ABC News Scandle for Debate?

[-Cp]

http://www.drudgereport.com/mh.htm




ABCNEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR MEMO SPARKS CONTROVERSY: BOTH SIDES NOT 'EQUALLY ACCOUNTABLE'

**Exclusive**

An internal memo written by ABCNEWS Political Director Mark Halperin admonishes ABC staff: During coverage of Democrat Kerry and Republican Bush not to "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable."

The controversial internal memo obtained by DRUDGE, captures Halperin stating how "Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win."

But Halperin claims that Bush is hoping to "win the election by destroying Senator Kerry at least partly through distortions."

"The current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done," Halperin writes.

Halperin's claim that ABCNEWS will not "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable" set off sparks in St. Louis where media players gathered to cover the second presidential debate.

Halperin states the responsibilities of the ABCNEWS staff have "become quite grave."

In August, Halperin declared online: "This is now John Kerry's contest to lose."

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Halperin Memo Dated Friday October 8, 2004

It goes without saying that the stakes are getting very high for the country and the campaigns - and our responsibilities become quite grave

I do not want to set off (sp?) and endless colloquy that none of us have time for today - nor do I want to stifle one. Please respond if you feel you can advance the discussion.

The New York Times (Nagourney/Stevenson) and Howard Fineman on the web both make the same point today: the current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done.

Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win.

We have a responsibility to hold both sides accountable to the public interest, but that doesn't mean we reflexively and artificially hold both sides "equally" accountable when the facts don't warrant that.

I'm sure many of you have this week felt the stepped up Bush efforts to complain about our coverage. This is all part of their efforts to get away with as much as possible with the stepped up, renewed efforts to win the election by destroying Senator Kerry at least partly through distortions.

It's up to Kerry to defend himself, of course. But as one of the few news organizations with the skill and strength to help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying to serve the public interest. Now is the time for all of us to step up and do that right.

 

[musicman]

"....reflexively and artificially.." - I LIKE that! I think the word he's groping for is "OBJECTIVELY"!!!! Of course, it's quite understandable - his having a problem with a foreign word.

 

[musicman]

Just who the hell do the liberal mainstream media think they are? "Help voters evaluate what the candidates are saying"???? "Serve the public interest"??? Do they mean, " the way we've been doing for the last thirty years"???

The elitism, the arrogance, the blatant bias, the contempt for America and Americans, the presumptuousness, the depraved indifference to objective journalistic standards, and the basic, fundamental dishonesty of these unelected, unaccountable feudal lords cry out to the citizenry, "We're better than you, you simpletons!"

Are they? ARE THEY???

 

[krisy]

This is what I was looking for!!! My mom called and told me about this last night and it damned well better be all over the news today! Place your bets-will it or won't it? This kind of horseshit is how the media has controlled this country and it's voters way to long. This is big,but I have a feeling it won't get the coverage it deserves. My thinking is right along the lines of what musicman said. These asswipes think we are stupid. They think we need "help" in deciding who to vote for,and the only right guy could be Democrat. They assume the AMerican people can't find the "real" facts about the condidates,so they trust in their bias reporting to help us out. I say,most of the media has failed misreably in what they set out to do with their lives. Most of them break the most important rule of journalism-to be fair and objective. And I don't want to hear about O'Reilly and Hannity. It is their job to givetheir opinions,they are commentators. Every day,they are becoming a little more exposed,and prety soon,cable news will take them over or come close. Think about if all the people that didn't have cable got it. Would anyone watch the 3 major networks? I think not!!!

 

[Flying Duck]

"Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win."

WTF does this mean?

It sounds to me like "It's OK for Kerry to lie so just ignore it."