* WLS radio talkshow hosts Don & Roma stirred up a hornet’s nest online by posting audio of CBS2 Ed Marshall apparently claiming that his station wasn’t going to cover the Senate race if all Mark Kirk wanted to talk about was the Broadway Bank closure. The clip is here. And here’s Ed’s quote…
“Channel 2’s made a decision that we’re really not going to cover the Senate race if it consistently, only in your terms is about Broadway Bank. The bank’s been taken over by the government. Alexi’s been pilloried. Tell me – what is your campaign going forward?”
“Chicago CBS News Producer Inadvertently Exposes Democrat Bias In Senatorial Race” claims a Big Government blogger. “CBS Affiliate Threatens GOP Candidate for Mentioning Giannoulias Bank Failure” was Newsbusters’ take. “Tape Catches Bias of Media in Illinois Senate Race,” says the Examiner.
Station news director Jeff Kiernan forcefully responded…
“Anyone who characterizes our position as a refusal to cover the Kirk campaign or the Giannoulias campaign is not only wrong, they are recklesly and purposefully wrong,” Kiernan tells me.
“My suggestion is to ask them why they’re doing it. I absolutely stand by the spirit of that question — of course we’re going to aggressively cover candidates Kirk and Giannoulias — however we refuse to let the candidates and their managers reduce a U.S. Senate campaign to a single issue of one candidate’s relationship with a bank. Yes, that is an important issue and one that I will affirmatively tell you we have consistently reported on and will continue to do so, but we will also aggressively challenge the candidates to talk about other substantive and critically important issues facing the citizens of Illinois and the United States.”
Kiernan noted that the station has pushed both candidates, with limited success, to talk about subjects other than the bank, and that Kirk himself, in the exchange played on WLS, “moves beyond Broadway Bank.”
Giannoulias recently cracked that Kirk’s entire campaign strategy was “A noun, a verb and Broadway Bank.” Kirk certainly spends a lot of time on the bank, and reporters do have a right to push him to talk about other stuff. Ed’s word choice was, um, quite unfortunate, but there are a whole lot more issues than the bank and they deserve coverage.
Also, contrary to the hyperventilating types, Ed is no liberal Democrat. He used to flak for Republican Comptroller Loleta Didrickson. I got into it with him so intensely once that they canceled their Capitol Fax subscription. That hadn’t happened before (or since). We’re not exactly close.
Kirk, by the way, has published his “Small Business Bill of Rights.” And the IL GOP just sent out a press release slamming Giannoulias…
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is holding a press conference at Granite Innovation today for his Senate campaign. While the stated purpose of the event is to promote Giannoulias’ “new agenda to help Illinois families balance increased challenges between working to make ends meet and raising children,” perhaps the State Treasurer could ask his hosts to pay the $26,446 they owe the State of Illinois in back taxes.
“Treasurer Giannoulias should know better,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. “Illinois is in the midst of an unprecedented budget crisis - a crisis Alexi Giannoulias says we need a tax hike to solve. But while Alexi is asking struggling Illinois families to pay even more, he’s holding campaign events with people who haven’t paid what they already owe.”
According to public filings, the State of Illinois has filed $36,869 in tax liens against Granite Innovation and M R D Associates from 1998 to 2007. Releases have been filed for $10,420-worth of the liens, while $26,449 appear to still be outstanding.
* In other news, Sen. Randy Hultgren has released a new poll of 300 likely voters that show him essentially tied with Democratic Congressman Bill Foster…
A May 3-4 survey of 300 likely voters in Illinois 14th District by the Tarrance Group showed Hultgren with 45% and Foster 44% in a general election match-up.
Republicans believe other numbers in the poll further demonstrate Foster’s vulnerability. The congressman’s job rating was 40% approve/41% disapprove and personal rating 40% favorable/33% unfavorable. Hultgren’s personal rating was 22% favorable/4% unfavorable.
In addition, 28% of respondents said Foster deserves reelection while 55% said a new person should be given a chance. And Republicans led on the generic ballot 47%-36%.
- RichieD - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:38 pm:
Makes sense Giannoulias would hold a press event with Illinois tax cheats.
- 10th Indy - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:38 pm:
“there are a whole lot more issues than the bank and they deserve coverage”
Agreed. So why didn’t Channel 2 report on the substance of the Kirk presser?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:40 pm:
Maybe it wasn’t all that newsworthy. I don’t see much coverage by anybody on that.
- Scooby - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:41 pm:
They forgot to use Bill Brady’s accountant.
- Hipster - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:41 pm:
Tax cheats? That’s an avoidable mistake. Can alexi’s campaign do anything right?
- Real Unclear Media - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:43 pm:
Ed Marshall has increasingly turned into a poster boy for irresponsible journalism. He’s either prepping for a position on TMZ or trying to do whatever he can to hold on to his job at a station whose ratings are in the sewer.
That station truly needs a new political producer.
- Ahoy - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:44 pm:
In all fairness, Giannoulias won his first campaign touting himself as an executive at that bank. Now that it’s been taken over by the government, it’s probably fair to be a major issue in the campaign, especially will all loans to gangsters and past felons.
- Adam Smith - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:44 pm:
Kirk’s campaign is talking about Broadway because Broadway is what is happening! The FDIC closed the bank, not Kirk. The newspapers have been looking into Alexi’s “experience” at Broadway, not Kirk.
Kirk did a presser on international debt crisis with Roskam this week and not a blip in the media. The feds close Broadway and there are more TV trucks there than at the OJ trial.
It’s amazing that the media believe Alexi’s sob story about mean old Kirk making everyone talk about his failed bank, when it is the media itself that has created the frenzy.
- bored now - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:48 pm:
10th Indy: i haven’t seen any coverage, either. and i’ve been looking. otoh, both the nytimes and the washpost had quotes from mark kirk in their papers today. he’s always available to talk to them.
it’s just the illinois press that he ignores…
- 10th Indy - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:49 pm:
“Maybe it wasn’t all that newsworthy.”
If issues like international debt and the IMF aren’t discussed because the media decides that they are not newsworthy doesn’t it seem disingenuous at best for the media to complain that issues aren’t getting discussed at all?
- shore - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:50 pm:
1. last time I checked msnbc was getting destroyed by fox news in the ratings wars, if CBS has declared war on republicans, conservatives and mark kirk, then I look forward to reading about their last place rankings. I don’t watch local news anymore largely because it’s uninformed drivel.
2. When all the democrats wanted to do was talk about bush, there was no outcry from the local chicago media. There was no talk of issues, it was democrats right, bush bad.
3. the top issues on their website right now include 100 year old woman, a dui, a crude tee shirt. What a serious outfit this is.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:55 pm:
===the top issues on their website right now include 100 year old woman, a dui, a crude tee shirt===
What a crock. The top story is the Dow. There’s a story about the Marshall thing. There’s a piece on the Burge trial. And the crude tee shirt piece is about a woman who was sent to jail by a Lake County judge for wearing a crude tee shirt.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 1:58 pm:
Is there any evidence Kirk has made an effort to pass his small business bill?
Has he sought any Democratic co-sponsors? Has he requested a hearing for his bill?
Or is Kirk acting like Dennis Kucinich? Kucinich files bills that are designed to appeal to the base, but then doesn’t do the work necessary to shepherd them through the process to become laws.
BTW, how many laws has Kirk passed while in the U.S. House? Since he was in the majority from 2001 until 2007, doesn’t seem like he should have gotten some signifigant laws passed?
Or did Kirk focus his best energy on helping Bush sell the Iraq War?
- paddyrolingstone - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:00 pm:
Ed Marshall is a great person and a terrific news guy. I hope this blows over for him.
- Niles Township - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:07 pm:
And Channel 2 wonders why they can’t leave the cellar.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:08 pm:
Rich, Right Wing websites complaining of media bias against Republicans is like the sun rising in the East.
It happened yesterday. It will happen tomorrow.
The only time it doesn’t happen is when the media completely scrubs all facts and opinions that refute, contradict or question Right Wing ideology.
- Niles Township - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:09 pm:
Incidentally, with Flannery gone, what political covearge do they even have anymore.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:09 pm:
===they can’t leave the cellar.===
Old news. They’re doing better.
- Ghost of John Brown - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:09 pm:
To Congressman Foster:
Bye-bye Bill.
- OneMan - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:11 pm:
Then what does this mean (bolding mine)
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:11 pm:
It seems absurd to discuss media bias in the U.S. Senate race without having the discussion primarily being about the Chicago Tribune.
Giannoulias has a decent claim of defamation against the Trib for saying the loan he made was illegal. It’s a textbook case of a media outlet saying a politician violated the law when he didn’t.
- OneMan - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:14 pm:
So Carl if the guy had said to Alexi,
“If this race is going be about Wall Street we are not going to cover it” you would have been cool about that?
I guess another interesting question would be has a Chicago news outlet said something like this to a previous candidate?
Hey Rod if you don’t stop talking about nothing besides how JBT is George Ryan’s love child we are not going to cover the governors race..
- Niles Township - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:17 pm:
Old news. They’re doing better.
————–
Wrong Rich. Your’e the one with old news on this one. During a brief period when Leno was tanking Ch. 5, Ch, 2 surged ahead. With NBC primetime back to “normal”, Ch. 2 has returned to the cellar.
- A.B. - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:22 pm:
- shore -
I am a pretty big R, but I don’t think your comparison of CBS vs. FoxNews is comparing apples to apples. Chicago media is much different than the national guys.
I do think that Adam Smith has some merit, it is true that Kirk is talking about the bank because that is the biggest news in the campaign. Any one of us would counsel a candidate to take advantage of a situation like this one.
- Adam Smith - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:26 pm:
Wow, we’re still talking about Broadway Bank.
Even though Alexi is whinning that we shouldn’t and now even the press is taking up his plea.
Team Giannoulias is doing a great job pushing this story to the background.
And to your point Rich, you note that the CBS 2 web site is headlining the market crash today. That was the subject of the Kirk/Roskam press conference that the media ignored earlier this week.
- right side - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:26 pm:
Ed Marshall isn’t a bad guy but if he is reporting then he should “report”. He should not be trying to dictate the rules of the campaign. And his tone was awful, including his overly personal and sympathetic reference to “Alexi”. Of course, it is channel 2 so it’s not like anybody is watching anyway.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:27 pm:
==“If this race is going be about Wall Street we are not going to cover it” you would have been cool about that?==
OneMan, are you admitting Kirk is the preferred candidate of Wall Street?
If a media person said that I would have been perplexed since they barely connect the idea of Wall Street screwing Americans to who gets elected to Congress.
That is, since the media ignores Wall Street as a campaign issue, it wouldn’t really affect things if one media outlet said it wasn’t going to cover Wall Street as a campaign issue.
- Fed up - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:29 pm:
Carl are you still telling lies like the loans broadway bank made to convicted felons and members of organized crime were good loans. Speak the truth sir.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:32 pm:
Just because the political media has been willing to irresponsibly follow the candidates’ leads in the past, doesn’t mean they should change now. Not that they will, but I’ll take any crumb of hope.
He did not say Broadway Bank wasn’t a legit story, he said if that’s all Kirk has, there’s not going to be any need following him around. The press can save money and time by just replaying clips of Kirk talking about Broadway bank; it’s not like he’s shedding more light on the story.
I might be interested in Kirk if I knew more about his positions on some issues. Frankly, if Kirk follows Marshall’s advice, he could lock up the election by August.
- Fed up - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:39 pm:
Channel 2’s take is a joke. If they wish to add commentary that’s fine many stations do that but to say we will not cover something that makes our preffered canidate ” Alexi” look incompetent is an abuse. It’s telling that the reporter is on a first name basis with Alexi
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:41 pm:
===It’s telling that the reporter is on a first name basis with Alexi===
Please.
- A.B. - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:42 pm:
Hey Carl, hate to break it to ya, but the public would rather have a candidate backed by Wall Street than one who is losing their “secure” college investments, supporting tax increases and more entitlement programs. So yeah, I’d rather Kirk be the guy backed by Wall Street.
- Responsa - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:43 pm:
–”however we refuse to let the candidates and their managers reduce a U.S. Senate campaign to a single issue of one candidate’s relationship with a bank”.– CBS
This is a surprisingly arrogant and telling statement.
News affiliates clearly are always free to cover (or not) any story or campaign the way they want to, and of course viewers are always free to watch the station whose reporters in general appear most competent to inform and synthesize actual events honestly. That’s what ratings capture. So, I originally saw this brouhaha as somewhat overblown. What does surprise me about CBS’ response, though,(especially the part which I highlighted) is that the guy seems to be taking on a role and responsibility which most viewers and most journalism schools might not expect of a station’s management. He seems to be saying he plans to drive the strategy and content of the two campaigns on CBS’ terms–rather than just document the campaigns–flaws and all. Back in the day that was called making the news, not reporting the news.
- A.B. - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:45 pm:
===It’s telling that the reporter is on a first name basis with Alexi===
That’s a ridiculous statement. Every major elected official should be on a first name basis with a bunch of reporters. If they aren’t chances are they are not going to be in office for very long.
- Fed up - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:52 pm:
Funny I’ve never heard Daley reffered to as Rich and he seems to be able to stick around
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:56 pm:
Fed up, Daley doesn’t like to be called Rich by people who aren’t his real friends. Nobody except I think Flannery calls Madigan “Mike.” But they’re the exception.
- OneMan - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 2:59 pm:
== OneMan, are you admitting Kirk is the preferred candidate of Wall Street? ==
No because it seems Alexi can’t talk about anything without bringing Wall Street up….
But if they said this to a Democrat about anything would you be cool with that?
- Lefty Lefty - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:13 pm:
How can one comment by one reporter compared to the extensive coverage of the Broadway Bank failure be proof of left-wing media bias?
- bored now - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:34 pm:
10th Indy: there’s no question that kirk is authoritative on the subject of imf and, to a lesser extent, international debt, but these aren’t exactly issues about which voters care. kirk is smart enough to realize this (and even to understand that his authority on foreign policy matters don’t necessarily favor him with voters). the media that is interested in these issues (eg, nytimes and washpost) do cover them and are quick to call kirk for a quote.
which is why his isolation policy from the illinois press is so strange.
OneMan: i’m sorry, but the coverage of national politics by the illinois media is pathetic. cbs doesn’t need an excuse to not cover the senate race — viewers probably won’t even notice. be real: this is the media that virtually ignored the il-05 special election; what happens outside of illinois doesn’t matter.
Adam Smith: yep, we’re still talking about broadway bank. that’s what kirk’s campaign wants, right? i would note that this particular topic was initiated by the declaration that the soap opera around broadway has ended. if kirk wants to go to a new topic, he is free to do so. no one should hold their breathe.
fwiw, alexi’s attack ad clearly threw kirk off his game. while i don’t know who kirk’s media consultants are, they are clearly not up to snuff (by that, i mean to the standards of ailes or castellanos). kirk’s “response” ad looked like they grafted the event to a first bio/puff piece, thereby appearing to have gone negative before their planned set-up piece. i get that kirk may have wanted to save money and not shoot a new ad, but this is just another example of kirk’s bad political judgment. alexi’s chances are looking brighter, if only because kirk is clearly exhibiting difficulty in adjusting to running a statewide campaign (especially a statewide campaign in the midwest, not the east coast)…
- bored now - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:37 pm:
Lefty Lefty: the definitive proof that the media tilts to the left came from a survey of reporters choice in the 1972 election (where they overwhelmingly voted for mcgovern). no update is required. we need not mention that very few current reporters could even vote in 1972, but conservatives hold on to that fact like its a precious metal. i figure they’ll hold on to that factoid at least for another 20 years…
- VanillaMan - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:41 pm:
How can one comment by one reporter compared to the extensive coverage of the Broadway Bank failure be proof of left-wing media bias?
Because the comment made, claimed that an entire news source wouldn’t cover a GOP Senate candidate’s campaign if he continued to “pillory” his opponent over a particular issue.
Ed Marshall needs to take a humble pill when he is working on mike or camera. I know him too. His level of confidence is not matched by his performance.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:46 pm:
When Giannoulias raises the issue of Wall Street, the reporters and journalists should ask him what he’s going to do about it.
Wall Street regulation is an issue that falls under the purview of Congress. It should be a campaign issue.
Giannoulias’ conduct with respect to Broadway Bank is a legit issue to the extent that the media is covering *the candidate’s* actions and decisions.
What’s absurd is when the Chicago Tribune uses rhetorical devices to imply the candidate caused Broadway to fail when it’s simply not true. Or when the Chicago Tribune lies and says Giannoulias’ actions violated the law when they didn’t.
Kirk doesn’t want to talk issues for a couple reasons.
1. Outside foreign policy, intelligence and some military issues, Kirk finds policy boring. He doesn’t like to study it; he doesn’t like to think about it.
2. If the election is on issues, Giannoulias will bury Kirk. This is true because Giannoulias’ positions are closer to most Illinois voters and b/c Right Wing candidates would significantly erode Kirk’s base.
So Kirk wants to make the election about Broadway Bank. And with the help of the Chicago Tribune, he’s been successful so far.
- Ellen Beth - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:46 pm:
Those interpreting Marshall’s comment as meaning he’s refusing to report on the Senate race are intentionally misinterpreting to re-spin the story in a light less unfavorable to Kirk. Marshall’s point was clear. He’s not going to report on the race on Kirk’s terms. No television or newspaper reporter should be reporting the race on any candidate’s terms. Frankly, Rich, I’m surprised you used the headline you did, that CBS is taking flack. That’s not the story. The story is that CBS took a stand. The rest is same old intentional misrepresentation we always see from Kirk and his supporters.
- A.B. - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:48 pm:
Bored is partially correct. The other side is that many reporters describe themselves and their field as tending to be Democrats. I work with the media on a daily basis and I can tell you that many (the vast majority) willingly tell me that in personal conversations.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:50 pm:
So Channel 2’s efforts to steer the conversation away from Broadway Bank really worked, right?
Kirk got 5 minutes of unedited airtime on Channel 2 over this controversy with other news media chiming in about it.
Other Carl Nyberg and Ellen Beth Gill, did anyone else get the impression that Kirk was ordered by Marshall to shut up about Broadway Bank and talk about something else?
Not a good day for Channel 2 or Giannoulias.
- A.B. - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:53 pm:
Carl -
Point # 1 - you have nothing to prove that other than your own conspiracy theory.
Point # 2 - when you take off your blinders you will realize that the polling in races across the state show that theory is ridiculous.
Face it, this year is trending Red and you have a bad candidate.
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 3:55 pm:
I don’t know what Marshal was trying to bluff the Kirk people into doing, but his tactic is laughable. “But Congressman, he said they wouldn’t cover us if we didn’t play ball!”
Like everyone else, Channel 2 has whacked Alexi pretty hard. Pam Zekman had a piece a couple of days ago on Alexi’s brother getting sued for home repairs, and they brought the bank into it.
But since it’s CBS, we know they’re part of the great worldwide conspiracy of the (enter your favorite group here). That will have the phone lines at WLS bleeding red from the blood of outraged tinhats.
- The REAL Anonymous fka Anonymous - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 4:02 pm:
===1. Outside foreign policy, intelligence and some military issues, Kirk finds policy boring. He doesn’t like to study it; he doesn’t like to think about it.===
Did Kirk tell you that, Carl, or did you mind meld with him when he was off his guard? An opinion is one thing, but to claim that you know what people–especially those you do not know well–like or do not like to think about seems like carrying it a bit too far.
- 10th Indy - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 4:06 pm:
Word - even more laughable since it was at a press conference that was not about Alexi or the bank.
Ellen - The story is that CBS2 is getting all high-horse about making candidates talk about issues and then ignores it when they do.
- PW - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 4:19 pm:
I’m certain if you examine Ch. 2’s coverage of the Senate campaign, the overwhelming majority of it has placed Alexi in a negative light, deservedly so given what’s happened.
So I don’t think this is an example of media bias. Rather, it is an example of media arrogance. Doesn’t Marshal seem a bit full of himself — like he gets to decide what the campaign is going to be about? Cool your jets, Ed. Believe it or not, you’re not the only smart guy in the room.
- Lefty Lefty - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 4:24 pm:
One of the most interesting things about this discussion is how Marshall’s actual question–on record, fully available for all to listen to–is twisted to serve one’s own purposes.
—OneMan: Then what does “we’re really not going to cover the Senate race” mean besides “we’re really not going to cover the Senate race”?
There’s a big IF right after you stop the quote. And there is actually a question right after that that Kirk answers!
—Adam Smith: Even though Alexi is whinning (sic) that we shouldn’t and now even the press is taking up his plea.
The press said, “We want to talk about other issues with you. What are they?” No plea, no defense of AG.
—Fed Up: If they wish to add commentary that’s fine many stations do that but to say we will not cover something that makes our preffered canidate ” Alexi” look incompetent is an abuse.
CBS never said it will not cover the campaign unconditionally.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 4:41 pm:
CBS never said it will not cover the campaign unconditionally.
And that is the problem sir! Who is the candidate? Who is the reporter? Who decides on what issues to run their campaign? Where do any reporters get the idea that they can blatantly declare their news station’s intent to make this kind of demand upon a candidate?
There are so many better ways for phrasing Ed Marshall’s question without making it sound like Ed Marshall will decide what his viewers on CBS2 will hear and see regarding this public campaign.
I don’t care how he is perceived, Mr. Marshall has no right, nor any public newschannel have any right to dictate how a candidate run their campaign. The arrogance here is astounding.
- bored now - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 5:00 pm:
VMan, where do you live? it’s almost like you’ve never been to america. let me break this down for you very, very simply. this is america. we have a capitalist economy. the media is a de-regulated business. cbs is *not* a public station. they are under no obligation to cover this campaign or any other — just to take the various campaign’s money to air their commercials. that you think marshall is attempting to dictate how a candidate runs his campaign puts you squarely in tin-hat, birther territory…
- Lefty Lefty - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 5:03 pm:
I don’t think it was a demand. I don’t think Kirk interpreted it as a demand–he answered the question straight up. I don’t think CBS is dictating anything. Marshall didn’t even say that CBS wouldn’t cover the Broadway issue–he said they wouldn’t cover it on Kirk’s terms.
Listen to the clip. This is really not a big deal. The only thing odd here is that Marshall for whatever reason let an editorial decision be mentioned in his question.
- Conservative Republican - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 5:30 pm:
Kiernan was “busted”, absolutely and without question. He clearly was trying to throw around his weight and push Kirk in a direction he wants to push Kirk. Would the fawning media only do the same thing with Obama, Durbin, Daley, etc, etc, but they don’t.
Kiernan’s CYA did not “forcefully” explain anything. He was trying to bully Kirk and there’s no two ways about it.
Kiernan and others are simply lying about the Kirk campaign. In March, I attended an open Republican fundraiser, which press could attend, which featured Kirk as the only speaker (which, according to the media, is “not newsworthy”), and Kirk covered a range of fiscal, environmental, healthcare, military, and foreign policy issues (plus) and barely made reference to Alexi and Broadway. To say that Kirk is not campaigning on policy and on substance is an outright lie.
I can’t decide whether Kiernan should be fired due to his lack of integrity and his lying or whether the ever declining CBS deserves the company it keeps.
- Conservative Republican - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 5:45 pm:
Meant to say Marshall was busted…
- Bubs - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 6:40 pm:
I can let it pass as a very arrogantly phrased request that Kirk address other issues, but WBBM sure looked dumb doing that a Kirk presser on one of those those other issues.
In 2006, Topinka hammered Blago on corruption right down to Election Day (quite correctly as things turned out.) The Rezko indicrtment came down in early to mid-October. If I understandc CBS-2 correctly, Topinka should have “pilloried” Blago for a week or so for his chief fundraiser being indicited, then dropped the matter, switching to the “real” issues” of the campaign? Not a chance.
This Bank failed all of 13 days ago. Now the liberal Chicago press wants to clamp down on the story. Not a chance on that, either.
- Scott Fawell's Cellmate - Friday, May 7, 10 @ 12:17 am:
Right wingers love playing the confused victim - “Big American media is liberal and hates conservatives - but Fox News is the biggest American media !”
Fake issues like this are chum to right wingers.
- NSDem - Friday, May 7, 10 @ 8:01 am:
If Don and Roma don’t understand why the media might not continue to cover Mark Kirk if he refuses to get beyond talking about Broadway Bank (which has been covered to death and plastered across the front page of the Tribune with stories that do not implicate Giannoulias in any way, while Kirk has said virtually nothing of substance), then they do not understand the role of journalism in a free society. The simply show their own ignorance and bias - both of which are significant.