Media Matters - USA Today

Media Matters - USA Today http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/usa_today This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: USA Today en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America USA Today uncritically quoted McCain campaign saying that decision not to opt out of public financing was about "keeping his word to the American people" http://mediamatters.org/items/200806200002 A USA Today article quoted Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Sen. John McCain, who said, "Unlike Barack Obama, John McCain believes in keeping his word to the American people, and he will undergo public financing for the general election." But the article did not note that while the McCain campaign, through Bounds, now says McCain will not opt out of public financing because he is "keeping his word to the American people," McCain himself previously indicated that his decision over whether to take public financing if Obama opted out would depend not on "keeping his word" but on whether it would be financially prudent to do so. Indeed, McCain senior adviser Charlie Black reportedly said, "We could sit down in July or August and say, 'Hey, we're raising a lot of money and maybe we should forgo it.' ... We don't have enough data." http://mediamatters.org/items/200806200002 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:50:07 EST USA Today uncritically reported McCain's reference to Obama as National Journal's "most liberal senator" http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060003 USA Today uncritically reported that Sen. John McCain "noted" that Sen. Barack Obama "was once named the most liberal senator by National Journal magazine." But USA Today did not report that McCain himself "did not vote frequently enough" to receive a rating. Further, USA Today did not report that the National Journal ranking was based on 99 votes selected by the magazine's staff, a subjective methodology that Obama himself has criticized. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060003 Fri, 6 Jun 2008 16:23:30 EST Print media noted Cindy McCain's limited financial release, but not how McCains benefit from tax cuts http://mediamatters.org/items/200805270007 In contrast with The New York Times' 2004 analysis of the benefit Teresa Heinz Kerry gained from the Bush tax cuts, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, and The New York Times did not note, following the May 23 release of a summary of her 2006 tax returns, that Cindy McCain also benefited significantly from the tax cuts -- which Sen. John McCain has pledged to make permanent. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805270007 Tue, 27 May 2008 20:01:12 EST Suggested questions for print media, when they finally decide to cover McCain's energy policy/Middle East conflict comments http://mediamatters.org/items/200805060004 The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal have yet to report on Sen. John McCain's statement that "I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East, that will -- that will then prevent us -- that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East" [emphasis added]. Media Matters offers questions for these news outlets to ask McCain should they decide to cover the story. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805060004 Tue, 6 May 2008 14:30:29 EST Media report McCain's recent efforts to tout his military record, but not that he told Kerry not to do so in '04 http://mediamatters.org/items/200803310009 Several media outlets reported on Sen. John McCain's recent efforts to highlight his Vietnam War experience as part of his presidential campaign without noting that, in 2004, he reportedly told Sen. John Kerry that Kerry should not use his Vietnam war record during his campaign, or that McCain falsely asserted in 2004 that he "didn't talk about" his own service during his 2000 presidential campaign "because," he said, "I didn't need to." http://mediamatters.org/items/200803310009 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:42:06 EST Media continue to ignore McCain endorsers' controversial comments http://mediamatters.org/items/200803250012 Media Matters has extensively documented the disparity in media coverage devoted to controversial comments made by supporters of Sen. Barack Obama and to those made by supporters of Sen. John McCain. Several major publications have reported only on the controversy over remarks by McCain supporter John Hagee targeting Catholics, but not his controversial statements about Hurricane Katrina, Islam, women, and homosexuality. Most of those same publications have yet to report on pastor Rod Parsley and his controversial remarks in the context of McCain's campaign. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803250012 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:20:03 EST News outlets contrast McCain and Bush on taxes without noting McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent http://mediamatters.org/items/200803060010 Reports by ABC, USA Today, and CNN purported to contrast the positions of President Bush and John McCain on tax cuts by noting only McCain's initial opposition to Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. None of the outlets noted, however, that McCain has changed his position and now supports making the Bush tax cuts permanent, or that McCain has repeatedly claimed that he initially opposed the tax cuts because they were not paired with spending cuts, reasoning he did not mention in his 2001 floor statement explaining his vote. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803060010 Thu, 6 Mar 2008 18:15:39 EST USA Today allowed McCain to tout environmental record, chances for win in CA without noting LCV score, poll http://mediamatters.org/items/200803040007 USA Today reported that Sen. John McCain has said he "want[s] to compete in California," and that McCain "say[s] his outlook on such issues as the environment will be a help in the traditionally blue state." But the article did not note that McCain trails both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama by more than 20 points in the most recent state poll or that McCain has a lifetime score of 24 percent from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). USA Today published similar articles about the strategy of the Republican nominees in 1996 and 2000 -- elections in which the Democratic candidate defeated the Republican candidate in California by double digits. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803040007 Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:26:41 EST USA Today's Page repeated McCain's false assertion that Obama "suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan" http://mediamatters.org/items/200802210003 In a USA Today article reporting on Sen. John McCain's "critique" of Sen. Barack Obama, Susan Page wrote that McCain was "ridiculing comments Obama has made" and quoted without challenge McCain's false assertion that Obama "once suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan." In fact, in an August 2007 speech, Obama stated: "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and [Pakistani] President [Pervez] Musharraf won't act, we will." http://mediamatters.org/items/200802210003 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:49:59 EST USA Today ignores inconsistency in McCain immigration positions http://mediamatters.org/items/200802130011 A USA Today article stated that Sen. John McCain "has been criticized for supporting a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, but he has said he would focus on sealing the borders before taking up any other measures," falsely suggesting that McCain's current proposal to secure the borders first is consistent with his prior support for comprehensive immigration reform. In fact, McCain previously argued that border security could not be disaggregated from other provisions in legislation on comprehensive immigration reform, or else it would be ineffective. http://mediamatters.org/items/200802130011 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:22:35 EST USA Today editorial revived false claim that Obama "said he'd invade" Pakistan http://mediamatters.org/items/200801280009 A USA Today editorial falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama "provoked needless controversy in Pakistan when he said he'd invade to chase terrorists if the Pakistanis did not." In fact, Obama did not say he would "invade" Pakistan; rather, he said, "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and [Pakistani] President [Pervez] Musharraf won't act, we will." http://mediamatters.org/items/200801280009 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:13:01 EST USA Today labeled conservative evangelical Huckabee supporters as "value voters" http://mediamatters.org/items/200801250016 Repeating the myth that social conservatives are the only political constituency that votes its "values," the January 24 USA Today twice referred to voters most inclined to support Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as "values voters." A front-page graphic claimed "Huckabee: Has drawn evangelicals and 'values voters,' " while an accompanying article noted that "Huckabee's strength is among just those kind of 'values voters' " who are "uncomfortable" with Rudy Giuliani. http://mediamatters.org/items/200801250016 Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:17:35 EST USA Today repeatedly called McCain a "maverick" on immigration, taxes despite his shifts http://mediamatters.org/items/200801240013 A USA Today article described John McCain as "a maverick senator from the West" who has taken "maverick stands, including votes against Bush's tax cuts in 2001" and "his sponsorship last year of an immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in this country," while a USA Today editorial asserted that "McCain's chief sin, apparently, is that he has broken ranks on issues that include campaign finance, President Bush's tax cuts, illegal immigration and global warming." Neither the article nor the editorial mentioned that McCain has since shifted positions on the Bush tax cuts and immigration. http://mediamatters.org/items/200801240013 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:35:46 EST Print media uncritically quoted McCain claim that "negative campaigns don't work," ignored his own negative ads http://mediamatters.org/items/200801040003 Numerous print media outlets reported on Sen. John McCain's assertion following the Iowa caucuses that "[t]he lesson of this election in Iowa is that ... negative campaigns don't work." But none of those articles noted that McCain has run negative TV and Web ads against Mitt Romney. http://mediamatters.org/items/200801040003 Fri, 4 Jan 2008 12:43:00 EST Print media ignored Bush's reported 2000 statement on "genocidal campaign" against Armenians http://mediamatters.org/items/200710110005 Reporting on a House resolution stating that the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against the Armenian people, numerous print outlets noted President Bush's opposition to the measure. However, none of those outlets mentioned that as a presidential candidate in 2000, Bush sent a letter to the Armenian National Committee of America, according to a press release on the organization's website, in which he wrote that "[t]he Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies comprehension" and that if elected president, he "would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people." http://mediamatters.org/items/200710110005 Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:27:11 EST