Beating the Messenger

Las Vegas Sun

Democrats latch on to GOP strategy of attacking media in outrage against Fox

By J. Patrick Coolican and Michael J. Mishak

When the first President Bush went on a televised tirade against Dan Rather during the 1988 campaign, he was applauded for standing up to the elite liberal media. The incident was contrived, the orchestrated genius of his media guru, Roger Ailes, who was holding up the cue cards, according to Craig Crawford’s book, “Attack the Messenger.”

It was part of a Republican strategy that went back decades of running against the media and defining them as liberal and elitist.

Conservatives, of course, would eventually find their own media outlet, with the same Roger Ailes at its center as head of Fox News.

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March 14, 2007 | Filed Under Media Matters, News Mentions | Comment 

Has Ann Coulter hit her tipping point?

Associated Press

By David Bauder

NEW YORK — Ann Coulter has been a reliable name for years among people who plan television news shows - an attractive, articulate blonde conservative who’s made a living lobbing verbal bombs.

Following her use of a gay slur about Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards this month during remarks to the Conservative Political Action Conference, some on TV are wondering whether her shelf life is expiring.

Many were angered by her use of the “f-word”. Coulter later said she considered it a “schoolyard taunt.” She said it was a joke about “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Isaiah Washington saying he would seek counseling after using the word to refer to a fellow actor.

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March 11, 2007 | Filed Under Media Matters, News Mentions | Comment