant democracy.” But in the 1930s and 40 Father Coughlin, a Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen. priest of the Catholic Church, had a weekly broadcast that espoused such a The Atlantic Monthly, a moderate-to-liberal magazine was sold to a Washington strong right-wing line that the church forced him to retire. This may have been entrepreneur, David Bradley, who then took it on a rightward path by hiring one of the spurs that led to and FCC rule in 1949 that broadcast stations would Michael Kelly as editor. Kelly hired a number of columnists from right-wing have to provide equal time to opponents when controversial ideas were aired. publications to widen the scope of the magazine’s commentary toward the right. This “fairness doctrine” survived a number of court challenges. Most important was a case before the Supreme Court in 1969 — the case of Frederick Cook. Without any change in ownership the liberal weekly magazine, The New Republic, drifted slowly to the right during the Reagan years. It was very much But the Reagan administration was opposed to this doctrine. Reagan appointed right of center by the time Clinton was in office. The drift to the right was Mark Fowler to head the FCC. He said, “The perception of broadcasters as finally reflected in the sale of the controlling interest to Roger Hertog, the community trustees should be replaced by a view of broadcasters as marketplace chairman of the Manhattan Institute, one of the major right-wing think tanks. participants.” An assault on the doctrine was started in the courts and was The path of change here paralleled in many ways what happened at the funded by Richard Mellon Scaife (Landmark Legal Foundation), Heritage Washington Post. Foundation, Rupert Murdoch, Olin Foundation, and a new foundation — the Freedom of Expression Foundation funded by a group from the Rupert Murdoch owns and runs News Corp, a world-wide empire of communications, beer, and tobacco industries. In 1986 the Court of Appeals for newspapers, magazines, TV stations and networks, book publishing and even the District of Columbia upheld loosing of the doctrine by 2-1 vote. The two movies — it owns Twentieth Century-Fox. Murdoch bought the New York Post judges forming the majority were Antonin Scalia and Robert Bork. In 1987 the in 1977. It had been a newspaper with a liberal slant on its editorial page until FCC relaxed the rule completely. The right-wing blossomed on cable and talk Murdoch took it over. He does not put up with “objective” journalism — the radio Post quickly became a tabloid filled with what one observer said was “sex, scandal, sensation and screw the facts.” The Columbia Journalism Review said, Taking Over the Press “The New York Post is no longer a journalistic problem. It is a social problem When the editor of the Wall Street Journal, Vermont Royster, a moderate — a force for evil.” Murdoch normally runs all his businesses to make a profit, conservative, died in 1973 he was replaced by Robert Bartley. Bartley turned the but with the Post he loses about a million dollars a year. Why? Apparently largest circulation newspaper in America into a megaphone for the ultra-right on because it gives him the power to freely express his opinions in what many its editorial page. He did not believe in objective journalism, and failed even at would claim to be the most influential city in the world. He also owns a major keeping a sense of propriety on the editorial page. Fortunately the rest of the paper in London. To ensure his opinions also are in the nation’s capitol he paper remained very objective. One instance of editorial thinking: During started The Weekly Standard in Washington with William Kristol as editor. Like Dubya’s administration the editors spoke of people who had such low incomes the Post it is a tabloid. that they paid no income tax as “lucky duckies.” [They ignored the fact that During the period from the 1970s to the 1990s several newspaper chains were these folks are paying social security and Medicare taxes, and these taxes take a gobbling up all the small and moderate size newspapers around the country. good bite out of low income wage earner’s take home pay.] They went on to say Gannet, Hearst and Knight-Ridder became the owners of most papers. The that these folks needed to be taxed more heavily to get their “blood boiling with diversity of opinion among all those independent papers was toned down as they tax rage” so they would want to get rid of the federal government. This idea then came under the control of their new corporate owners. Also, the columnists made the rounds of all the talk shows and ended up still percolating in the minds favored by the owners of the chain got preferred treatment. Most newspaper of the Republican leaders in the House who seemed willing to give it a try. owners have been (and continue to be) conservative in their outlook, and thus Bartley was replaced by Paul Gigot in 2003; nothing else changed. when the chains, which were also conservative, took over the papers were Nixon had tried to convince Richard Mellon Scaife to buy the Washington Post moved, at least to some degree, to the right. Also the reader no longer had as many choices in opinion, especially when these organizations also were
Page 5 of 8 permitted to own TV and radio stations in the same areas. Often a person in a arguments were auditioned and screened out before Colmes was hired. small town will get all his or her news from the same corporation because when one company owns the newspaper, radio and TV they can save money by having When folks represent themselves as news reporters and trusting citizens rely the news folks work for all of those outlets. Of course, the same owner, liberal upon them for their facts, only to be fed distortions, democracy is undermined. or conservative, would also push for the same kind of political philosophy at all If citizens are given propaganda instead of objective facts and analysis then of the outlets too. whoever is providing the propaganda has a great deal of control over how the citizens will think and vote. There are several organizations that are funded to Modern Times and Fox News check on the accuracy of the news media. Fox News fails badly. One example is a recent study carried out by the Program on International Policy Attitudes Shortly after being elected in 1994 Newt Gingrich said that the editorial boards (based at the University of Maryland). They compared ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, of major newspapers were filled with socialists (he was hoping to decrease the NBC and PBS-NPR. Viewers/listeners were asked about three common public’s trust in their news media), and asked CEOs to use their economic power misperceptions: 1) Iraq and al-Qaeda were linked, 2) weapons of mass to increase the conservative point of view. Shortly thereafter Congressional destruction had been found in Iraq, and 3) world opinion approved of the hearings were held to examine “balance” at PBS. This pressure worked in that America going to war in Iraq. Fox viewers were the worst informed and PBS- PBS brought several conservatives on board as commentators or as producers of NPR were the best informed on all three. In fact, Fox viewers were three times documentaries or programs. The congressional pressure also made the PBS more likely to hold all three misperceptions. Those viewers who relied heavily executives more cautious before they aired progressive programs. on Fox were even less well informed, and if a Bush supporter were worse still. Keeping up the pressure Bob Dole complained loudly during the closing days of For example, the two extremes on one question: 78% of Bush supporters the 1996 presidential campaign that the NY Times was biased toward Bill listening to Fox thought there was a direct link between Iraq and al-Qaeda, Clinton and that their coverage practically made them an arm of the Democratic while there was not even one Democratic listener to PBS-NPR that thought such National Committee. But analysis by Kathleen Hall Jamieson showed that if a link existed. [Of course it was easy to be misled on this one since Vice there had been any bias it had been in favor of Dole. Still Dole’s complains got President Cheney says there is a link. But when the 9/11 Commission examined much more play than Jamieson’s analysis. it closely no connection was found. When Cheney then said he had sources that the commission did not have they asked for all his sources of information, When Rupert Murdoch started the Fox News Channel in 1996 he brought the checked them out, and came back again saying there was no connection. But same attitude to TV as he did to newspapers when he bought the New York they were polite and did not call him a liar.] Post: push anything lurid and screw the facts. He brought in Roger Ailes, who had made MSNBC a very profitable organization while filling it with right-wing Fox News has gained a substantial share of the market, and when a channel commentators. Fox News purposely give lots of air time to commentators, and gains market share the advertisers are there with their money. This puts Ailes also instructed the news staff to not give the news objectively — it was to substantial pressure on the real news channels to compete. All the networks have be delivered from the right-wing point of view. This was said to counter the left- moved more right-wing content into their lineup, but whether they will let their wing bias in all the rest of the media. Incredibly they labeled their reporting as objective handling of the news slip is still to be determined. There have been “fair and balanced”, but then gave themselves some wiggle room by saying “We great pressures at all the major networks to get the costs of the news operations report. You decide.” When commentators speak on Fox it is clear to the listener lower (news operations have always been money losers), but with all of the that it is opinion — and many folks would rather have opinion than the facts as networks now owned by larger corporations the “bottom line” has become much this is the easy way to “understand” the world — no thinking required. But when more influential. the news itself is slanted and then surrounded by right-wing commentary the When checking out of the supermarket The National Inquirer, The Globe, and bias delivered to viewers/listeners is very powerful. Many times you do not need other tabloids can shock you with headlines about aliens from outer space seen to wait for the commentators to see freely expressed bias. Neil Cavuto of Fox in Arizona, and a boy with a pig’s head born in Nebraska, etc. Most of us view News is an anchor, not a commentator. Yet after Baghdad's fall he commented, those stories with skepticism. But people have not yet come to see some TV as "those who opposed the liberation of Iraq, you were sickening then; you are having the same level of credibility as these newspaper tabloids. Fox news has sickening now." Objective? Professional? the same level of distortion, but does not want the viewer to discover this and so The two best known of the Fox commentators is Bill O’Reilly, and Sean keeps their distortions confined to areas where the viewer cannot easily see the Hannity. This is where annihilate your liberal guest is practiced with abandon distortion unless the person makes the effort to begin comparing news stories every time a liberal appears. These shows are mean and nasty — they are really across networks — something not often done except by “news junkies.” the equivalent of mud wrestling. Hannity appears with a supposed liberal Alan The “objectivity” in news reporting, which was sought 30 years ago has given Colmes. But Colmes never stands up to Hannity; the show revolves around way to seeking “balance.” Balance is a bad concept because it assumes that there Hannity’s rants. In fact, Colmes is boring and was picked for the show because is an equal side to every story. The reporter is not pushed to come to defendable he was boring. Others who could have given Hannity some real rebuttal conclusions, only to get both sides of the story. The use of this concept has
Page 6 of 8 shifted the balance far to the right. A survey by Fairness and Accuracy in is also a big part of FM radio as well. Scanning across the dial will quickly Reporting (FAIR) has found that the conservative think tanks are now called convince any listener that talk radio is mostly hate radio, and it is this emotional upon often for interpretation and expertise on the news. They have a powerful component that likely keeps many listeners coming back for more. There once influence on how the public frames and thinks about events. In 1997 the was a far-left voice when talk radio was just getting started in the late 1970s — Heritage Foundation had 1,813 citations in major media, and the American Alan Berg. He was first threatened in his Denver studio by a Ku Klux Klan Enterprise Institute had 1,323. By comparison the more liberal Urban Institute member with a gun, and then several years later shot and killed by some folks and the Economic Policy Institute had 610 and 576, respectively. During 2001 from the Aryan Nation who though Jews and liberals were the enemies of the no liberal think tank made it into the top 10 of cited think tanks, and it had been white race. like that for several years. When the financial backing is filtered through the think tanks the bias is hidden — not as obvious as if the reader was told that the In that same year, 1984, Rush Limbaugh took to the airways out of Sacramento expert came from Exxon, Shell or Mobile Oil. California, and with the same format has grown to be the head of talk radio. What is a bit strange about that is that Rush does not have a call-in show, which Washington Times and the Reverend Moon most of talk radio uses. Rush also usually does not have guests, he just talks. Psychologically this format is more convincing than any of the others, and is There is one more paper in Washington that needs to be mentioned if only likely one of the reasons he has had such a powerful effect. When there are because the paper and its backer seem so bizarre. The Washington Times is an callers or guests then there is discussion of alternative ideas. Most folks when ultra-right conservative paper owned and operated by the Reverend Sun Myung presented with a rational argument will automatically come up with other ideas Moon of South Korea. Rev. Moon is the head of the Unification Church, which that oppose or complement that idea. But with Rush you have just his rant on a had “moonies” begging for money in airports and on street corners in the 1970s single idea that pulls you along with his interpretation of the events. Normally and 80s. Rev. Moon believes he is the new Messiah, and that he and his wife are when we see or hear things we have a variety of ways we might think about it the “True Parents” — a sort of restored Adam and Eve. He seeks to lead the and we often ask others what they think just to see if our “reality” matches that world as the head of a one world government, but not through the UN, which he of others. Rush provides this reality check for many and there is no opposing wishes to abolish. He opposes constitutional democracy, is against the guest or caller to raise any alternative view. In fact, the persuasion goes even separation of church and state, and believes America to be the kingdom of deeper. Events can be thought about in competing ways. For instance, your child Satan. Moon has called American women “a line of prostitutes.” Moon practices falls down the stairs and is crying in pain. Should you be angry with the child a doctrine called Heavenly Deception. Those working for him are told that, “the for not being careful, or should you be gentle and comforting; tending non-Moon world is evil. It must be lied to so it can help Moon take over. Then it immediately to any wounds? When Rush starts a rant he keeps his listener can become good under Moon’s control.” During the Reagan years the focused on just one interpretation and heads off any other possible reactions to Washington Times ran front-page solicitations for donations to the Nicaraguan an event. In this way, his listeners are “led down the garden path” without ever Freedom fund to support the contras. The fund was run by William Simon. being aware of how they were emotionally manipulated into a single view. This Rev. Moon has a great deal of money to spread around to further his interests. type of persuasion is much more difficult to resist — it is even difficult to The first President Bush is known to have received a great deal of money from realize it is happening. Rev. Moon, on one occasion he took $100,000 for a single speaking engagement That Rush distorts events and lives in a fake world is a given. In fact, he in South America where he traveled with Moon (who was opening up a portrays himself not as a newscaster or commentator, but as an entertainer. This seminary). In his speech he praised Moon and the Washington Times. Under gives him great latitude in what he says. But his programs do shape how people Dubya Moon groups have received “faith-based” initiative funds and Dubya in America come to see their world since many in his audience tune in to his appointed one of Moon’s men as head of VISTA. In the spring of 2004 Rev. program as a means of getting the news. Instead they get a fantasy world. He has Moon held a breakfast in the Capitol to build support for Dubya which all the many clones, and, if you listen to them, you wonder about the future of this Republican leaders attended. country. The messages are often what you would read in a tabloid and often are The Washington Times regularly reports news so distorted that it could be sold tinged with hate for one group or another. The message on a given night is often in supermarkets along with the tabloids. Rev. Moon, like Rupert Murdoch, loses the same across the dial because the stations get talking points and stories to talk about a million a year on this newspaper so that he can have an influence on about from the think tanks — especially the Heritage Foundation. Thus there is thought in the nation’s capital. Apparently he thinks it is money well spent. The what is often spoken of as the “echo chamber” — a story will start on Fox News readership is small. and then be talked about on the O’Reilly and Hannity shows, and then brought up again on talk radio. All put together this is a powerful propaganda machine. Radio and Rush Limbaugh Internet Influences Listening to radio, especially the AM dial, will quickly convince anyone that there is no liberal bias here. Talk radio has been the salvation of AM radio, and Matt Drudge is a former gift shop clerk that set up a gossip web site in the mid- 1990s. His web site, the Drudge Report, is certainly the first and the most
Page 7 of 8 influential of the web sites that support the interests of the ultra-right. His web best seller list know if this trick is possibly being used to drive up sales: when site is the sixth most popular “news” site on the web, and many talk radio hosts more than 500 books are bought in one order the Times puts a dagger next to check the site just before going on the air to make sure they are up to date. that entry on the list. Drudge says he has no interest in whether items that he hears about or are sent to him are true, only that they are interesting. One brief study by Brill’s Content Coordination of the Network found that 10 of 31 stories that they investigated were found to be true. Drudge So, from a few attempts to pressure the media in the days of the Nixon started out posting items of gossip that he heard in the Hollywood gift shop administration to the all out effort at replacing the news with propaganda that where he worked, but the right-wing soon found that posting stories to the web we find today there has been the growth of a wide-spread network of site was a wonderful way of getting stories started anonymously. In 1999 he organizations. The big money was always there and came coupled with right- received a total of 240 million visitors. By 2002 it was up to 1.4 billion, and wing ideology — what was needed was the creation of the “think tanks” (and today he is getting about 6.5 million hits a day. This has brought him a fortune: other assorted organizations) and the formation of a network. That network is advertising revenue, contracts with networks like AOL, a book contract, and now fully in place and has become fairly well integrated; being handled at two appearances on TV, radio and behind the speaker’s podium. He said he made different levels. The funding is coordinated by the Philanthropy Roundtable $1.2 million in 2003. which contains business leaders from around the country. Issues and agendas are There are other right-wing web sites but none that have the high profile of the discussed and selected by the Council for National Policy which again is filled Drudge Report. A web site run by Rev. Moon’s Washington Times is curiously mostly by business leaders, especially those with attitudes attuned to the called “WorldTribune,” and is beginning to also become a dumping ground for religions right. The Library Group, chaired by Paul Weyrich, also meets to stories from anonymous sources. Reportedly it is up to about a million hits per select issues and agendas for another part of the network. Another large month. The Heritage Foundation created a portal on the internet called Heritage coordinating group (about 80 persons with representatives from media, White Townhall which provides a forum for folks to exchange ideas with others of like House, and other organizations) is chaired by Grover Norquist every mind. Wednesday. They set priorities, plan strategy and set up talking points. NewsMax is a website that calls itself “America’s news page” and brags that it Lewis Powell’s memo has been fulfilled. There is now in place a huge is the leading conservative news agency in the country. It is filled with columns propaganda machine that has been very successful in moving the political and news stories that are poor even by tabloid standards. The low quality should conversation to the right in this country. It is strongly tied to the present White be no surprise once you learn that Christopher Ruddy is the “editor.” [Ruddy House and the Republican Party and works in its behalf. This machine also wrote a book, The Strange Death of Vincent Foster that was so filled with errors worked very successfully in dragging down and crippling the previous president that it got him fired by Murdoch’s New York Post and Ann Coulter, one of the and in influencing the elections in the past decade. It may well be here to stay. ultra-right’s nastiest commentators, called it a “conservative hoax.”] This website also seems to be a catalog since it has all sorts of paraphernalia for sale from books and tapes to hats and playing cards. Books Useful books: I have relied heavily on two books in writing about the media. One is The Republican Noise Machine: Right-wing Media and How It Corrupts While TV is a much more powerful medium with which to connect to your Democracy by David Brock, 2004. The other is What Liberal Media?: The audience, book publishing has always held a respected position as a means of Truth about Bias and the News by Eric Alterman, 2003. Both are based on solid spreading ideas. The Regnery Press has emerged in recent years as the major research and give a wealth of facts. publisher of books for the ultra-right. The string of titles encompasses every idea that has been talked about on radio and TV, and has proved to be a very — Gail Marsh
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