First Dan Rather - Now Matthews (Tweety).......

[global1]

Chris Matthews said that "Bush White House officials -- especially those from Vice President Cheney's office -- called MSNBC brass to complain about the content of his show and attempted to influence its editorial content."

Didn't we hear the same about a week or so ago from Dan Rather?

How many others in the MSM were pressured?

Seems to me that this calls for an investigation. Let's get the specifics out in the open. Let's show the American Public how they are being brainwashed.

[Ian David]

1. How brave of Matthews to finally come forward after more than 1,280,000 people have died.

Living his life as a political campaign has apparently been a flawed philosophy.


Fuck Matthews.

Too little, too late.

[saracat]

3. I am not a fan of Matthews but he has been against the Iraq war since the beginning.

He has at times appeared to be a Bush fan but he didn't support the war.

[Buzz Clik]

7. Matthews goes hot and cold on a daily basis. Consistency is not his strong suit.

[EVDebs]

9. Tweety's May 2003 quotes re Bush from FAIR ..."Hero " ?

"May 1, 2003
—George W. Bush delivers his "Mission Accomplished" speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The media reaction is ecstatic—CNN's Lou Dobbs says, "He looked like an alternatively commander in chief, rock star, movie star, and one of the guys." MSNBC's Chris Matthews goes further:

We're proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like Clinton or even like Dukakis or Mondale, all those guys, McGovern. They want a guy who's president. Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple. We're not like the Brits."

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3062

So GOP girly men like this war ????

[jenmito]

11. Yup, and he's looking for the next "hero" in Giuliani, which is why

he keeps pushing Hillary. He wants a "subway series" where Giuliani wins.

[jenmito]

12. I know he voted for Bush in 2000. I think he supported the war in the beginning

and turned against it later.

[saracat]

13. I am not so sure about that.He "loved " Bush but somehow seperated his hero

worship.I think he admired the "perception" of Bush.But why, I do not understand.Unless it was admiration for the masterful PR of it all, and it was a beaut!

[jenmito]

16. Well, he said on The View he voted for Bush once..

I'm not sure when he turned against the war, but I don't know if he was against it from the beginning or not. I DO know he's constantly saying how he thinks America wants a "hero" as president and when he closes his eyes he pictures Giuliani walking through the rubble with the mask over his mouth and nose.

[rucky]

17. Hey, if Rather opened the door for others to come forward...

more power to him!

[BOSSHOG]

2. and cheney runs and hides behind limbaugh's microphone

when he needs to stimulate the base with lies. Gee I wonder why limbaugh and his ilk deathly fear the fairness doctrine as cheney fears swearing to tell the truth as christians fear hate crimes legislation.

[global1]

4. There's A Bigger Issue Here Of The Media Being Suppressed By .....

*Co. I don't care about Tweety's politics or Dan's politics - what I care about is getting the truth.

Now if as these two media reps have presented - that pressure was being applied to their bosses doesn't that rate a Congressional Investigation?

[BOSSHOG]

6. It sounds like a legitimate use of congressional oversight

Suppression of the truth from the oval office. Actually thats something cheney, bush etc would be proud of. Bring it on bush should tell congress.

[Buzz Clik]

5. The White House wanted Tweety to tone it down a bit. It was embarrassingly obvious...

that he was an unfiltered mouthpiece for them.

[EVDebs]

8. Investigation ? Then Operation Mockingbird along with army PsyOps in the newsroom

will be exposed. M$M can't have THAT !

[napi21]

10. I would like to know if this ever happened with any other administration?

When they were talking about somebody associated with Hillary contacting GQ telling them not to print a derogatory story about Hillary or they wouldn't get the authorization to do thecover story on Bill, that is a common practice with high profile people. I would like to know if it's also a common practice for all administrations to contact the media and tell them to squash a negative story? I've never heard of it before Shrub, but that doesn't mean it never happened.

[global1]

14. I Don't Care If This Is Being Done By Cheney, Hillary or Brittany.....

it's not right.

In your example with Hillary & Bill - it was just an article that wouldn't get permission - that's bad enough in my opinion.

BUT

What leverage did Cheney/*Co use? What kind of blackmail could this result in?

It's not right. It shouldn't be happening. And unless you want to be spoonfed whatever the current administration want you to know and prevent the truth from coming out - then this should be investigated and stopped.

"Orwell:1984 - Ignorance Is Strength"

[creeksneakers2]

23. If the Clintons tried it

they weren't very successful. The media tore them to shreds in the 90s.

[beachmom]

15. The truth of the media bias is coming out, and it explains the treatment Kerry got in '04

This is what lays behind the protection of Bush and the continual smearing of those who opposed him, especially Kerry who the media owners felt was a threat to their dominance.

Kerry Seeks to Reverse FCC's "Wrongheaded Vote"
Commission Decision May Violate Laws Protecting Small Businesses; Kerry to File Resolution of Disapproval
Monday, June 2, 2003

WASHINGTON - Senator John Kerry today announced plans to file a "Resolution of Disapproval" as a means to overturn today's decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to raise media ownership caps and loosen various media cross-ownership rules.

Kerry will soon introduce the resolution seeking to reverse this action under the Congressional Review Act and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act on the grounds that the decision may violate the laws intended to protect America's small businesses and allow them an opportunity to compete.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerry expressed concern that the FCC's decision will hurt localism, reduce diversity, and will allow media monopolies to flourish. This raises significant concerns about the potential negative impacts the decision will have on small businesses and their ability to compete in today's media marketplace.

In a statement released earlier today regarding the FCC's decision, Kerry said:

"Nothing is more important in a democracy than public access to debates and information, which lift up our discourse and give Americans an opportunity to make honest informed choices. Today's wrongheaded vote by the Republican members of the FCC to loosen media ownership rules shows a dangerous indifference to the consolidation of power in the hands of a few large entities rather than promoting diversity and independence at the local level. The FCC should do more than rubber stamp the business plans of narrow economic interests.

"Today's vote is a complete dereliction of duty. The Commissioners are well aware that these rules greatly influence the competitive structure of the industry and protect the public's access to multiple sources of information and media. It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that the rules serve our national goals of diversity, competition, and localism in media. With today's vote, they shirked that responsibility and have dismissed any serious discussion about the impact of media consolidation on our own democracy."

Kerry was deliberately maligned by the media, and to this day, still is. This new piece of info is just one more piece of the puzzle to explain why.

[greyghost]

18. Don't forget what they did to Gore in 2000. n/t

[emsimon33]

21. Excellent point

[applegrove]

19. That is a great idea for a news story. I hope 60 Minutes investigates

intimidation by the * WH.

[global1]

20. Cheney Probably Already Put The Arm On Them To Prevent Them.....

from doing such a story. (sarcasm)

[creeksneakers2]

22. Is Matthews talking about recently?

In their book,Hubris,Michael Isakoff and David Corn tell a story about the White House harassing Matthews during the Joe Wilson/Niger controversy.

After the Wilson/Niger story broke, Matthews gave lots of emotion and air time to Wilson's revelations,hammering Cheney and Libby. The Hardball host implied Scooter Libby was behind the "16 words" in the State of the Union Speech. Matthews called for a full scale investigation.

The VP's office went ballistic. They monitored Hardball and searched for talking points they could use against Matthews. A Cheney staffer, Levine, a former producer at Hardball,was tasked with leaning on Matthews. Over the phone,Levine accused Matthews of anti-Semitism. Matthews blew up at Levine.

So Libby called Tim Russert. That phone discussion became a big part of the case against Scooter Libby. According to Isakoff and Corn, Libby raised the anti-Semitism issue with Russert. "I immediately called Shapiro (NBC President Neal Shapiro)..." Russert later admitted in an MSNBC interview. According to Shapiro, Russert told Shapiro that Libby could make it hard for NBC to book White House guests. Shapiro called Hardball's producer and asked that Matthews "cut it back a bit."

Russert and others later told different versions of what went on.

[ginnyinWI]

24. there was also a story about the 04 election

That Tweety was told to have more Repub guests than Dems--and then just before the election started trashing Kerry so much that I couldn't stand to watch him and his "panelists".

[Lucinda]

25. In answer to your question of how many...

I'm betting that 100% of any who questioned the Administration were contacted.

[tomreedtoon]

26. If aliens came down with the "To Serve Man" cookbook...

...Tweety would become the new Iron Chef. You think he really has any beliefs aside from being in the public eye?

[xchrom]

27. tweety isn't the point here -- there's only one point -- and that's

the fact that the white has tried -- successfully -- to manipulate the media to manipulate the citizens.