admin {public msg} Hello and welcome to the first ever CNS chat. L. Brent Bozell is a longtime critic of
the establishment media, seeking greater balance of information by the broadcast media.
Brent founded the Media Research Center some 12 years ago
in an attempt to bring greater political balance to the TV networks. In 1998, he founded
the Conservative News Service, which has grown to the point where it receives about
214,000 hits per day.
admin {public msg} It's 9:30 EST, so it's time to post the first question to Brent Bozell.
jewele {ask} As one of the lucky ones who has a PC and hook up to the internet, I am anxious about voters who never hear the truth or the news the liberals won't print or air. How can we help spread the word, other than what we now do, e-mail everyone on our lis
BrentBozell {public msg} One of the realities of the world today is the utter ignorance of the American public. I don't mean to sound condescending, but it's true: We as a people just don't bother to learn the facts. Most Americans just didn't care to learn the facts about the Clinton scandals (quick: explain Whitewater) and now will simply accept what they're told by the media on Kosovo.
BrentBozell {public msg} Let me add another point. BrentBozell {public msg} I remember during the Gulf War when I decided to have a late-night drink with a reporter from the Dallas Morning News who was covering the Pentagon. He looked utterly exhausted with his round-the-clock reporting. When I asked him how things were, his answer was "I have no idea what I'm doing here. Last week I was covering Dallas City Council races, and today I'm covering Scud missiles. But I'm no different from most of the other 1,600 other 'experts' here. I loved his honesty.
jonknis {ask} Who do you think will be the Republican nominee in 2000 and do you think there is any chance that Bill Bradley can win the Democrat nomination?
BrentBozell {public msg} It's way too soon. Do NOT believe a word of this "presumptive nominee" business. This one's wide, wide open. Yes, George W could walk away with it, but he could also fall flat on his face in the first debate. Anyone who says this one's over IS inhaling.
BrentBozell {public msg} As to Bradley, a different story. Gore's got it locked up -- with all the incumbency advantages he holds -- unless, of course, he's indicted.
mikebell {ask} Mr. Bozell, can you work as hard as you can to show the idocy and hypocrisy of some of the stuff Gore has said and done over the past 6-7 years. Particularly his revolting vow to fight the evils of smoking after his sister died, all the while, 4 yea
BrentBozell {public msg} Look at our website -- www.mediaresearch.org -- and you'll find a veritable treasure trove of inane Gore quotes. Quayle is positively Shakespearean by comparison!
mikebell {ask} Brent, how would you respond to the feeling I have that the battle against media bias may never be won. As you know, the saying is, "Never get into an arguement with people who buy ink by the barrel"
BrentBozell {public msg} Frankly, I think there's truth to that. I think, for a variety of reasons, that there will always be the liberal impulse in the national press -- just as one might suggest there will always be a conservative impulse in the military --and forever we'll have to guard against the one, and celebrate the other.
razorbak {ask} Brent: What do you believe is the likelihood that our Kosovo adventure is to some degree a wag the dog diversion from Chinagate, rapegate, etc. which have broken recently? Thanks for MRC by the way.
BrentBozell {public msg} I shudder to think that. Actually, this time -- THIS TIME -- I don't believe it. Rather, I chalk this one up to the Clinton administration at it's very best, which is to say, utterly over its head.
jimcam {ask} Do you think that Hillary is hurting or helping the women's movement with her "stand by your man" mentality. It seems like she is taking women backwards.
BrentBozell {public msg} I suspect Hillary's "stand by your man" stance will evaporate the moment they turn out the lights of the White House on their way out, in which case she'll probably throw a couch at him. Is it helping the women's movement? If by that you mean the feminists, no: Their numbers are dropping like flies. If you mean "women" in the general sense, I shudder to think Hillary is a role model .. for anything.
mikebell {ask} Brent, can you get booked more on Reliable Source or similar type shows. Have you been on the O'Reilley Factor? We really could benefit from more visibility from you (sorry to plan you schedule like this)
BrentBozell {public msg} I've done Reliable Sources several times but frankly,
it was wretchedly boring. I mean, how would YOU feel sitting around a table with three
whining liberals every Sunday?
BrentBozell {public msg} I have done the O'Reilley Factor several times -- much
more fun!
BrentBozell {public msg} I should add: We do have very good relations with some
reporters. Others, frankly, hate our guts. You should get on the phone and urge them to
put me -- or any other conservative, really -- on more often. They DO listen sometimes!
Explorerguy {ask} Do you think the Juanita Broderick story is dead--or just on the back burner?
BrentBozell {public msg} What a tragedy.
BrentBozell {public msg} My answer was lost. Let me try again.
BrentBozell {public msg} This is censorship at its most ignoble. Do you realize
that NBC News, which aired the Dateline story, has yet to report it on its News?
BrentBozell {public msg} That NBC gave more promotion to ABC's Lewinsky interview
than to to their own report?
jimcam {ask} knowing that you are Chairman of the Media Research Center, what are your opinions about the affect the media had on the impeachment proceedings.
BrentBozell {public msg} When the entire "trial" was pre-determined by a national press that said from the beginning that it would go nowhere -- that's just where it went.
Rachael {ask} Why has the main stream media seem to rely more on what the polls say rather than reporting the news? Are the polls news? Or could it have more to do with Clinton relying on the polls to see which way he needs to go?
BrentBozell {public msg} First of all, take it from an old political hack like
me: Polls can say anything you want them to say.
BrentBozell {public msg} More to the point, it tells you something about the
"news" media today, where investigative journalism is a lost art..
BrentBozell {public msg} and sensationalism, horse-race, McNews is the norm.
jimcam {ask} Do you think the Republicans will retain control of the house or are we doomed to be the minority again?
BrentBozell {public msg} As with the presidential race, it's too soon to tell.
Too many things, both good and bad, could still happen.
BrentBozell {public msg} But if you were to put a gun to my head and force me to
make a prediction, I'd recommend to Lott, Armey and Co. that they start looking for
"minority" office space.
Publisher {ask} Shouldn't we be doing demonstrably more as a nation to provide humanitarian relief to the Kosovo refugees who are overwhelming their neighbors?
BrentBozell {public msg} Extraordinary, isn't it? This was obviously planned by the Serbs ... had been in the works... and now that they do it -- we are seemingly caught flat-footed, with no policy to help these poor souls out.
jewele {ask} How do you view the reaction to Heston's speeck to the Harvard Law Review? There are Millions of copies being passed around the country and even liberals wondering how he got so smart.
BrentBozell {public msg} He's like a fine wine, getting better with age! His
speeches are magnificent and I think reflect the beliefs of a man who has just had it with
the politically, and culturally-correct police state we're in today.
BrentBozell {public msg} This is one man who has decided no longer to be treated
like cattle. Would that others (especially in Washington!) could have his sense of
courage!
sully {ask} Every one seems to know what kind of man our president is, yet he always seems to be popular. Why?
BrentBozell {public msg} Don't believe it. There are two kinds of people in this
country -- those who vote and participate; and those who don't and don't care.
BrentBozell {public msg} In the latter category -- the public that doesn't care --
the man is popular. So is Michael Jackson. So is Madonna.
BrentBozell {public msg} But among voters -- the ones who matter -- the numbers are
FAR different. Honestly, if he were running for re-election..
BrentBozell {public msg} against a real conservative, I'd put money on Clinton
losing. Honestly, I mean that.
Explorerguy {ask} Do you think the polls will continue to play as big a role after Clinton leaves office?
BrentBozell {public msg} Yes, mostly because reporters are so darn lazy -- and the public's fascinated with numbers.
razorbak {ask} How is Clinton doing lately in the Zogby-type polls that poll "likely voters." I'm far more interested in that than these generic polls of the same people most of whom don't vote, and polls which exclude 11 conservative states.
BrentBozell {public msg} That's because you are a very intelligent person. You
made my point.
BrentBozell {public msg} Don't believe polls of the "general public" --
they're not voters.
BrentBozell {public msg} Don't believe "registered voter" polls --they
don't necessarily vote either.
BrentBozell {public msg} It's the "likely voter" polls, like Zogby's that
matter.
BrentBozell {public msg} It's why he was right in '96 -- and all the
"experts" were dead wrong.
Rachael {ask} I noticed that when a Democrat and Republican are being interviewed on TV the Democrat seems to take twice as long in answering before interupted while a Republican is often interupted. It also seems as though the Democrat is louder that the Republican
BrentBozell {public msg} That's because a) Democrats usually can't stop running
at the mouth trying to avoid answering questions, and
BrentBozell {public msg} b) Republicans normally tend to have been raised better.
mikebell {ask} Do you predict a wave of "tell all" books after Clinton leaves office. Along the lines of Aldrich's book, I mean. What have you heard, if anything, thru the grapevine?
BrentBozell {public msg} One PR wag, Craig Shirley, predicted the Georgey-Boy
book two years ago.
BrentBozell {public msg} The way he put it to me was, "Just you wait until
those NY publishers start waving around multi-million dollar deals.
BrentBozell {public msg} That support for Clinton will vanish." And he was
right. Yes, there will be more books, though I don't know how much more the public can
stomach. I know I can't!
Sally {ask} Do you think ground troops will be sent into Kosovo? If so, how do you think the public will react?
BrentBozell {public msg} Let me put it to you this way: No air war by itself has
EVER succeeded. What will we do when this one doesn't?
BrentBozell {public msg} Pretend, Clinton-like, that it did? Not an easy thing to
do when the Serbs have ethnically cleaned out Kosovo...
Kathleen {ask} What do sense with regards to the reports on McDougal trial?
BrentBozell {public msg} Simply that we conservatives need to raise the
necessary funds to buy this woman the correct muzzle.
BrentBozell {public msg} She's made a laughing stock out of the judiciary process,
and is playing the press like a fiddle.
jewele {ask} Back to Lott and company. Wouldn't it be better to push them into having some backbone? We neet repbulicans that are conservative and don't go back on their public stances.
BrentBozell {public msg} So long as the GOP continues with its arrogant
"they have nowhere else to go" attitude toward conseratives
BrentBozell {public msg} the situation won't change.
BrentBozell {public msg} As far as I'm concerned -- and I've raised millions upon
millions of dollars to help elect most of these so-called conservatives, it's time to send
a lot of them home.
BrentBozell {public msg} Men like Hatch, McCain, etc have simply betrayed us;
others like Lott and Armey are just miserable disappointments.
BrentBozell {public msg} When you have nothing to offer, why should people go to
the polls for you? Really, it was quite simple.
BrentBozell {public msg} What does someone who "has nowhere else to go"
do? He stays home. It's what happened in '98, '96 and '92.
kristina {ask} Do you feel that with your organizations (CNS, MRC) that the public and media are starting to realize that there is a biased view in the media. Or do we still have a long way to go?
BrentBozell {public msg} Some of them today --finally -- admit it. People like
Walter Cronkite, to be exact.
BrentBozell {public msg} Others, however, are simply---bent on ignoring it. Fine: They'll
go out of business.
jonk {ask} On a non-political note, who do you want to win the game tonight, Duke or Conn?
BrentBozell {public msg} Duke or Conn? I was wiped out in the second round of
the office pool. At this point I hope everyone loses.
BrentBozell {public msg} I'm a very sore loser, and grounded my 13-year old son, who made
my picks for me, for the rest of his life.
kristina {ask} Do you think that we are just in a time period when Dou you think we have just been outsmarted and outmanuvered by superior politians in the Democratic party. Do you ever think we'll regain the upper hand?
BrentBozell {public msg} Unquestionably, in the art of politics we've been outsmarted. But in the final analysis, it wasn't very hard given that we have had no policies.
sully {ask} I think one thing that democrats and republicans have in common is the complete disgust that most americans have for them. Could this lead to a rise in new political parties?
BrentBozell {public msg} You better believe it. Remember that in '92, before the
public got to know just how nutty Perot could be, he was actually winning this race
BrentBozell {public msg} Look at Canada. The Reform Party hit the scene and in ONE
YEAR took over the government.
BrentBozell {public msg} The only reason it hasn't happened here yet is that third
party efforts have either lacked money or organization, or leaders
BrentBozell {public msg} But put those three things together at one time and both
the GOP and the Democrats could be in REAL trouble. I truly believe that.
Explorerguy {ask} Do the addition of conservative talk show hosts on traditionally liberal cable news channels, like Ollie North and Laura Ingraham, signal a realization by the channels that conservative voices are wanted by their viewers?
BrentBozell {public msg} Yes. CNN realized long ago, with the success of
Crossfire, that when conservatives are given a voice, their numbers go up.
BrentBozell {public msg} It's not really rocket science. After all, Rush has about 20
million listeneres every week, and there are "little Rush's" all over America,
too.
Patti {ask} What do you think of the idea of more obscure candidates being unelectable because they may not come from the good-ol'-boy network?
BrentBozell {public msg} It's a tough one, really. Put yourself in the position
of, say, a network. During the primaries there will be some 15-20-30 candidates at some
point...
BrentBozell {public msg} Who do you cover? If you cover them all, you're not doing
a service to the serious-minded; if you go only with the "credible" ones you
never give the new ones a chance.
BrentBozell {public msg} I like what CNN did with the debates in '96. One set of
debates for the principle candidates (GO, Democrats, Reform); then one for the
second-tiered candidates (Libertarian, Natural Law, Taxpayers Party,etc.) It was done
well, I thought.
BrentBozell {public msg} Last question?
admin {public msg} Here comes the last question of the chat:
jewele {ask} So we're back to the Conservatives going to the polls and voting Republican (liberal or Moderate at best) so that they "don't waste my vote" There must be enough of us to make a difference
BrentBozell {public msg} I couldn't disagree more. If you do that, you'll get
just what you paid for -- nothing.
BrentBozell {public msg} The only way the Repubicans will adhere to their promises
is if they fear that their supporters will leave them.
BrentBozell {public msg} Support comes from two avenues: Money before election day
and votes on election day.
BrentBozell {public msg} So long as they're getting the one now, and have no fear
of losing the other later, they will do nothing. Trust me.
BrentBozell {public msg} Let them know that the bank window is closed. Vote for
someone else if they won't fight for their principles.
BrentBozell {public msg} In the final analysis, if they don't fight for their
principles -- what's the difference in parties? I don't see it.
BrentBozell {public msg} I guess that will have to wrap it up for tonight. (Just
how do people manage to type this fast?!)
BrentBozell {public msg} I'd like to thank everyone for coming, and please, keep your comments, and your enthusiasm coming. It's what makes our effort with CNS so enjoyable, and rewarding. I know I speak for Scott Hogeson, our Grand Maestro, when I say that.
admin {public msg} Thank you for dropping by tonight's chat. Sorry we didn't get to all the questions. We promise to have many more in the future with other conservative big shots.
admin {public msg} Via con Dios, y'all!
admin {public msg} We'll be scheduling guests regularly and promoting each for about one week before each chat.
admin {public msg} We'll also be re-posting the contents of tonight's chat on the CNS site for those who missed part of it or had to re-load.
BrentBozell {leaves}
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