Media Matters

Media Matters - NPR http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/npr This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: NPR en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America NPR's Welna said it's "unanswered" whether Lieberman will switch sides after '07 but didn't note that Lieberman would break promise if he left caucus http://mediamatters.org/items/200807160008 NPR's David Welna quoted Sen. Joe Lieberman saying "I don't have any intention" of joining the Republican Party "before the end of this session of Congress," to which Welna added: "Which still leaves unanswered what Lieberman might do in the next session of Congress." But Welna did not note that if Lieberman joined the Republican Party, he would be breaking his promise during the 2006 campaign to caucus with the Democrats if re-elected to the Senate. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807160008 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:08:11 EST Liasson reported McCain "has begun emphasizing the importance of securing the borders," not that it's a reversal of his position http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090010 NPR's Mara Liasson asserted that Sen. John McCain, "while never abandoning his commitment to legalization, has begun emphasizing the importance of securing the borders." In fact, McCain's current position -- that "we've got to secure the borders first" -- is not just a change of "emphasi[s]"; it is at odds with his prior position that border security could not be disaggregated from other aspects of comprehensive immigration reform without being rendered ineffective. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090010 Wed, 9 Jul 2008 19:40:11 EST NPR's Kelemen reported McCain's response to Maliki's call for withdrawal timetable, but not McCain's 2004 assertion that "it's obvious" the U.S. "would have to leave" if Iraq requested it http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090005 NPR's Michele Kelemen reported that Sen. John McCain "suggested in an interview with MSNBC that the Iraqi calls for a troop withdrawal date may be driven by politics in Baghdad," and quoted McCain as saying, "The Iraqis have made it very clear, including the meetings I had with the president and foreign minister of Iraq, that it's based on conditions on the ground. [...] I've always said we will come home with honor and with victory and not through a set timetable." But Kelemen did not note that in 2004, when asked what the United States would do if the "Iraqi government asks us to leave," McCain responded, "I think it's obvious that we would have to leave." http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090005 Wed, 9 Jul 2008 14:46:47 EST NPR's Liasson cited McCain's work with Kennedy on immigration reform as a "source of his maverick reputation," didn't note flip-flop http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020008 NPR's Mara Liasson said that Sen. John McCain "has made a career of taking heat from his own party for working with liberal Democrats like ... Ted Kennedy on immigration." However, Liasson did not note that during his run for president, McCain reversed his position on a key component of comprehensive immigration reform, and stated that he would not vote for the bill he co-sponsored with Kennedy. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020008 Wed, 2 Jul 2008 17:44:36 EST Media figures continue to cite National Journal ranking of Obama as "most liberal" senator in '07 without noting subjectivity http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270010 NPR's Renée Montagne, MSNBC's Pat Buchanan, and CNN's Bill Bennett all referred to the National Journal's 2007 Vote Ratings, which ranked Sen. Barack Obama the most liberal senator that year, without noting the subjectivity of the ratings. The National Journal based its rankings not on all votes cast by senators in 2007, but on "99 key Senate votes, selected by NJ reporters and editors, to place every senator on a liberal-to-conservative scale." http://mediamatters.org/items/200806270010 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:21:07 EST NPR quoted McCain saying Giuliani's 9-11 experience made him "qualified" to attack Obama on national security, but not his prior assertion to the contrary http://mediamatters.org/items/200806200005 NPR's Scott Horsley reported on the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's national security credentials by Sen. John McCain's campaign, including allies such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and played an audio clip of McCain saying, "And I think Mayor Giuliani, who is very well qualified on this issue, having been mayor of New York City at an incredible time in American history, has put it very well." However, Horsley did not note that McCain had previously said that "having been mayor of New York City" on 9-11 did not constitute foreign policy or national security experience. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806200005 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:30:33 EST Despite evidence to the contrary, NPR's Horsley called McCain "ordinarily straight-talking" http://mediamatters.org/items/200805280009 During a report on NPR's Morning Edition, correspondent Scott Horsley referred to Sen. John McCain as "ordinarily straight-talking," despite evidence of McCain's numerous falsehoods, flip-flops, inconsistencies, and instances of apparent political pandering. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805280009 Wed, 28 May 2008 18:30:30 EST NPR's Williams, Fox's Morris asserted that McCain went against GOP on immigration without noting his reversals http://mediamatters.org/items/200805200003 NPR's Juan Williams asserted that Sen. John McCain "has fought his own party, the GOP, on immigration." And Fox News' Dick Morris stated that McCain "really has moved to the left of the Republican Party" on "the immigration bill." However, neither Williams nor Morris mentioned that McCain has reversed his position on immigration and now asserts that "we've got to secure the borders first" -- a position at odds with his prior assertion that border security could not be disaggregated from other aspects of comprehensive immigration reform without being rendered ineffective. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805200003 Tue, 20 May 2008 16:45:47 EST Military analysts named in Times exposé appeared or were quoted more than 4,500 times on broadcast nets, cables, NPR http://mediamatters.org/items/200805130001 A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" media military analysts "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks." A Media Matters review found that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article -- many identified as having ties to the defense industry -- collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805130001 Tue, 13 May 2008 08:25:50 EST NPR's Rudin said "I wish I hadn't" compared Clinton to Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction http://mediamatters.org/items/200805030001 National Public Radio political director Ken Rudin wrote in an April 30 blog post: "[D]id I really say on CNN that Hillary Clinton reminded me of Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction? I did. I wish I hadn't. It was a facile and dumb comparison." As Media Matters for America noted, while discussing the Democratic presidential primary race on the April 27 edition of CNN's Sunday Morning, Rudin said, "Hillary Clinton is Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction." http://mediamatters.org/items/200805030001 Sat, 3 May 2008 13:52:37 EST Multiple choice: Of the following, which outlet covered two recent major national security stories -- NBC, CBS, NPR, PBS, or ... Comedy Central? http://mediamatters.org/items/200804230011 On April 22, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart highlighted two recent reports concerning national security that have been largely ignored by most television news outlets and NPR: a New York Times article reporting that "the Bush administration has used" media military analysts, many of whom have clients with or seeking Pentagon contracts, "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks"; and a Government Accountability Office report that found that the "United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan's FATA." http://mediamatters.org/items/200804230011 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:44:21 EST NPR analyst Cokie Roberts apparently unaware that McCain said he is "glad to have" Hagee endorsement http://mediamatters.org/items/200804210002 Responding to a question about whether Sen. John McCain was "maintaining the endorsement" of controversial televangelist John Hagee. NPR's Cokie Roberts asserted: "Well, he says that it was a mistake to seek and accept the endorsement. So I -- what does that mean? I don't know if that means that he has -- maintains it or not." In fact, when asked if he "no longer want[ed]" Hagee's endorsement, McCain stated: "I'm glad to have his endorsement." http://mediamatters.org/items/200804210002 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:10:26 EST LA Times, NPR omitted FEC chair's assertion that McCain cannot withdraw from public funding without approval http://mediamatters.org/items/200804160004 Reporting on the DNC's lawsuit seeking to force the Federal Election Commission to rule on Sen. John McCain's withdrawal from the public financing system for the presidential primary, neither the Los Angeles Times nor NPR noted that FEC chairman David Mason has taken the position that McCain cannot opt out of public financing in the primary without FEC approval. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804160004 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:54:32 EST Most national media yet to follow up on Project Vote Smart's reported vote to remove McCain from board for non-responsiveness http://mediamatters.org/items/200804150002 Most national media have yet to report on whether Sen. John McCain -- a member of the "Founding Board" of the nonpartisan voter education organization Project Vote Smart -- has been removed from the board for his failure to answer and return the group's Political Courage Test, which asks candidates about what policies they would support on a wide range of issues. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804150002 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:18:14 EST NPR's Naylor suggested McCain is opposed to government "bail[] out," did not note his approval of Bear Stearns deal http://mediamatters.org/items/200803280007 In a report on congressional action in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, National Public Radio's Brian Naylor uncritically reported McCain's statement that it's not the government's job to "bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers." Naylor did not note that McCain reportedly agreed with the Federal Reserve's decision to extend a $30 billion line of credit to facilitate the acquisition of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan Chase. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803280007 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:32:04 EST