Media Matters - Mara Liasson

Media Matters - Mara Liasson http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/mara_liasson This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: Mara Liasson en-US Copyright 2009, Media Matters for America Echoing Bush on legacy tour, NPR's Liasson says Iraq war "pretty manageable, if not almost won" http://mediamatters.org/items/200812160013 On Special Report, Mara Liasson said of President Bush's handling of the Iraq war, "I think that history will judge him pretty kindly," but made no mention of the ongoing debate over whether the United States should have initiated the war in the first place or whether it has been worth the cost in lives, money, and diverted attention and resources. She also described Bush as "handing over a war that's pretty manageable, if not almost won, to his successor." Liasson's words closely tracked Bush's own recent descriptions of progress in Iraq, as he has repeatedly discussed the legacy of his presidency. http://mediamatters.org/items/200812160013 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:14:14 EST NPR, LA Times reported Palin's "palling around with terrorists" claim, but not her distortion of NY Times article she cited http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070005 NPR and the Los Angeles Times reported Gov. Sarah Palin's claim that Sen. Barack Obama has been "palling around with terrorists," a reference to his acquaintance with William Ayers. However, neither noted Palin's distortion of The New York Times article she cited, which reported that "the two men do not appear to be close." http://mediamatters.org/items/200810070005 Tue, 7 Oct 2008 10:55:43 EST Media have repeatedly asserted Palin faces "low" or "lowered" expectations in debate, despite praise of her debate skills http://mediamatters.org/items/200810010015 Several media figures have asserted that Gov. Sarah Palin faces "low" or "lowered" expectations in the upcoming vice-presidential debate and that she therefore faces a lower bar for victory than Sen. Joe Biden. They have made these assertions despite criticism by at least one member of the media over the media's setting of a lower bar for Palin and despite praise of her performance in the Alaska gubernatorial debate by others in the media and by McCain campaign surrogate Mitt Romney. http://mediamatters.org/items/200810010015 Wed, 1 Oct 2008 16:49:52 EST NPR's Liasson played clip of McCain ad without noting its distortions http://mediamatters.org/items/200809170010 NPR's Mara Liasson uncritically reported that Sen. John McCain's campaign is "running this ad claiming she's [Gov. Sarah Palin] been the victim of sexism by Obama." In fact, the ad distorts each of the three Obama campaign statements it uses to make its "claim[]" as FactCheck.org and The New York Times have noted. http://mediamatters.org/items/200809170010 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:58:49 EST NPR's Liasson falsely claimed distortion-laden McCain ad "catalogued all of the false or sexist or awful things" Dems have said about Palin http://mediamatters.org/items/200809120011 On NPR's Morning Edition, Mara Liasson asserted that a new McCain campaign ad "catalogued all of the false or sexist or awful things that Democrats and Obama supporters have said about [Gov.] Sarah Palin." In fact, the ad did not "catalogue[]" any "false" statements the Obama campaign or other Democrats have made about Palin and, as FactCheck.org noted, the ad "distorts" each of the three Obama campaign statements it uses "to make the case" that Sen. Barack Obama is "being 'disrespectful' of Palin." http://mediamatters.org/items/200809120011 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:55:09 EST Liasson finds "irony" in "a liberal Democrat showcasing his faith" http://mediamatters.org/items/200808110182 On NPR's Morning Edition, Mara Liasson asserted there was "irony" in "a liberal Democrat showcasing his faith." Liasson did not explain what she thought was "ironic" about such an action. http://mediamatters.org/items/200808110182 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:11:42 EST Liasson reported McCain "has begun emphasizing the importance of securing the borders," not that it's a reversal of his position http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090010 NPR's Mara Liasson asserted that Sen. John McCain, "while never abandoning his commitment to legalization, has begun emphasizing the importance of securing the borders." In fact, McCain's current position -- that "we've got to secure the borders first" -- is not just a change of "emphasi[s]"; it is at odds with his prior position that border security could not be disaggregated from other aspects of comprehensive immigration reform without being rendered ineffective. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807090010 Wed, 9 Jul 2008 19:40:11 EST NPR's Liasson cited McCain's work with Kennedy on immigration reform as a "source of his maverick reputation," didn't note flip-flop http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020008 NPR's Mara Liasson said that Sen. John McCain "has made a career of taking heat from his own party for working with liberal Democrats like ... Ted Kennedy on immigration." However, Liasson did not note that during his run for president, McCain reversed his position on a key component of comprehensive immigration reform, and stated that he would not vote for the bill he co-sponsored with Kennedy. http://mediamatters.org/items/200807020008 Wed, 2 Jul 2008 17:44:36 EST On Fox News Sunday, Liasson falsely claimed that study concluded Obama's tax plans "might add more to the deficit" than McCain's http://mediamatters.org/items/200806150001 On Fox News Sunday, Mara Liasson falsely asserted that a Tax Policy Center analysis of Sens. McCain's and Obama's tax plans "said that Obama might add more to the deficit -- because it's unclear how he's going to pay for these -- than McCain would add to the deficit." In fact, the Tax Policy Center found that Obama's tax proposals would raise $700 billion over the next 10 years, while McCain's tax proposals would lose $600 billion, when scored against a " 'current policy' baseline," which "assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts would be extended and the AMT [Alternative Minimum Tax] patch made permanent." http://mediamatters.org/items/200806150001 Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:42:31 EST Media once again uncritically report McCain's criticism of Romney's negative ads without mentioning McCain's numerous ads attacking Romney http://mediamatters.org/items/200801310012 In their coverage of the January 30 Republican presidential debate, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, ABC, and National Public Radio all reported Sen. John McCain's criticism of Mitt Romney over negative campaign ads. However, none of those media outlets noted that McCain has aired numerous ads attacking Romney, despite having said that "negative campaigns don't work." http://mediamatters.org/items/200801310012 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:46:45 EST Russert -- followed by NPR's Liasson -- misrepresented Clinton letter to National Archives http://mediamatters.org/items/200711050005 During the October 30 Democratic presidential debate, Tim Russert falsely claimed that a 2002 letter written by President Clinton to the National Archives "specifically ask[ed] that any communication between [then-first lady Hillary Clinton] and the president not be made available to the public until 2012" before asking Sen. Clinton, "Would you lift that ban?" In fact, President Clinton's letter did not ask that such communications "not be made available," but rather listed them as documents to be "considered for withholding" [emphasis added]. Clinton Records representative Bruce Lindsey said that Clinton asked in the letter that such communications be designated as part of a "subset" of presidential records "that should be reviewed prior to release." http://mediamatters.org/items/200711050005 Mon, 5 Nov 2007 16:15:27 EST NPR reporter Mara Liasson pronounced Giuliani "authentic," "comfortable in his own skin" http://mediamatters.org/items/200710100003 On Special Report, discussing the October 9 Republican presidential debate, Mara Liasson stated: "[O]ne thing about [Rudy] Giuliani, if this is the year for authenticity, I would say that so far, Giuliani has been the authentic candidate in the race. He's very much himself, he's in your face, he seems to be comfortable in his own skin." She also said Giuliani is "strong and tough, and he has this incredible experience behind him." http://mediamatters.org/items/200710100003 Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:59:11 EST NPR's Liasson claimed there is a "kind of candor and honesty that people come to expect from John McCain" http://mediamatters.org/items/200707150005 http://mediamatters.org/items/200707150005 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:53:13 EST Liasson noted Thompson's "pickup truck" but failed to mention it was a campaign prop http://mediamatters.org/items/200707080005 http://mediamatters.org/items/200707080005 Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:15:33 EST On Fox News Sunday, Liasson called Armitage the "real leaker" http://mediamatters.org/items/200707080004 http://mediamatters.org/items/200707080004 Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:00:40 EST