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Media Watchdog Says MSNBC’s GOP Coverage Biased on Abortion, Palin and Obama
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 4, 2008
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St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- A leading media watchdog group says coverage from MSNBC on the Republican convention was the most biased when it comes to the issue of abortion. The Media Research Center says MSNBC attacked or questioned the new GOP pro-life platform, went after Sarah Palin, and misrepresented Barack Obama’s position.
The media bias at the network may explain why it came in last place in the number of viewers compared with the old big three networks and the two cable outlets also covering the convention.
“Obsessing over Sarah Palin's pro-life position on abortion, MSNBC hosts and reporters on Tuesday night repeatedly raised it and painted it as a detriment to Republicans,” MRC noted in an analysis delivered to LifeNews.com.
MSNBC did so “even though last week with Democrats the channel did not similarly pursue how a solidly left view on abortion might hurt Obama and Biden.”
By the count of the MRC's Geoff Dickens, during the four hours of coverage of the convention Tuesday night, MSNBC raised abortion at least 16 times, twice with an edge that painted the GOP position as extreme by applying a "hard right" label.
Chris Matthews declared "they are going hard right on abortion rights" and later David Gregory asserted: "The abortion platform here is pretty hard right."
According to quotes MRC compiled, Chuck Todd, Political Director for NBC News, fretted over how "this is as stringent of a platform on abortion the Republican Party ever has
. Matthews demanded of one guest: "Do you believe you can win with the cultural statement being made by the selection of Governor Palin? That statement being someone from the very culturally conservative part of your party?"
In particular, anchor Keith Olbermann defended Barack Obama’s vote against a bill in the Illinois legislature to offer medical care for newborn infants who survive botched abortions or are purposefully born prematurely.
“To be fair to Senator Obama [MSNBC guest] Representative Wilson was not complete in that context of what she said,” he said at one point.
“Senator Obama, at no point, said, ’Let them die.’ What he, his argument was, in voting against that measure in the Illinois state legislature, was that extant law, the laws that were already on the books in Illinois, fully covered that horrific situation. And I believe Representative Wilson knows that,” he said.
Jill Stanek, the Chicago-area nurse who exposed the practice that resulted in the bill Obama opposed, says, “Olbermann couldn't help but jump in to carry water for Obama by misstating that Obama opposed Born Alive because there was already a law in place, which was false.”
Stanek says, “Attorney General Jim Ryan determined shelving babies to die in hospital soiled utility rooms was not illegal.”
“Obama reasoned at the time that providing legal protection to newborn preemies would be unconstitutional not that there was already a law in place,” she added.
“If the Illinois Born Alive Act was unnecessary, why did it finally pass in the Democrat-controlled IL General Assembly six months after Obama left for the US Senate, followed by Illinois’ pro-abortion Gov. Rod Blagojevich signing it into law?”
1 comment:
I dont think anyone can *objectively* deny the media bias... though I do think guys like Chris Matthews wont realize they did it until they look back at their broadcasts much later.
Doesn't matter, its too obvious to be effective. I'd like to see the GOP guys back off and stop treating her like a piece of glass and let her loose.
She's running for the second highest office in the land, she should swim in the deep end with the big kids... and when she does they're gonna look like they're tryin to take on Michael Phelps.
She's got what it takes to take on all comers. She can handle 'em. Heck, this is gonna be fun.
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