Posted on 01/21/2002 2:06:01 PM PST by prman
The usual network suspects are up to their old tricks again now that a Republican is in the White House, unable to resist spinning a corporate scandal to make George W. Bush look guilty by association.
In what is generally not a "hard news" program, CBS News' "Sunday Morning" tries mightily to whack Republicans every time it features a controversial topic like race relations, right to life, economic policy or gay rights.
As their lead story on Jan. 20, the moguls at "Sunday Morning" saw another opportunity by exploiting the apparent corporate malfeasance at Enron.
CBS News correspondent Rita Braver filed what was billed as an "investigative" story on the mega-corporation, examining how Enron senior management was able to cash out their company stock when it was riding high, leaving the bulk of Enron employees with soon-to-be-worthless stock in their retirement plans, followed by pink slips and long waits in the Houston unemployment lines.
But rather than enlightening the public with the causesfor Enron's downfall, Braver and her producers chose instead to deal only with the already stale news of the effects of the collapse: the reactions of out-of-work employees interspersed with the not-exactly-nonpartisan ruminations of Democratic Congressman John Dingell, who relishes the prospect of impending investigations as he reflexively pushes for more federal involvement in corporate decision-making.
Braver couldn't wait to point out the connections between the Bush administration and Enron CEO Ken Lay. Almost as an aside, she mentioned the fact that Democrats, too, had been the recipients of Enron largess. Nonetheless, this was quickly forgotten, as video clips are shown of a smiling George W. Bush campaigning with various fat cat businessmen standing by, also smiling.
Then, Dick Cheney speaking to an audience, with Braver hinting darkly about a possible untoward connection between Lay and Cheney. But no footage was shown of a prominent Democrat like Charles Schumer with an Enron official, or of any Democrat politicians campaigning shoulder to shoulder with their smiling corporate contributors.
The implied message was that when it comes to sleazy corporate contributions, look to Republicans. This in spite of the fact that the biggest campaign contributions scandal of all time besmirched the Democratic National Committee during the Clinton years, aided and abetted by Clinton himself.
Trying to connect the dots, Braver questioned various experts who claimed that hefty campaign contributions always guarantee access to politicians. Though she was forced to admit that the Bush administration did absolutely nothing on behalf of Ken Lay and Enron, still Lay was able to talk directly to Bush, Cheney, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
The implication? Most people now believe Lay is self-serving and corrupt, then so must be those rascally Republicans in the administration. Need proof? Enron gave Republicans 73 percent of their donations, of course, while Democrats received only a piddling 27 percent.
Braver interviewed several former Enron employees who lost their jobs and their savings, and admitted that they had been deceived by Enron senior management. In her commentary, she seemed to think that it was the federal government's job to protect these employees, either through stricter SEC regulation or strong legislation stipulating pension plan protection against business failure.
Besides the obvious political agenda, Braver's piece was just another example of shoddy reporting trying to pass itself off as substantive news journalism.
Why exactly did the business fail? Where was the "in depth" discussion of the off-the-books limited partnerships that the company apparently used to conceal billions of dollars in debt from investors and analysts?
What about the sleight-of-hand accounting tricks and phony credit ratings that the company used to mislead investors?
Weren't the Enron big contributions to both political parties typically an attempt to hedge their bets, regardless of who controlled Congress or the executive branch – practices that go well back into the Clinton years of boom prosperity?
What is most disconcerting about this particular CBS story is that it makes no real attempt to enlighten viewers or help them understand the complex issues involved. With little insight, it simply wants us to get emotionally involved in the plight of the employees untimely relieved of their positions.
And CBS wants to point the finger of blame on shady corporate executives who have a penchant for cozying up to Republicans – you know, the ones who "stole" the election from Al Gore.
Ironically, on its Web site, CBS News at least makes a passable effort toward objectivity in a report called "Lights Out At Enron." On the air at "Sunday Morning," however, this was thrown overboard for sensation and spin. For what the public needs to know, Braver's report was worthless.
Barrett Kalellis is a commentator whose columns appear in The Detroit News, NewsMax.com, TownHall.com, National Review Online and other print and online publications.
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