60 Minutes bias
Yeah, we know they have an anti-gun bias at 60 Minutes. But this is quite questionable. Mike Wallace appeared at a Brady Campaign fundraiser. Sure, he has a right to participate in whatever causes he chooses and he’s entitled to his opinion. But this alleged news show you work for may want to disclose that the next time CBS is scaremongering regarding the gun issue. Cam Edwards has more and this particularly pompous bit annoys me:
At the event, held at the French Embassy, Wallace played a clip of his “60 Minutes” interview with then-NRA president Charlton Heston, whom he described as the “self-righteous enemy of the Jim and Sarah Brady Bunch”. Afterwards, he mocked Heston by holding his hands above his head (as if holding a rifle), and said “in my dead hands… remember when he used to hold up…” while the crowd tittered. He told Buchwald he’d made his $250 contribution to the Brady Center. And I haven’t seen any mention of this at CBS.
Cam has sent a letter to CBS wanting to know:
Does CBS have a policy regarding on air talent appearing at special interest events like this, and does CBS have a policy regarding use of their broadcast material at events like this? Further, do you believe Mr. Wallace and “60 Minutes” have an ethical obligation to disclose Mr. Wallace’s support for the Brady Center the next time the program does a story on guns and/or gun control?
October 12th, 2005 at 10:11 am
Many newspapers have a policy that their writers & reporters cannot attend events like this and cannot publicly support organizations like that. I’d bet CBS News has a similar policy. But I don’t know if “60 Minutes” is organized under CBS News.
I think it is pretty tasteless to mock Mr. Heston like that. I doubt there are displays at the NRA of celebrity guests mocking Mr. Brady.
Regarding Cam’s other point – about re-broadcasting material – if the Brady Center is non-profit, then (I think), it is fair use.
October 12th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
I don’t see a problem here. Journalists have their biases. Preventing them from attending special-interest events just hides the biases.
As for disclosure, again, I don’t see an issue. Personal and political views are not a conflict of interest. Every journalist has a personal opinion on every story she writes. Mandatory disclosure of all relevant opinions is not helpful or necessary.
If you’re not down with 60 Minutes reporting, you’re welcome to point out the bias. But cloaking your difference of opinion as an ethical issue is just silly. Should every Fox newscast start with a report on Rupert Murdoch’s campaign contributions? Just do what I do: change the channel.
It’s time to chill out on the 60 Minutes hating. So they’re biased. Get over it.
October 12th, 2005 at 2:38 pm
I’m not going to get over it, just like I don’t get over other bias. I will point it out, yell at them, and maybe even call them names. And I would think that if 60 Minutes prefaced their stories with Oh, by the way, our staff here tends to be anti/pro-whatever issue we discuss, viewers may make a more informed opinion.
October 13th, 2005 at 3:14 am
60 Mins presents itself as a truth teller. They aren’t. Thank god for the blogosphere.
October 13th, 2005 at 5:49 am
What do See-BS, Gun Grabbers, and the French have in common?
Say Uncle is shocked, I say shocked, to report that 60 Minutes is biased against guns. Of course we all knew that already, but now it’s official. Mike Wallace and the 60 Minutes “news” program – which sometimes relies on…
October 13th, 2005 at 9:53 pm
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