The MSM and double standards strike again

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Issues & Insights
Thursday, August 4, 2005

Big Fat Yawn
Media: Rush Limbaugh's prescription drug troubles were splashed all over the media. Yet a financial scandal rocking a leftist radio network rates no coverage.

The mainstream media, fixated on bringing down Karl Rove, have so far deemed apparent funding irregularities at Air America unworthy of note. But that doesn't make them any less of story.

Here's the gist, according to The New York Sun — which is giving the scandal the coverage it deserves — and a few others, mostly bloggers and columnists, who are providing a public service:

New York City's Department of Investigation is looking into charges that $875,000 from a Bronx nonprofit group and an affiliate whose budgets are generously stuffed with local, state and federal grants was inappropriately used to fund Air America, the left's counterattack on the colossal success of conservative talk radio.

The two groups — the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club and Pathways for Youth — said they thought they were making a loan to the network. But when Evan Montvel Cohen was working as both chairman of Air America and director of development for Gloria Wise, some red flags should have been raised.

Jeannette Graves, president of Gloria Wise's executive committee, has said that without her authorization or knowledge, Cohen siphoned $613,000 from the organization to himself and Air America. Cohen also allegedly used money from the groups for personal medical care.

While this mess is being sorted out, the city has suspended its ties with Gloria Wise and Pathways. That means money intended for poor minority children and Alzheimer's victims was instead used to make sure the financially tanking and ratings-troubled Air America could keep blathering.

Public funds used to prop up a business! Just the kind of scandal that left-leaning media would die for. Yet for some reason they're giving this one a pass.

Is it because there are no mean ol' conservatives to blame?

When Limbaugh's problems with painkillers came to light, the mainstream media could hardly contain themselves. They called him a "pill popper" and hypocrite and cheered for release of his medical records. And when he returned to the air, they couldn't talk enough about his stay in rehab.

Al Franken, Air America's featured host, seized the moment and labeled Limbaugh a "drug addict" — after calling him a "Big Fat Idiot" in the title of his book years before.

Nothing wrong, mind you, with reporting on Limbaugh's woes. Nothing, that is, as long as the media cover flaws of those on the left with equal enthusiasm.

Taken from here.

 

Well, to be completely honest the Rush incident really didnt get all that much coverage. I doubt very many of his fans even know that it happened.

This seems like yet another instance of the pot calling the kettle black. Or the kettle callnig the pot black, it all evens out.

 

I don't know, joacqin...Rush was pretty well hammered by some of the TV talk shows, and was the running punch line for many jokes by David Letterman, Jay Leno, et al.

I think that many "conservative" personalities, like Rush or O'reilly, seem to speak from a position of moral high ground and when there is an obvious chink in the armor they do fall under a harsher attack.

 

But Why was Limbaugh on painkillers in the first place? If he was in a painful accident, then these critics should have a nice tall glass of STFU (shouldn't require translation there)...

 

On topic please...

The lack of outrage over a liberal icon basically stealing close to a million dollars of money that was supposed to help poor minorities and the elderly is appaling. I shudder to think about the coverage if Fox news took a ten dollar bill.

 

That certainly does seem to be a gross indulgence on the part of Air America.

The media attention on Rush, though, is of an different kind — more comparable with the type of spotlight that Robert Downey Junior used to attract.

A celebrity gets caught popping pills, trying to buy multiple perscriptions worth of narcotics on a single subscription. Especially one, who like Hacken Slash said, takes a position of high ground.

It is certainly much racier than a misappropriation of funds at an institution that you can't even put a face next to. Heck, its one that, I think, most people don't even know exists.

I'm not sure its a leftist media conspiracy, so much as it is just not very interesting to the average Joe.

Snook, that link you provided didn't go to the article you posted.

 

arrgh, the link must change daily.

 

But corruption from supposed liberals doesn't suit the liberal agenda, but if there's an attack to be launched at a conservative public figure, then bombs away!

 

Maybe the reason there is no mention of this in the mainstram media is that there is, so far, nothing to tell.

from a Daily Kos (the ultraliberal blog, yes) post:

" Did Al Franken's liberal radio network Air America divert city money for the elderly and inner-city children to itself? That's the question people should be asking this week after the revelation that the New York Department of Investigation is looking into whether hundreds of thousands of dollars were illegally transferred from a Bronx community center to Air America."

but:

" this may be true, but it can't be verified through the Department of Investigation web site. And as I examined various other stories it seems no one has verified this claim with the D of I directly. So how does the Washington Times know about this outrage? From "sources quoted anonymously by the Bronx News," it says. "

and, after a rather lengthy discussion about how this story came to light:

"All allegations that the allegedly pilfered Gloria Wise money went to Air America Radio are based on one, and only one, source: Michael Horowitz in the prestigious, if ephemeral, Bronx News. And Horowitz got his information from "informed sources" of undetermined origin."

more at
http://jaywillie.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/7/30/124315/828

 

Yes, any scandal involving Bill or Hillary Clinton never received any media coverage, whether the allegations were true or not.

 

Well, some things can only be downplayed so far...

 

A relevant quote from the beginning of a book I just started:

People at the top are going to get shot at. Bush - big, Clintons - big, other Bush - big, Limbaugh - big, Al Franken - small. The crime Franken is accused of may be relatively serious, but Franken himself is a small fry. It's the names that get the news coverage and, at the moment at least, most of the big names are conservatives.

Not to mention that conservatives go to great lengths to preserve their 'family values, honesty, etc.' image, so when they fall from grace it's a looong way down. And like it or not, seeing people fall that far makes good TV. Meanwhile, you practically expect somebody named Slick Willy to be getting a little action on the sly.

Sure, conservatives get a little more flak than liberals, but that's only human nature. "The high and mighty must be brought low, so that everyone else can stand just a little bit taller."

 

I am not sure what Al Franken has to do with this. Apart from being a proeminent figure at Air America.

Some more comprehensive info seems to be found at http://www.nysun.com/article/17846. And it seems that there are some inconsistencies with Snook's first post. For example, he says

from the NYSun article:

Note also that the Gloria Wise club is under investigation, not Air America.
Also, the person who took these funds (Cohen) has not had any affiliation with the radio network from May 2004 (and Air America went on air on March 31, 2004). So, it is not clear by any means how much of this reflects badly on Air America as opposed to Cohen (which seems to be a scoundrel, all right)

 

That's exactly it. He's a prominent figure. THE prominent figure. He's the biggest name they've got, and he's still a nothing. That makes it small ratings, especially considering they're not even sure about it.

 

Heh. I would give Franken a rating of about the same as Rush Limbaugh. Only that he is not such a sanctimonious blowhard as the conservative. He might be offensive, but at least he's not a hypocrite.

 

khaavern,

I think Felinoid is talking about radio ratings, the way that the TV and radio media determine how many/what percentage of viewer/listeners are watching/listening to their shows. The fact is that the blowhard has many times more listeners than the sniveler. In fact, IIRC, Rush pulls more listeners every day than any of the MSM (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, etc) and actually beats most of them combined.

And Franken is a hypocrite. He rails against the rich and complains that people are stingy when they complain about taxation, but according to media reports he doesn't donate any percentage of his book sales to charity, and when challenged by Hannity to show what charitable donations he has voluntarily given, he refused to respond. He is a typical left wing nutcase, someone who feels an obligation to others that he proposes to pay with money taken from others.

Oh and there is this:
Still no outrage from Franken

 

I am sure Limbaugh has a much bigger audience. Still, I was refering to public exposure. I would say Franken is about as well known (to the left crowd, at least) as Rush is known among the right. Of course, he got his exposure mainly by means of books, rather than radio.

Some would say that this is the basis of the social contract You know, what allows us to live in a civilized society, as opposed to primitive tribes. If you look in history, I doubt you can find a form of gvernment which did not tax (in a form or other) their citizens. Take some money from people so that all can benefit. Of course, how much and in what manner is still open to debate

 

LMAO!

That's a rather amusing way to describe drug addiction and abuse.