Conservative Group Targets 'Liberal' Media p.24

By: Debra Gersh Hernandez THE WASHINGTON, D.C.-based Media Research Center is planning to give the liberal media a $2.8-million reality check.
The multimillion-dollar campaign is designed "to expose for the American electorate the blatant left-wing agenda that has made a mockery of the term 'objective journalism,' " said MRC chairman L. Brent Bozell III during a press conference announcing the project.
"We are not here today to prove a blatantly obvious anti-conservative bias in the press. We have proven that for almost a decade," Bozell said. "We are here to demand an end to the nonstop media onslaught against the conservative movement ? against our ideas, our character and our leaders. We are here to demand that the media be fair and balanced ? for once."
Called "Media Reality Check '96," the campaign is aimed at the public, rather than the media, and will include:
u Network news tracking to "not only document bias" but also show how the coverage allegedly is pro-Clinton and anti-conservative.
u An exclusive focus on campaign coverage in all MRC monthly and biweekly publications.
u Promoting the book Pattern of Deception: The media role in the Clinton presidency, by MRC senior analyst Tim Graham, which includes appearances on talk radio shows hosted by G. Gordon Liddy, Oliver North and Rush Limbaugh.
u Coordination with radio talk shows, providing them with "up-to-the-minute evidence of left-wing bias in the establishment press," as well as interviews with MRC spokesmen.
u An MRC Web site for the public and media, as well as e-mail to opinion leaders "for a rapid response to media bias."
u Two-page "blast fax" rebuttals to be sent to over 1,500 media and political sources as warranted.
u A daily newsletter published during the party conventions, as well as media dossiers for delegates, and possibly a daily national radio feed.
u Grass-roots campaigns featuring bumper stickers, pens, refrigerator magnets and the like with the tag line "I don't believe the liberal news media."
u A paid advertising campaign targeted to conservative newspapers, magazines and radio talk shows.
"By no means do we suggest ? I want to underscore this emphatically ? that all reporters in the national press are culpable," Bozell said. "Many have distinguished themselves, and continue to distinguish themselves, with their dedication to balance and fairness.
"And that's all we conservatives are asking for ? but this year we are demanding it," he added.
Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz noted that Bozell "makes some good criticisms of the media, but people should recognize that he comes at the subject from a highly partisan background. That doesn't mean that what he says is wrong, but there is a political agenda there."
Prior to starting the MRC in 1987, Bozell served as chairman of the board and president of the National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC) and was executive director of the National Conservative Foundation. He also was the financial director for Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign in 1992 and has guest hosted the "Rush Limbaugh Show."