The Link to the story here

From The Media Research Center

Check out the incredible contrast in how ABC, CBS and NBC reacted on January 22, 2001 versus January 22, 1993 to new Presidents issuing opposite executive orders on abortion. I managed to get some of this off Nexis, but also employed the MRC’s tape library to go back and watch the 1993 shows in order to locate the missing stories as well as plugs and teases.

-- ABC’s World News Tonight. This year, anchor Peter Jennings plugged the upcoming story: "President Bush begins by taking a tough line on abortion."

In the subsequent story Terry Moran reviewed Bush’s activities during his first work day. When he got to the abortion decision he stressed the ideological component of it as a payoff to a segment of supporters: "One of the President’s first actions was designed to appeal to anti-abortion conservatives. The President signed an order re-instating a Reagan-era policy that prohibited federal funding of family planning groups that provided abortion counseling services overseas. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was peppered with questions about the order at his first daily briefing."

(Indeed he was "peppered" by bewildered reporters. See item #2 below for examples.)

Eight years ago, on Friday January 22, 1993, Jennings trumpeted Clinton’s action in this plug for the upcoming story: "In a moment, President Clinton keeps his word on abortion rights."

("President Clinton keeps his word." My, how gullible were the media in Clinton’s early days.)

Jennings introduced the report by emphasizing how Clinton had fulfilled a promise: "President Clinton kept a promise today on the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. While tens of thousands of abortion opponents marched from the White House to the Supreme Court, Mr. Clinton signed presidential memoranda rolling back many of the restrictions imposed by his predecessors."

In the subsequent piece, Jackie Judd delivered no formulation even close to something like how Clinton’s action "was designed to appeal to pro-abortion liberals." She never uttered the word liberal.

-- CBS Evening News. This year, Dan Rather delivered this plug: "Up next here on the CBS Evening News, President Bush’s fast anti-abortion action."

Rather set up the story by painting Bush’s decision in ideological terms: "This was President Bush’s first day at the office and he did something to quickly please the right flank in his party: He re-instituted an anti-abortion policy that had been in place during his father’s term and the Reagan presidency but was lifted during the Clinton years."

John Roberts began his story by reporting how Bush contrasted himself with the previous President by urging his staff to follow high ethical standards. Roberts then emphasized how abortion placed Bush in "controversy": "But in a sign that not everything has changed, the President waded into controversy on his first day. In a nod to anti-abortion groups on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he announced he’ll cut federal funding to organizations that provide family planning and abortion counseling overseas. Abortion rights activists fear there’s more to come." CBS ran a soundbite from Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood. The CBS video gave her a nice free ad as it prominently showed a poster plugging this Web site: "RoevBush.com"

Eight years ago Rather teased at the top of the January 22, 1993 CBS Evening News: "On the anniversary of Roe versus Wade President Clinton fulfills a promise, supporting abortion rights."

Rather made that the show’s lead, again stressing how Clinton had "delivered" on a campaign promise: "Good evening, Dan Rather reporting. It was 20 years ago today, the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark abortion rights ruling and the controversy hasn't stopped since. Today, with the stroke of a pen, President Clinton delivered on his campaign promise to cancel several anti-abortion regulations of the Reagan-Bush years. CBS News correspondent Rita Braver has our report."

Of course, neither Rather or Braver made any allusions to how Clinton "did something to quickly please the left flank in his party."

-- NBC Nightly News. Tom Brokaw opened Monday’s broadcast by noting how it was Bush’s first day and the capture of some of the Texas escapees. He then returned to the new Bush White House, as he highlighted how it started "on a controversial note." Brokaw announced: "We’ll be covering all of this tonight. We’ll begin with the new President’s very active day, which started on a controversial note. NBC’s David Gregory is at the White House tonight, Lisa Myers on Capitol Hill. David, you begin please."

Gregory reported: "Well Tom tonight, even as the President vows to move quickly on his agenda, including education reform and tax cuts, on his first day of official business Bush decides to send his strongest message on the issue of abortion. 28 years to the day since the Roe v Wade decision legalized abortion, Bush today issues an executive order banning federal funding for international groups that offer abortions or abortion counseling abroad, a ban President Clinton had lifted."

After a soundbite from White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Gregory noted: "The decision, which aides say is simply the fulfillment of a campaign pledge, came as thousands of abortion foes marched in Washington...."

Eight years earlier, Brokaw did not attribute to "aides" the idea that Clinton was fulfilling a campaign pledge. He said it straight out as a fact as he introduced a story after a report on how Zoe Baird has withdrawn her name from consideration for Attorney General: "At the same time today President Clinton kept a campaign promise and it came on the 20th anniversary of Roe versus Wade legalizing abortion. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski tonight on the changes in the Washington environment on this emotional issue, Jim."

Miklaszewski repeated the approving "keeping" a campaign promise spin: "Tom, today President Clinton started to undo 12 years of Republican anti-abortion policy here at the White House. Thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators staged their annual march past the Supreme Court down to the White House, but for the first time in 12 years their voice fell on deaf ears. In fact, significant gains they made in the Reagan and Bush administrations were wiped out with the stroke of a pen. Keeping a campaign promise, President Clinton lifted restrictions on abortion."

END of contrasts.

Now that’s one for the file of fantastic contrasts proving liberal bias.

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), January 24, 2001

Answers

Who gives a fuck?

-- Manny (No@dip.com), January 24, 2001.

apparently no one...

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), January 25, 2001.

Actually, not a bad example, U.B.

-- Bemused (and_amazed@you.people), January 25, 2001.