[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 684]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       OBJECTIVE MEDIA REPORTING

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, after an election, it's useful to 
take a brief look back before moving forward. According to the 
Nonpartisan Project for Excellence in Journalism, during the 
Presidential campaign, media coverage of Senator McCain was three times 
more negative than the coverage of Senator Obama. President-elect Obama 
won by about 7 percent. That means, if the media's one-sided coverage 
changed the minds of just 4 voters out of 100, the media, because of 
their bias, determined the outcome of the election.
  Now that the election is over, will President-elect Obama get a free 
ride from his media allies?
  One cable news host already is on record as saying it's his job as a 
journalist to ensure that this presidency is successful. The media can 
provide a valuable service, but we need to hold them accountable and 
need to insist on objective reporting.

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