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I suspect the vast majority of Americans probably never heard a word about the shocking details surrounding the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) during the Bush/Cheney era. Granted, it was sometimes challenging to keep up with all of the Bush administration scandals, but this one was a doozy, even by Republican standards.
Loyal Bushies at the MMS adopted an anything-goes atmosphere led to Caligula-like corruption and debauchery. That’s not an exaggeration in the slightest — federal officials were literally trading cocaine and sex for lucrative oil contracts. In the Bush/Cheney era, MMS became one of the most corrupt government agencies in American history.
And yet, the media never really took an interest in the controversy, despite the salacious details. Much of what we learned about the scandal came in the midst of the 2008 presidential campaign, so most major outlets more or less blew it off.
Solyndra’s loan guarantees, though, are apparently fascinating.
The coverage surrounding Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer that declared bankruptcy after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee, has been sloppy on the part of both mainstream and conservative media outlets. It has also been remarkably abundant.
Between August 31, when Solyndra suspended operations, and September 23, six major print outlets discussed the story in 89 items (news and opinion). Broadcast and cable TV networks discussed Solyndra more than 190 times, totaling over 10 hours of coverage — 8 hours of which occurred on the Fox News Channel.
To put the volume of Solyndra coverage into context, we examined how much attention major print and TV news outlets gave to 1) an obvious case of government corruption exposed in 2008 at the Minerals Management Service (MMS), and 2) a report exposing much greater loss of taxpayer dollars through military contracting waste and fraud.
The charts help drive the point home. Here, for example, is how major print outlets treated the various controversies.
And here are how the cable networks covered the same stories.
The next question, of course, is why. Every major print and television outlet has covered the Solyndra matter significantly more than the MMS story, even though the Solyndra is actually quite dull, and there’s no evidence at all of official wrongdoing. Some of this, as I noted earlier, has to do with timing and what else the political world is focused on, but that alone doesn’t seem to explain the discrepancy.
The answer, I suspect, has to do with the efficacy of the Republican Message Machine. News organizations tend to care about stories that Republicans insist are, in fact, stories. The GOP has proven remarkably adept at pushing outlets to cover news that may not actually be newsworthy, but which become newsworthy by virtue of Republican apoplexy.
When it comes to playing assignment editor, Democrats just aren’t in the same league.
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Burr Deming on September 29, 2011 1:25 PM:
The Michelle Obama hates the flag scandal as a result of creative lip reading comes to mind.
Anonymous on September 29, 2011 1:25 PM:
"When it comes to playing assignment editor, Democrats just aren’t in the same league."
...and this is what makes this country a very scary place to live in right now.
Danp on September 29, 2011 1:45 PM:
The charts above are astounding, but an even bigger story was the disparity between a) Apparently forged documents used by 60 minutes to bolster the argument that Bush was not a very good Air Guardsman vs b)Obviously forged documents showing an attempt to get uranium from Africa were used repeatedly to justify a war against Iraq, where no WMD were found.
c u n d gulag on September 29, 2011 1:45 PM:
Our "LIBERAL" MSM!
I'll take a 'literal' MSM, where they would 'literally' try to be even in their coverage.
I mean, how could the MMS scadal with coke and sex, officials and hooker/lobbyists, NOT be a better story than a green solar energy company that went out of business?
Amd I missing some naked suntanned Solyndra 'babes' baked in cilantro by solar energy somewhere?
Anonymous on September 29, 2011 1:48 PM:
This is the the two roots of all the problems Democrats are experiencing. Remeber about a year ago they did a poll that found that a plurality of Americans thought that Obama raised their taxes, when in fact Obama has lowered their taxes? Why would people think the opposite of what was true? Because of FOX and right wing talk show. Today they mentioned Solyndra a few times on Morning Joe.
This is why the GOP is unconcerned with polls, and the mainstream media. They routinely push legislation that have
If you want to look at good examples, look what happened to Donahue on MSNBC during the beginning of the war. Look how the right ruined Dan Rather's career and forced him off the air. When has the left been able to drive a scandal, or force a journalist off air. Thinnk of what would have happened if Mark Halperin called Bush a "dick". He would be working at Denny's. But liberals have such little power that he is now back on air.
There is no penalty for being wrong about a Dem. If you are wrong about a insignificant detail about a Repub, you get the death penalty. The Media are not scared of the Democrats at all. The Media are terrified of the Repubs. People in the media have seen how FOX can take an ordinary nutjob (Glenn beck, Palin) and turn him into a bazillionaire. Liberals do not have that ability.
TCinLA on September 29, 2011 1:51 PM:
of course they're going after Solyndra because it's a "Democrat's scandal" (even if it isn't). Go compare what they did with Reagan's Iran-Contra Scandal (which was a serious event with repercussions continuing to today) with all the "scandals" of the Clinton Aministration that never were (Christmas card list, Vince Foster's "murder", Clinton's "dug dealing," everything right up to and including the Lewinsky )scandal").
The mainstream media is owned by the people who benefit from what Republicans do. Someone is surprised that, given this fact, things go on as they do?
Live Free or Die on September 29, 2011 1:51 PM:
Anonymous=LFoD
jjm on September 29, 2011 1:58 PM:
Given how poorly the GOP ran our country and economy, it's a bit hard to comprehend why the media is 100% for them. Can it be that their narrow self-interest is in play -- Bush lowered their taxes and that's all that counts for them?
Or is it more deeply sinister, as that stock trader mentioned a few days ago: how traders are dreaming of another recession or depression, because, to quote him, that's when a few people can make a lot of money.
But I still can't see why the news media would be aching for that to happen?
Pressure does work to a certain extent. The boycotts of companies that advertised Glenn Beck saw him lose so many advertisers even the wealthy Saudis and Murdoch could not justify carrying him and his insanity.
But mainly, the slanting is constant, evident and infuriating.
Just read an NYT article a few days ago about Erdogan, Turkish PM, and how he's been so forward in supporting the Arab revolutions, with this line gratuitously thrown in, "whereas the Obama administration was slow to support them' or words to that effect.
Obama played the Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan revolutions just right. Too heavy a US hand in support would have led to negative consequences and charges of American meddling. I cannot see how there could be any doubt at all that Obama's administration has encouraged the flourishing of these democratic movements.
The only thing I can think of to do is turn off the news, cancel the papers, and stick with sites like this.
Green Dreams on September 29, 2011 2:07 PM:
Another point totally ignored by the right, and the media, is that ALL loans to the nuclear industry are government guaranteed, yet there's no push-back from either side about it. The loans are of course, considerably larger than the Solyndra loan. Nor do they complain about the fact that nuclear plant liability for accidents is covered by the taxpayer, not by private insurance (Price Anderson Act). While pushing a "free market" meme, the right and the media ignore the fact that nuclear energy is not economically viable.
If you can't get investors or banks to invest in a business, and you can't buy liability insurance at any cost because the liability is just too large, you don't have a viable business. Isn't that the "free market" way?
T2 on September 29, 2011 2:08 PM:
"The GOP has proven remarkably adept at pushing outlets" this is a stupid statement which I assume Mr. Benen is making with his tongue in cheek. It should read:
"The GOP has proven remarkably adept at pushing outlets their Corporate backers own"
Jay Ackroyd on September 29, 2011 2:10 PM:
The effect of this manipulation of the media extends far beyond this issue. Remember how worried Obama was about his "shovel-ready" projects--how the stimulus money trickled out slowly.
That's because any corruption or failed project would get blown out of proportion. So this doesn't merely convey the right's government sucks message. It literally pre-empts effective policy.
SW on September 29, 2011 2:14 PM:
You forgot another explanation. That the news media is a corrupt appendage of the Republican Party wholly dedicated to flogging the corporate agenda.
T2 on September 29, 2011 2:22 PM:
on MSNBC: "the question remains whether Herman Cain's race remains the impediment to his capturing the Republican nomination"
geez, that's a hard one to answer.
r on September 29, 2011 2:35 PM:
And Jon Stewart, too, gives the S story credence.
ameshall on September 29, 2011 2:38 PM:
Yes, the Republican Message Machine largely dictates which stories the media cover and from what angle. You would think the Democrats would have picked up on that, say, five or eight years ago, but they are too busy congratulating themselves for their steadfast refusal to "be like them." So, in the end, the Dems have no one to blame but themselves and their quaint notion that the truth always wins out in the end. And you can be sure that if the pundits are correct and the Republicans take control of the Senate, retain the House, and win the WH (w/ Romney), the Democratic party leaders will blame Obama without ever taking a hard look at their own political ineptitude and nonexistent messaging.
DenverRight on September 29, 2011 2:38 PM:
As an official member of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (with the certificate on the wall), I can really only deign to make a couple comments.
1. Congrats, Mr. BENEN, you read Media Matters very well. I have wondered where many of the topics posted here might originate, and it's hard to imagine a more "balanced" news source than MM.
2. I do wonder why the MM story only bothered to track those three scandals? Your recapitulation of the various media coverage shows a apparent bias toward Solyndra by a very broad swath of print and broadcast media. Could the "efficacy of the Republican Message Machine" really have gripped the NY Times, the LA TImes, or the Washington Post? Perhaps. But even mighty MSNBC had a significant bump in coverage for Solyndra (according to MM). Are you suggesting that MSNBC is a mere puppet pushed by the GOP agenda? MSNBC?
I suggest that this little study by Media Matters is more a reflection of what you hinted at, news cycles and relative competition by other stories at the time.
I can assure you none of my fellow conspirators will admit that their tentacles of influence extend this far.
Ron Byers on September 29, 2011 2:48 PM:
"When it comes to playing assignment editor, Democrats just aren’t in the same league."
And exactly whose fault is that? Hummmm.
We need a functioning Democratic party and we have needed one for the last 30 years. Howard Dean was moving in the right direction, but since his departure all of the gains he made have been lost. DWS has proven more adept at dumping on Democrats than anything else.
We are supposed to have a two party system. Near as I can tell one of the parties isn't really functioning.
doyles on September 29, 2011 3:06 PM:
This goes back to yesterday's story about The Daily Caller and their false assertions regarding the EPA. Right wing Republican talking points and lies begin in the right wing echo chamber but rarely stay there. Invariably the mainstream media picks up these stories and falsehoods and gives them the attention and credibility they do not deserve.
DenverRight on September 29, 2011 3:30 PM:
jjm@1.58: "But mainly, the slanting is constant, evident and infuriating...
The only thing I can think of to do is turn off the news, cancel the papers, and stick with sites like this."
OK, I finally stopped laughing so hard, now I can write again.
If you are distressed at biased reporting, and are searching for an unbiased source (and I am not convinced that such a media outlet exists), then look up "echo chamber" in the dictionary, the accompanying picture will be Washington Monthly.
I consult the Washington Monthly to read the views from the left. Is there any doubt to the slant of this site?
SWENXOF on September 29, 2011 3:31 PM:
I suggest that this little study by Media Matters is more a reflection of what you hinted at, news cycles and relative competition by other stories at the time.- DenverRight
Phony outrage and trumped up stories are a one way street these days. When FOX natters on for 8 hours about a story, other outlets feel compelled, for some godforsaken reason, to cover the same story as if the matter had actual weight beyond "this is what people (ie republicans) are talking about". This includes those supposedly liberal bastions of news about which you speak.
All news is sifted, condensed, and then shown through a lens. American news is simply no longer a viable entity. It chops, blends, and force feeds the "chattering buzz", never stopping to divulge its origin, which more often than not, traces back to a small minority pushing a specific agenda.
Cha on September 29, 2011 3:47 PM:
The corporatemediawhore$$$ have nothing to do with whether Dean is the Chairman or not. Did ya forget how the mediawhore$$ got rid of him with the manufacturing of his "Scream".
I stopped watching them in 2002 when I could see they were the reason for the repub win in the midterms..and, I only started watching in 2000.
SW puts it succinctly.. "You forgot another explanation. That the news media is a corrupt appendage of the Republican Party wholly dedicated to flogging the corporate agenda."
And, Jon Stewart has been a real idiot at certain times lately. Which is way too bad..with repubs all he had to do was report the facts. With Dems it seems he has to make up shit at times to think he's funny.
Mitch on September 29, 2011 3:53 PM:
I do not really believe that the media as a whole is in the Republican corner out of some sort of conspiracy or other nonsense like that. Fox & the Murdoch empire conspire against anything Democratic, but that's a given.
For the rest, I think coverage is mostly due to the method in which the Right tends to complain versus how the Left does. The Right will hammer on any Democratic scandal nonstop, with full force, until they are blue in the face. They will claim that Planned Parenthood is out there paying for abortions, which it is not. They will accuse Obama, loudly, of raising taxes, which he has not. They also tend to use words like "socialism" (nothing he has done is socialism) and claim that Obama is trying to destroy the country. Dems tend to be more polite.
See, the media is not in the Journalism business anymore. They are in the business of selling advertising space. Therefore, they just care about gaining viewers. So they will play the story that is the loudest, they will repeat the boldest of claims, without regard to the facts. It's not a conspiracy, it's just a side-effect of the corporate culture that now dominates the mainstream media.
Okra God on September 29, 2011 3:53 PM:
Yeah... but even your article falls into the same old Democratic error. You're using facts and charts and stuff that's hard. Repubs don't have to worry about that stuff, they don't even like that junk. Just make it up and get angry.
Democrats need the same kind of message... Repubs want to kill your puppies and rape your girls and send yer boys to fight useless wars and then give yer money to fereners. Say this often, and try to generate some spit while you do it.
bjork55 on September 29, 2011 4:51 PM:
Here, read this:
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/09/28/protests/index.html
In sum, what the establishment wants, the establishment gets.
Not Anonymous on September 29, 2011 5:35 PM:
Solyndra is a made for primetime movie: cheap, trite with a host of bad actors. The plot of this drama is shallow and contrived. There is no real connection to the world we live in but in the grand style of hype and superficial interest, we are going to be entertained more by the commercials than by the actual show. There is no story here worth the paper and ink it's printed on. However, that will not ever stop today's media from wasting millions on those very resources. After all, just who owns the media these days anyhow? A bunch of scum bag republicans are not ever going to be interesting enough to mention. It's a given; everyone already know how fucked up the GOP and corporate America is: why beat a dead horse? It's much more lucrative to make shit up. The truth does not matter.
SecularAnimist on September 30, 2011 11:09 AM:
Steve Benen wrote: "The next question, of course, is why."
To destroy the US solar energy industry -- which is the fastest growing industry in the country, and as such threatens the profits of the fossil fuel corporations.