by Allie Martin
(AgapePress) – A former correspondent for CBS News is defending a recent editorial he wrote which said that most of the national news reporters are liberal — whether they admit it or not.
Bernard Goldberg left CBS News last year after 28 years with the network. Goldberg recently wrote an editorial for The Wall Street Journal which said that the three nightly news anchors — Dan Rather (CBS), Peter Jennings (ABC), and Tom Brokaw (NBC) — do have a liberal bias. He points to the different ways the media covered the homeless issue during various administrations in Washington.
“Homelessness wasn't an issue [on television] when Jimmy Carter was President, [but it] became a huge issue on television when Ronald Reagan became President,” Goldberg said. “Not only [were there numerous] stories about it, many of them flat-out blamed Ronald Reagan's budget cuts for homelessness.”
“But then something fascinating happened — 'fascinating' is probably the wrong word, it was 'miraculous'. Homelessness disappeared in America when Bill Clinton became President,” he said.
The veteran news correspondent says more balance is needed on the evening newscasts, but that those calling for more balance are harshly criticized. “If you make this argument … in favor of balance [and] fairness, somehow it's seen as a conservative argument.”
“I can make an argument in favor of civil rights, and I don't have to be black. I can make an argument in favor of women's rights, and I don't have to be a woman,” Goldberg said. “But … in this one area, if you make an argument for fairness and for balance … and against the leftward tilt in the news, somehow you're part of the 'vast right-wing conspiracy.'”
Goldberg made his comments on the C-SPAN cable network.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
