'Big Three' TV Networks Charged with Piling On in Reporting on Foley Scandal
by Jody Brown and Bill Fancher
October 13, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A conservative media watchdog group is reporting that its research exposes the mainstream media's biased treatment of sex scandals among lawmakers in Congress. Democrats, say some pro-family leaders, are pouncing on what that media group calls a "Foley feeding frenzy" as a tool to regain control of both the Senate and the House.
The Media Research Center (MRC) decided to measure what it calls "the aggression of TV assignment editors" surrounding the Mark Foley scandal since it came to light on Friday evening, September 29. According to their research, the "Big Three" networks -- NBC, ABC, and CBS -- aired 152 stories about the matter between that time and Wednesday morning, October 11. NBC aired 56 stories, ABC 50, and CBS 46. Only a fraction of those stories, says MRC, were "brief anchor updates."
In contrast, MRC points out that media reaction to another Capitol Hill sex scandal several years ago -- specifically, one involving a Democratic congressman who was eventually convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice, and solicitation of child pornography. In covering both the 1994 indictment and 1995 conviction of Representative Mel Reynolds, the same three networks' coverage amounted to 19 stories. MRC calls that an "undeniable double standard."
"This double standard reeks of political partisanship and proves how far the liberal media will go to downplay the sexual degeneracy of a liberal Democrat and trumpet the sexual degeneracy of a Republican," contends MRC president L. Brent Bozell.
While Foley is simply accused of "repugnant behavior" toward minors, notes Bozell, Reynolds was charged, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison for "very real sexual assault toward a minor" and other crimes. MRC contends the network news media are "aggressively promoting" the Foley scandal to keep the issue alive as the elections grow nearer.
"The same networks that gave absolute minimal coverage to the Democrat are now flooding the airwaves with stories about the Republican, on the eve of the elections," Bozell continues. "If this isn't evidence of a liberal media agenda, nothing ever will be."
Bozell's Not Alone
Conservative spokesmen Gary Bauer and Peter LaBarbera evidently agree with Bozell's assessment. Bauer, chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, says if observers detect a media double standard when it comes to political scandals, they are right.
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Gary Bauer |
"There is a double standard," writes Bauer in his Thursday "End of Day" report. "And at least one news story has been written about how Democrats tend to survive sex scandals while Republicans almost always resign or lose re-election." And of sex scandals in general, Bauer notes "this is a fallen world" and "it should not surprise us when some stumble."Still, he continues, media bias is a fact of life when it comes to politics -- and conservatives need to accept that fact. "It may not be 'fair,'" he says, "but conservatives will be held to a higher standard -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Peter LaBarbera | |
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth asserts that some Democrats are being hypocritical when they are expressing outrage about the Foley matter. LaBarbera says they "turned their backs" several years ago when the homosexual lover of Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) was allegedly running a male prostitute ring out of Frank's own apartment in Washington, DC. Despite that, Franks has been elected to 13 terms in the House, notes LaBarbera."Then there's [Democratic Congressman] Gerry Studds who consorted with a [17-year-old] boy [in the 1970s] ... and when the House voted to censure him [in 1983], Representative Studds turned his back on the House, defiant against them," says LaBarbera. Studds was elected five times after the censure.
In LaBarbera's opinion, Democrats have set the example for looking the other way when it comes to homosexual-related scandals among their own members. For that reason, he feels they have no right to accuse Republicans of turning a blind eye to the Foley situation.
But Bauer is concerned the extensive media coverage of the Foley scandal is being used by liberals to discourage "values voters" and evangelical Christians from going to the polls in November. While he does not discount that report, the self-described optimist says he is hopeful those voting blocs will not stay home on Election Day.
"I certainly hope [those voters won't be turned off], because I think [the scandal] only proves the need for values voters to be even more active and engaged in the political process, not less so," he states.
