Posted on 12/10/2002 10:01:30 AM PST by new cruelty
Press Coverage of Lott's Slip Dwarfs Byrd 'N'-Word Episode
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's birthday tribute to Sen. Strom Thurmond has drawn a deluge of hostile coverage from the same media outlets that virtually ignored top Senate Democrat Robert Byrd's outrageous use of the "N" word during a nationally televised interview last year.
Since Lott praised Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat presidential candidacy last Thursday, saying that if he'd been elected "we wouldn't have had all these problems over these years," the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, CNN and the Fox News Channel have intensely covered the story, with a combined total of 34 reports on the incident.
On Tuesday alone, both the New York Times and the Washington Post featured three stand alone reports each on the Lott-Thurmond flap.
The blanket coverage of Lott's comments, which have been described as racist by former Vice President Al Gore, stands in marked contrast to the major media's decision last year to give Sen. Byrd a pass for using the ugliest of racial epithets during a nationally televised broadcast.
Within five days of Byrd's March 4, 2001 outburst on "Fox News Sunday," where he twice used the phrase "white niggers" before insisting, "I'm going to use that word," the Washington Post featured just one story on the Byrd comment. The New York Times ignored the story altogether.
While the Fox News Channel featured 7 reports on Byrd's racist outburst, CNN mentioned the story only once. The Associated Press, which by Tuesday morning had covered the Lott-Thurmond brouhaha in 13 reports, covered the Byrd incident in just 4 reports.
The overwhelming majority of the coverage of Byrd's remarks led with news of his written apology, which was reported by "Fox News Sunday" immediately after he made the racially charged comments.
Though the Republican Senate leader has also apologized for what he described on Monday as "a poor choice of words," initial coverage of the story focused on the remarks themselves as well as calls by Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton for him to resign.
Though Byrd spent a good portion of the 1930's as a Grand Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan and referred to blacks in writing as late as the 1940's as "race mongrels," no civil rights leader called for his resignation in the wake of his use of the "N"-word last year.
Neither Gore nor ex-President Clinton and his wife Sen. Hillary Clinton have ever denounced the West Virginia Democrat's use of the demeaning racial insult.
A Tuesday morning Lexis-Nexis search reveals a distinct imbalance in the major media's coverage in the five days after Lott's comments, compared to how the press handled Byrd's remarks over the same period in 2001.
New York Times: Lott - 3 reports, Byrd - None Washington Post: Lott - 3 reports, Byrd's Apology - 1 report Associated Press: Lott: -13 reports, Byrd's Apology - 4 reports CNN: Lott - 9 reports or mentions. Byrd - 1 mention Fox News Channel: Lott - 6 reports or mentions, Byrd: 7 reports or mentions
The focus on Lott is particularly curious since nowhere in his remarks did he mention the word race, reference blacks or segregation or use the "N" word or any other racial epithet. According to NBC News, Lott's offending comments went as follows:
"I want to say this about my state. When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over these years, either."
In contrast, Sen. Byrd demonstrated a marked level of comfort with the ugliest of racial epithets when asked about the state of U.S. race relations. According to the Fox News transcript, he replied:
"I just think we talk so much about it that we help to create somewhat of an illusion. I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, 'Robert, you can't go to heaven if you hate anybody.' We practice that. There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time; I'm going to use that word."
I disagree with Lott's statement. 1948 was a little over 80 years after the end of the Civil War. The people who fought that war and their children were dying out. Race was going to be an important issue as a new generation of politicians and voters came to power.
The problem is that Byrd sstill believes in the concept of "[insert racial slur her]" itself.
You have made a valid point concerning Lott's leadership role and supposedly "HAVING TO" appear above reproach. However, this article just shows ONE MORE example of media bias and contempt for Repubs by the Hypocritical Pharasidic Press.
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