Media Matters - Media Ethics

Media Matters - Media Ethics http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/media_ethics This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: Media Ethics en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America In disparaging possible sec. of state appointment for Clinton, on MSNBC and CNN, Hitchens offered purported 15-year-old quote he has yet to source http://mediamatters.org/items/200811210008 Criticizing Sen. Hillary Clinton over her possible appointment as secretary of state, in three separate appearances, Christopher Hitchens purported to quote Clinton from 15 years ago to attack her foreign policy credentials. On MSNBC and CNN, from November 17-19, Hitchens claimed that Clinton directed her husband in 1993 not to intervene in the Balkans because it would detract attention from her health-care program. But the source he has previously cited for the assertion does not support it. http://mediamatters.org/items/200811210008 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:50:50 EST Spinonymous: Chicago Tribune inexplicably provides "senior McCain adviser" anonymity to attack Obama http://mediamatters.org/items/200808220013 A Chicago Tribune article uncritically and repeatedly quoted a "senior McCain adviser" attacking Sen. Barack Obama and asserted that the adviser "spoke on condition that he not be identified in order to discuss strategy." But the authors gave no explanation of why they would agree to anonymity for a source who proceeded to attack and to foreshadow further attacks on the opposing candidate. http://mediamatters.org/items/200808220013 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:16:06 EST NY Times article reported on McCain surge falsehood but not CBS' role in disappearing it http://mediamatters.org/items/200807250002 Reporting on a false assertion by Sen. John McCain during an interview with CBS News, The New York Times' Michael Cooper falsely suggested that CBS News actually aired McCain's false statement. In fact, the falsehood was expunged from the version of the interview aired on the July 22 broadcast of the CBS Evening News and, in its place, CBS spliced together three separate statements made by McCain, one of which responded to a different question from the one resulting in the falsehood. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807250002 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:22:10 EST In latest response to video-splicing controversy, CBS News acknowledges error but falsely claims it did not "in any way distort" McCain's comments http://mediamatters.org/items/200807240004 In a statement reported by The Washington Post on July 24, CBS News now acknowledges that it erred in splicing video of an interview with Sen. John McCain that resulted in the expungement of a false statement made by McCain and the misleading inclusion of an answer McCain gave to a different question. But in the reported statement, CBS News senior VP Paul Friedman maintains, falsely, that the error "did not in any way distort what Senator McCain was saying." http://mediamatters.org/items/200807240004 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:30:22 EST Despite prior advice to reporters to avoid "fuzzy language," Fournier offered only "breezy" response to news he told Rove to "[k]eep up the fight" http://mediamatters.org/items/200807150005 The AP's Ron Fournier asserted in a 2007 essay that reporters must "[w]rite with authority" and that "[t]he AP's hard-earned reputation for fairness and nonpartisanship must not be used as an excuse for fuzzy language when a clear voice is demanded." But Fournier apparently did not follow his own prescription for clarity and candor in responding to a report that he told Karl Rove to "[k]eep up the fight" following the death of Pat Tillman in 2004. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807150005 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:54:04 EST "[L]ive from an oil rig": NBC, MSNBC aired multiple reports on offshore drilling without explaining "environmental concerns" or disclosing GE's drilling connection http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020005 NBC's Today and Nightly News and MSNBC Live aired segments in which correspondent Janet Shamlian reported live from an offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. But while two of Shamlian's reports included quotes from a Chevron spokesperson, none of her reports included an interview with or quote from environmental organizations or explained the "environmental concerns" that Shamlian acknowledged exist. Further, neither Shamlian nor the hosts and anchors disclosed that General Electric, which owns 80 percent of NBC Universal, also has an affiliated business unit that is invested in the acquisition and production of oil and natural gas and another that is a major supplier of equipment and services for the offshore drilling industry. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020005 Wed, 2 Jul 2008 15:16:20 EST "[G]ullible" Fox & Friends escape lawsuit for repeating yet another false news story http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060010 In an article about a lawsuit against Fox News and hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade for repeating as fact an online parody news report of a school prank that included fabricated quotes attributed to the superintendent, the AP reported that the case has been dismissed and that the judge called Doocy and Kilmeade "gullible." But the Fox & Friends segment in question marked at least the third time since 2004 that Fox News has issued a retraction and apology for airing a fake news report that repeated false information. http://mediamatters.org/items/200806060010 Fri, 6 Jun 2008 21:41:23 EST Memo to the media: Have you hosted on air the person who told Rumsfeld at military analyst meeting, "You are the leader. You are our guy"? http://mediamatters.org/items/200805070008 In an audio recording of an April 18, 2006, Pentagon meeting attended by several media military analysts, one of the attendees tells then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that he would "personally love" for Rumsfeld "to take the offensive, to just go out there and just crush these people so that when we go on, we're -- forgive me -- we're parroting, but it's what has to be said. It's what we believe in, or we would not be saying it." He adds: "And we'd love to be following our leader, as indeed you are. You are the leader. You are our guy." Will media outlets try to determine if they have hosted the speaker? http://mediamatters.org/items/200805070008 Wed, 7 May 2008 19:47:09 EST Networks again refuse to go on the record about NY Times' military analyst exposé http://mediamatters.org/items/200805020010 ABC, CBS, and NBC have still not reported on any of their news programs The New York Times' revelations about the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon. Further, the major broadcast networks and cable news networks all reportedly declined to discuss the issue for an NPR report; the networks similarly reportedly declined to participate in an April 24 PBS NewsHour segment on the issue. http://mediamatters.org/items/200805020010 Fri, 2 May 2008 20:51:54 EST Networks continue to ignore NY Times' military analyst story, but all find time for Hannah Montana http://mediamatters.org/items/200804290005 Since The New York Times reported on the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon on April 20, ABC, CBS, and NBC have still not mentioned the report. By contrast, during their April 28 evening news broadcasts, all three networks reported on the Vanity Fair photo of Miley Cyrus. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804290005 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:44:30 EST Networks reportedly refused to appear on PBS' NewsHour to respond to NY Times' military analysts story; several continue blackout http://mediamatters.org/items/200804250003 In an April 24 PBS NewsHour report about a New York Times article that revealed "the role of military analysts on TV and in the Pentagon," Judy Woodruff stated:"[W]e invited Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and NBC to participate, but they declined our offer or did not respond." Further, according to a search of programs in Nexis, several of these outlets have yet to report on the revelations in the April 20 Times article. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804250003 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:21:47 EST Special Report aired quotes from military analyst Robert Scales -- but has not mentioned he was in Times' exposé on military analysts http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240006 In two separate reports since The New York Times published an exposé on the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon, Fox News' Special Report aired quotes from Fox News military analyst Robert Scales without mentioning that Scales was named in the Times article and addressing Scales' relationship with the Defense Department and defense contractors. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240006 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:58:10 EST Armstrong Williams: NY Times story on McCain "causes those of us in the media to lose credibility" http://mediamatters.org/items/200802220006 On MSNBC Live, Armstrong Williams said of the New York Times article on Sen. John McCain's relationship with a telecommunications lobbyist, "I think what it does more than anything else, it causes those of us in the media to lose credibility. People begin to question what we print, whether there's any truth to it, whether we do our research." But Williams himself has been embroiled in controversy that undermined his "credibility," reportedly receiving $240,000 from the Bush administration to promote President Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation. http://mediamatters.org/items/200802220006 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:24:48 EST CNN contributor Bennett's donation to McCain not disclosed during discussion of senator http://mediamatters.org/items/200802080016 On The Situation Room, Bill Bennett defended Sen. John McCain against criticism he has received from radio host Laura Ingraham and other conservatives. But Bennett and host Wolf Blitzer both failed to disclose that Bennett has given more than $2,000 to McCain's presidential campaign. http://mediamatters.org/items/200802080016 Fri, 8 Feb 2008 20:29:32 EST In Wash. Post, Kurtz failed to note "neutral" Bennett's campaign contributions to McCain, Romney http://mediamatters.org/items/200802050006 In a Washington Post article about conservative radio hosts' opposition to Sen. John McCain's presidential bid, Howard Kurtz reported that Bill Bennett, "who is neutral in the race," has not "climb[ed] aboard the stop-McCain bandwagon." But Kurtz did not mention, as he did on his CNN program, that Bennett reportedly contributed more than $2,000 to McCain's campaign in December 2007 and to Mitt Romney's campaign in January, which raises questions about "whether Bennett can act as a neutral analyst in a race that still includes Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul," according to The Huffington Post. http://mediamatters.org/items/200802050006 Tue, 5 Feb 2008 14:10:14 EST