Word: fleischered
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...moment that the story wasn't about Moveon.org, as he makes it seem. It was about Texas redistricting and included a single passing mention of the group. If you look at all the 14 Washington Post mentions of the organization from July to September-the months surrounding the citation Fleischer chooses-Moveon was referred to as "liberal" or "left-leaning" or as "an organ of the left," 10 times. The instances in which it goes un-labeled are either unnecessary because the political leaning is clear, or incidental. That's almost the exact treatment The Post gives Americans...
...Taking Sides: Early in his term, George Bush issued an executive order banning federal funding from overseas family planning clinics that performed abortions. It was a reversal of a measure Bill Clinton issued early in his first term. Fleischer argues "the White House press corps didn't like" Bush's decision. To make his case he sites several examples, including a comparison of ABC Newscasts from 2001 versus 1993. In 2001, he says, ABC's Terry Moran reported that George Bush "made anti-abortion conservatives happy." Yet in 1993, ABC anchor Peter Jennings had softer language about Clinton's decision...
...Beyond the shoddy examples, there is the rickety logic. After decrying how the press and partisans in Washington reflexively think the worst of the other side-President Bush floats above, according to Fleischer-he then quotes, without irony, the President talking about the Florida recount. "If they're going to steal the election, they're going to steal it," Bush serenely said to me at his ranch the day I left Texas." "Stealing" is not, by most people, considered a value-neutral term...
...Enough. The examples can drive the fever to dangerous heights. The point is not that all of Fleischer's facts are wrong, it's that he has too many groaners in a book that sighs: "reporters sometimes want so badly to believe something is true that they ignore facts to the contrary." Or a book that tut-tuts: "the news industry typically doesn't work in such a nuanced, more accurate...
...Fleischer raises important points, but the sloppy execution ruins any chance he might have at convincing those in the media to mend their ways...