The recent coverage of the hunting incident involving Vice President Dick Cheney and his friend, Harry Whittington, is just another example of the bias and arrogance that defines the mainstream media.
The media pressured the White House all last week for answers, but the sad truth is, they didn't want any answers: they just wanted to grandstand and destroy the Bush administration through more of their biased reporting, which furthers their liberal agenda.
From Bush Knew (about Sept. 11) to CBS's fabricated Bush-National Guard story to hanging chads and tampered ballot boxes - not to mention the domestic spying program - none of it has worked. And yet liberals in the media try and try again because they cannot win through ideas and elections.
The big media's disgraceful behavior continued with the Cheney saga. First, they were offended because the White House Press Corps was not immediately notified of the situation. By the way, as Thomas Sowell pointed out in his recent column, where in the Constitution does it say the White House must answer or even talk to the media?
Subsequently, the media were angry because the story couldn't be spun in their favor, which they are now trying to do. Lastly, they were indignant because Cheney first addressed the incident in an interview on Fox News.
Liberals' rage over Fox News is absolutely hilarious. After 40 years of liberal supremacy in the mainstream media, through ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, along comes a major news outlet that offers a voice for conservatives, and liberals, who care so much about diversity and tolerance, are incensed. Cheney's speaking to Fox News is evidence of that.
I personally think Cheney handled the situation appropriately and professionally. After the vice president accidentally shot Whittington, he was taken to a local hospital, then flown to Corpus Christi for further care. Secret Service Agents contacted the local sheriff within one hour of the incident, which was reported to a Corpus Christi newspaper by Cheney's secretary. Cheney answered questions regarding the mishap four days later, which was too long of a wait for the media.
Now, in comparison, after Sen. Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge at Chappaquiddick - an incident that took the life of Mary Jo Copechne - the senator handled the situation a little differently. Kennedy, who was allegedly drunk, tried saving Copechne, disappeared for an hour, and then called his lawyer before calling the police. Forty years later, Kennedy still hasn't given any credible answers, and the media couldn't care less.
Now, I agree the shooting incident should be reported because it is newsworthy, but that's all it is. The scandal the media have created is just another one of their poor attempts to make news that hurts President Bush, rather than to report news objectively. If the media truly cared about such a situation, then they wouldn't have willingly believed Bill Clinton's lies about shooting one off in the Oval Office.
- Jeff Reed is a senior political communication major.
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