Meet whose press? Russert's panels pit conservative pundits against journalists
On September 26, writer Joshua Micah Marshall posted the following to his Talking Points Memo blog:
I was just here talking on the phone and watching [NBC's] Meet the Press on mute. Seeing their end-of-show commentary panel really drives home the state of affairs in what now goes for balance in DC conventional wisdom. Of the four panelists, is the profoundly middle-of-the-road David Broder, a paragon of Washington's establishment assumptions. For the sake of discussion, let's call him balanced or neutral. Two of the other four are Bill Safire and Bob Novak, two of the most prominent and conservative columnists in the country. Finally, you have Doris Kearns Goodwin. In her personal views, it's probably fair to call her a liberal. But, as you might say, she doesn't play one on TV. She goes in for high-minded commentary, which is fine in itself but makes her little balance for Safire and Novak. There's your balance. Two against one -- and the one has one arm tied, voluntarily, behind her back."
And the September 26 broadcast was only the latest Meet the Press featuring such “balance.” MMFA examined Meet the Press panels in which at least three participants appeared together and at least one of those participants was a media figure. Of the last ten Meet the Press panels that included at least one member of the media, five were similarly skewed: Conservative columnists or conservative pundits were pitted against journalists who don't espouse a particular ideology; no progressives appeared on those panels. In one panel, two conservative pundits appeared alongside one Democratic senator. Further, conservative media figures have made ten appearances; only one openly liberal member of the media has made an appearance.
Five panels skewed to the right
David S. Broder, Washington Post political correspondent
Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential biographer
Robert D. Novak, conservative syndicated columnist and co-host of CNN's Crossfire
William Safire, conservative New York Times columnist and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon
Pat Buchanan, MSNBC analyst and former Republican presidential candidate
Newt Gingrich, FOX News Channel political contributor and former Republican speaker of the House
Senator Bob Graham (D-FL)
Robert D. Novak, conservative syndicated columnist and co-host of CNN's Crossfire
Katty Kay, BBC News correspondent
Joe Klein, TIME magazine senior writer
Stephen F. Hayes, staff writer at the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard
Joe Klein, senior writer at TIME magazine
Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News
Roger Simon, chief political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report
David S. Broder, political correspondent for The Washington Post
Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential biographer
Robert D. Novak, conservative syndicated columnist and co-host of CNN's Crossfire
William Safire, conservative New York Times columnist and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon
Five panels included only journalists, or pitted conservatives evenly against progressives
Ron Brownstein, staff writer and columnist for the Los Angeles Times
John Harwood, national political editor of The Wall Street Journal
Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of PBS's Washington Week, senior correspondent for PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Anne E. Kornblut, staff writer at The Boston Globe
John Meacham, managing editor at Newsweek
Roger Simon, chief political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report
John Harwood, national political editor of The Wall Street Journal
David S. Broder: political correspondent for The Washington Post
Ron Brownstein, staff writer and columnist for the Los Angeles Times
Jack W. Germond, progressive author and political columnist for the Baltimore Sun
William F. Buckley, founder and editor-at-large of the conservative magazine National Review
Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under former President Bill Clinton
John Podesta, chief of staff to former President Clinton, currently CEO of the Center for American Progress
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Newt Gingrich, political contributor to FOX News Channel and former Republican speaker of the House
David S. Broder, political correspondent for The Washington Post
Ron Brownstein, Los Angeles Times staff writer and columnist
Lisa Myers, NBC News senior investigative correspondent