Media Matters Special Report: Dissection of a Preacher Double Standard

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0501-07.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2008
1:20 PM


CONTACT: Media Matters for America
mediamatters.org

Special Report: Dissection of a Preacher Double Standard
Disparity in New York Times and Washington Post Coverage; Articles Mentioning Obama/Wright Outnumber McCain/Hagee by More Than 12 to 1


WASHINGTON, DC - May 1 - In a study released today, Media Matters for America documents the enormous disparity between coverage by The New York Times and Washington Post mentioning Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and their coverage mentioning Pastor John Hagee and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). As the study illustrates, these two outlets combined have published more than 12 times as many articles mentioning Wright and Obama as they have mentioning Hagee and McCain.

"It is time for major media outlets to take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves if they've been covering the candidates for president with equally critical eyes," said Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters. "If they are honest, they'll admit they have not, just as this study shows."

Media Matters examined coverage mentioning Wright and Hagee from the Times and the Post since February 27, the date McCain accepted Hagee's endorsement. The full list of these pieces -- broken down by outlet -- is available online in the report.

KEY FINDINGS:

* Since February 27, The Washington Post has published 53 articles mentioning Wright and Obama and only three articles mentioning Hagee and McCain.

* During the same period, the Post published 40 editorials or op-eds mentioning Wright and Obama and only two mentioning McCain and Hagee.

* Since February 27, The New York Times has published 46 articles mentioning Wright and Obama and only five articles mentioning Hagee and McCain.

* During the same period, the Times published 22 editorials or op-eds mentioning Wright and Obama and only two mentioning McCain and Hagee.

Report Available Online at:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200804300007

More from Media Matters on Hagee/McCain:

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=John+Hagee

More from Media Matters on Wright/Obama:

http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/search_results?qstring=Jeremiah+Wright

Report is available online here

[SteveM]

1. Hagee/McCain are GOP. MSM & most Democrats are afraid of the GOP (nt)

[babylonsister]

2. The m$m isn't 'afraid' of the GOP, they're an arm of the GOP. nt

[SteveM]

4. True, but they are afraid of the far right and let them frame at will. nt

[babylonsister]

11. We're allowing the media to frame this instead of railing against them:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x356564

[SteveM]

12. MSM version of an internet cyber lynching? Trying to get "modern?"

So many times I've heard some talking head say in effect: "the issue of will be brought up in the General Election" before MSM brought it up. They were making excuses in advance by citing the GOP's strategy! That is how sanctified the far right has become in terms of politics/campaigns.I knew the far right was good. But they are better now: they can swift boat at will BEFORE the nominations. It should be noted that the ENTIRE right page of the 2 editorial pages of May 1st's Austin American Statesman was nothing BUT Rev. Wright. All columnists; all editorial summaries; all cartoons. All Wright all the time.It is not the MSM's place to "try out" the GOP's strategy nor test Obama's mettle with it.

[Saturday]

3. If McCain had been sitting in Hagee's pews for 20 years you

would have heard more about it.

[SteveM]

5. Did McCain ask for Hagee's backing?

[Jim Lane]

9. Yes, McCain actively sought Hagee's endorsement

From an ABC News report:

ABC News' Mary Bruce Reports: Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., admitted this morning that it was a mistake to accept the endorsement of Evangelical pastor Rev. John Hagee. When asked in an exclusive "This Week" interview with George Stephanopoulos if it was "a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement", McCain replied "oh, probably, sure." Despite admitting his error, McCain made clear he's still "glad to have his endorsement."

[chill_wind]

6. Like he would have had to? He dissed this crowd a few years ago.

Now he's scraping for every vote and dollar from them.

[KSinTX]

7. This is what happens when we attempt to blend church and state in politics

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. -- Thomas Jefferson

Between the right-wing's "faith-bsaed initiatives" and the Christianity litmus tests, there is little space between the two any more. We need to widen it and take back our State.

[chill_wind]

8. No argument there, for sure. But since the corporate media has suddently decided it's all about

"exposure" on the matter we can see the obvious charade.

Some might even call it an agenda.

[Jim Lane]

10. But the real victim here isn't Barack Obama, it's Rod Parsley

, the pastor of a megachurch in Columbus, Ohio, is fully Hagee's equal as a cretinous bigot. Yet, although McCain has called Parsley a "spiritual guide", it's Hagee who gets all the press attention. Well, all the limited press attention that's paid to McCain's disreputable associations, at any rate.

Parsley has said about Islam that he "do(es) not believe that our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed." Check it out, people. We're on a divine mission to destroy an entire religion! This is consistent with his view denying that there is a separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution.

Parsley was also in the riot game years before Limbaugh: "The secular media never likes it when I say this, so let me say it twice. Man your battle stations! Ready your weapons! They say this rhetoric is so inciting. I came to incite a riot."

OK, so he's never called the Catholic Church "the Great Whore", but surely he deserves some attention. I really feel for the guy.