Media Matters for America, June 21, 2007

Politico largely ignored Giuliani-ISG story, still flogging Edwards' haircuts

The Politico, which purports to cover "the politics of Capitol Hill and of the presidential campaign ... with enterprise, style, and impact," largely ignored a June 19 Newsday article reporting that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's (R) "membership on" the Iraq Study Group (ISG) "came to an abrupt end last spring after he failed to show up for a single official meeting of the group." By contrast, The Politico continues to report on former Sen. John Edwards' (D-NC) $400 haircuts and their effect on his presidential campaign. Read more

Limbaugh guest host Belling described same-sex couples' decision to have children as "pure selfishness"

On the June 19 broadcast of Rush Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio show, while discussing a recent custody battle stemming from a same-sex civil union in Vermont, guest host Mark Belling asked, "Can a baby have two mothers? It's a new concept for us. And I'm not sure it's an especially healthy one. First of all, it demeans the entire notion of fatherhood, implying that a father is an absolute irrelevancy, a concept that has destroyed many black families, the idea that we simply don't need have to have any male role model in the life whatsoever." Belling added that "the desire to have these kids is almost entirely premised on, 'I want to have a baby. We want to have a baby.' Not, 'Are we in the best situation to be able to raise a child?' And I think it comes down to just pure selfishness. And that's what it's all about." Read more

CNN's King failed to challenge claim that Bush "has stood up for" "wisely spending the taxpayers' dollar"

On the June 19 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN chief national correspondent John King failed to challenge outgoing Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Robert Portman's claim that while the Republicans lost their congressional majority because voters believed they were "not as focused on wisely spending the taxpayers' dollar," President Bush "has stood up for" doing so. In fact, Bush signed every appropriations bill passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, which produced large budget deficits. Read more

O'Reilly: NBC News "jazzed" over "[d]ead Afghan kids killed in an American air strike"

During the "Talking Points Memo" segment of the June 19 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, responding to the coverage by network newscasts of the deaths of seven Afghan children in a recent air strike in eastern Afghanistan, host Bill O'Reilly said "last night, all three network newscasts reported seven Afghan children were killed in fighting between the Taliban and U.S. forces. ABC News spent 15 seconds on the story, just told you about it. CBS News, 10 seconds. But NBC News gave it a full two minutes." O'Reilly continued: "Dead Afghan kids killed in an American air strike, NBC News is jazzed. But why? You make the call." He later asserted that "we don't censor the news on The Factor; we tell you the truth about Iraq and everywhere else. But we don't help the terrorists either, and that separates us from some in the anti-war press."Read more