Rremember the Media Research Center’s complaint that the media was reporting claims that South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley had an affair when the only evidence they had was that the other person claimed there was one? In the MRC’s eyes, this was defined as “unproven”; NewsBusters’ Mark Finkelstein insisted it it was unworthy of coverage because “Haley has categorically denied the allegations.”
No one should be surprised to learn that MRC’s ethics on such things are completely situational and depend on who’s being accused. Take the case of Al Gore being accused of making sexual advances on a masseuse. The charge is unproven, and Gore has categorically denied it. So guess what the MRC is complaining about? That it’s being ignored, of course.
That’s what Finkelstein does in a July 1 NewsBusters post, accusing MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” of overlooking the story. Finkelstein doesn’t mention that Gore has “categorically denied” the accusation — thus making it, by his own standards of just a few weeks ago, unworthy of coverage.
Why is anyone surprised that MRC employees allow their bias to trump their ethics?