DARTS
The Darts & Laurels column is written by Gloria
Cooper, CJR's managing editor, to whom nominations should
be addressed.
HIGH-INTEREST ISSUE
Interesting,
how a seemingly straight news story can reflect a paper's editorial
sympathies. Consider the way two influential dailies, on opposite
coasts of the country and on opposite sides of the issue, reported
to their readers about a quarter-page ad that was about to run
in scores of the nation's papers, including their own; surprisingly,
in the ad, George Soros, Bill Gates's father, and numerous other
zillionnaires would be urging opposition to President Bush's plan
for outright repeal of the controversial estate tax. At The
Seattle Times -- where publisher Frank Blethen, who despises
the "death tax" as a scourge that threatens his family's ownership
of the $400 million property, has been leading a relentless campaign
for repeal in editorials and full-page ads, not to mention a lop-sided
op-ed page -- the anti-repeal ad provided Blethen with yet another
bully pulpit, this time in the newshole. His paper's February
15 front-page report about the ad was interspersed with quotes
from the publisher himself challenging its claims. In contrast,
The New York Times, whose own editorials on the issue have
been in harmony with the ad, embraced it in a February 14 page-one,
above-the-fold Valentine whose twenty-four paragraphs included
a miserly sixty-two-word summary of the case for repeal -- a news
report, as the Web site smartertimes.com astutely observed,
that was in effect an unpaid ad for the paid one. (Smartertimes.com
also noted that while generously quoting Warren Buffet, a strong
defender of the tax, the Times had conveniently ignored
an earlier article in its own business section on how Buffet has
ensured that his son will succeed him as Berkshire Hathaway's
c.e.o.)
THERE HE GOES AGAIN
Will
George Will never learn? During the 1980 campaign the conservative
columnist drew criticism for coaching Ronald Reagan before his
televised debate with incumbent Jimmy Carter and then appearing
on Nightline with post-debate comments about the Republican
candidate's "thoroughbred" performance. Now it turns out that
during the 2000 campaign, Will again stepped over the line. In
a March 4 column triggered by rumors that the other George W.
might not veto the "patently unconstitutional" McCain-Feingold
bill, an alarmed Will reached back to the campaign for the on-the-record
promise that he himself put ever-so-thoughtfully into Bush's mouth.
"Around 7 a.m. January 23, 2000, the day before the Iowa caucuses,"
Will recalled, "candidate Bush was in Des Moines preparing to
appear on ABC's This Week. One of those who was to question
him (this columnist), not wanting to ambush him with unfamiliar
material, and wanting from him a considered judgment, took the
unusual step of telling Bush he would be asked if he agreed with
a particular proposition from an opinion written by Justice Clarence
Thomas. The proposition, given to Bush on a 3-by-5 card, was 'There
is no constitutionally significant distinction between campaign
contributions and expenditures. Both forms of speech are central
to the First Amendment.' Asked if he agreed that there is something
'inherently hostile to the First Amendment' in limiting participation
in politics by means of contributions by individuals . . . he
briskly replied: 'I agree.' And asked if he thinks a president
has a duty to veto [bills] he considers unconstitutional, he replied,
'I do.'" Will ended the column by warning Bush that too much "niceness"
on the campaign finance issue "will cost him" respect. Better
Will should worry what too much niceness in giving crib sheets
to candidates will cost him in the public's trust.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SYNERGY So
certain was KXLY-TV, an affiliate of Disney's ABC News in Spokane,
Washington, of the newsworthiness of another Disney theme park
opening in Anaheim, California, that the station dispatched reporter
Nicole McGregor to cover the event twenty-five driving-hours away.
So entertaining was McGregor's report (the roller coaster! the
river run! those adorable Disney characters!) -- and so informative,
too (a helpful map highlighted Spokane's proximity to Anaheim)
-- that it became a two-part sweepsweek series five minutes long.
So impressed were anchors Suzanne Baylon and Richard Brown that
they introduced the series thusly: "If you're making plans for
spring break or summer vacation, here's an idea for you: Disney's
new billion-dollar California Adventure opens Thursday . . . ,"
while at segment's end Brown wiped away a tear brought on by all
the jolly fun. And so hospitable was Disney that it supplied the
photographer, the editor, and footage for the KXLY commerc --
er, report.
GEOGRAPHY LESSON
News
spinners, beware! In your dizzying job you may sometimes slip
on a cold hard fact and fall flat on your authoritative face.
That's what happened to CNN's Bill Press and Tucker Carlson on
their March 14 program, The Spin Room. Commenting on a
video clip of Secretary of State Colin Powell impoliticly telling
a congressional committee that President Bush was committed to
moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to "the capital of Israel,
which is Jerusalem," the spinmeisters leaped on the statement
as evidence that Powell was embarrassingly uninformed. "This news
came as a surprise to many Arab leaders," chortled Tucker, "because
of course, the capital of Israel is Tel Aviv, isn't it, Bill?"
"Yes," came Press's swift, equally erroneous, reply. "And I think
it just proves that foot-and-mouth disease is not contained in
Europe." Indeed; it can even spread to talking heads in Washington,
D.C.
