[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19936]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   MEDIA WATCHDOG ORGANIZATION NEEDED

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, since Labor Day, the traditional 
start of presidential campaigns, ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts 
have given Al Gore 55 percent positive coverage and George Bush only 35 
percent. The networks, which are the primary source of information for 
most Americans, did not cover several possible scandals involving the 
Gore campaign.
  Sometimes I wonder if they are trying to control our political 
process. The media do not have a license to lie or mislead or slant or 
skew the news. We should hold biased members of media accountable and 
encourage them to be fair, impartial, and balanced.
  One way is to form a citizen's watchdog organization. If the media 
will not police themselves, and if we cannot allow the government to 
intervene, then it is up to us to take the initiative.
  Good government and fair media coverage demands that we take such an 
action.

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