REPORT: Not just immigration: Dobbs out of step with his network on gun coverage
SUMMARY: CNN's Lou Dobbs is obsessed with the issue of gun control, often fearmongering that the government will seize his audience's guns. Over a period of six months, his show devoted 11 times more words per broadcast hour to the topic than did CNN's The Situation Room.
Dobbs devoted far more coverage to gun control than The Situation Room
Dobbs devoted 11 times more words per hour than The Situation Room. A study of Lou Dobbs Tonight and The Situation Room Nexis transcripts reveals that from January 1 through July 23, the hour-long Lou Dobbs Tonight devoted a total of approximately 29,900 words to segments, discussions, and briefs about gun control over 140 total broadcast hours -- an average of 214 words per hour. By contrast, the three-hour-long Situation Room spent a total of approximately 8,400 words on the issue over 441 total broadcast hours -- an average of 19 words per hour.
Dobbs had almost three times as many broadcast hours with gun-control discussion. Forty-five of the 140 Dobbs broadcasts studied included at least one brief, segment, or discussion of the issue. Of the 441 broadcast hours of The Situation Room studied, 16 had at least one brief, segment, or discussion of the issue.
Studies belie CNN president's claim that Dobbs is now doing "more of a straight newscast"
CNN president Klein reportedly claimed Dobbs is "doing more of a straight newscast than he's ever done before." In an April 26 article, The New York Times reported: "CNN argues that Mr. Dobbs's mix of opinion and news is grandfathered into his show. But Mr. [Jonathan] Klein also said that the network was trying to adjust the format. 'If you watch Lou's show, he's doing more of a straight newscast than he's ever done before.' "
Findings are consistent with study of Dobbs' coverage of immigration. An earlier Media Matters for America study found that from January 1 through July 23, Dobbs gave significantly more coverage -- roughly 13 times more words per hour -- to immigration than The Situation Room. The study found that over the same period, Dobbs had more than three times as many broadcast hours that included briefs, segments, and panel discussions on immigration -- often focusing on undocumented immigrants -- as The Situation Room.
Dobbs' guest imbalance also endangers CNN's credibility. An earlier Media Matters study found that significantly more Republicans and conservatives than Democrats and progressives appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight during the first four months of 2009.
A pattern of fearmongering and misinformation
Dobbs' coverage frequently invokes fears of gun regulation. Below are some examples of Dobbs' coverage of gun control on his show:
DOBBS: Gun sales have simply soared since the election of President Obama. Gun owners all across this country are concerned, and many others are concerned, that the Obama administration will curtail second amendment rights to bear arms. This concern is based on the president's past record on gun rights and that of his nominee to be attorney general, who will be running the Justice Department, Eric Holder. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 1/28/09, from the Nexis database]
DOBBS: Democrats tonight are facing strong and rising opposition to proposals to limit Americans' right to keep and bear arms. More than 50,000 gun owners attending the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Phoenix, which began today. Those gun owners are increasingly confident they will block the administration's efforts to restrict their Second Amendment rights. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 5/15/09, from Nexis]
DOBBS: New concerns tonight about Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor and her rulings on our Second Amendment rights. Specifically can states and municipalities restrict our gun rights? That's the subject of our "Face Off" debate. [Lou Dobbs Tonight, 6/5/09, from Nexis]
Dobbs uses CNN, radio show to advance myths and falsehoods. Media Matters has noted that Dobbs has repeatedly used his prime-time CNN show and his radio show to spread discredited theories and false claims. In recent days, Dobbs has also helped advance the repeatedly debunked myth that President Obama has yet to produce a valid birth certificate, resulting in criticism from his CNN colleagues and other media figures.
Methodology
Media Matters searched all Lou Dobbs Tonight and Situation Room transcripts available in the Nexis database for the search terms "gun or second amendment or rifle or weapon or firearm or arms." The date range for the search was January 1 through July 23. Only transcripts of weekday broadcasts were included. Every brief, segment, and panel discussion about gun control in those transcripts was included in the word count. For panel discussions, which can range over several topics, only portions that included a substantive exchange on gun control were included. Speaker identifiers and television directions in the transcript were also counted. In-show teasers were not counted. For Lou Dobbs Tonight, viewer mail on gun control was not included in the word count. For The Situation Room, viewer mail on gun control during "The Cafferty File" segment was included. Word counts were calculated using Microsoft Word's word count function.
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Tommy, you forgot to add, "this is silly", and "why is this here?".
So What? It is prima facia evidence that he frequently engages in fear-mongering. That is one of his primary journalistic devices. And by the way, sensible and responsible folks think fear-mongering is bad because it leads to conflict, hatred and avoidance of the real causes of our problems. That's "So What?"
So what? Dobbs must be lock-step in agreement with other cnn hosts? This is a telling example of mmfa simply criticizing others for nothing more than holding opposing views. How dare Dobbs flout the liberal, zombie mindset at cnn!
We read constantly on this ridiculous site about the 'corporate-run' media telling reporters what to say and think, and yet when Dobbs bucks the conventional wisdom at his own network he is called out?
Huh?
MMFA is nothing but a criminal enterprise of left-wing hacks masquerading as a media reearch firm. A complete joke!
For the simple-minded, I suppose.
We read constantly on this ridiculous site about the 'corporate-run' media telling reporters what to say and think,
Provide an example, please. And then another, and another. And then a few hundred more. After all, "constantly" is your claim.
and yet when Dobbs bucks the conventional wisdom at his own network he is called out?
Yes, you suppose that CNN is otherwise a bastion of liberalism and that they support stronger gun control. You're wrong, of course.
Huh?
Whoops, your first misspelling. That should be "Duh."
MMFA is nothing but a criminal enterprise of left-wing hacks masquerading as a media reearch (sic) firm. A complete joke!
What laws have they broken? How do you define "hacks"? Do you deny that they do media research?
It's pretty obvious who is the complete joke here.
Huh?
There is a great line about the "game" of football in North Dallas Forty. A player says, "When you want it to be a business, they tell you it's a game. When you want it to be a game, they tell you it's a business."
Sheer "Hot Air" InSannity loves to bemoan "the death of journalism in 2008." He is at least a person of interest in the crime, if not a material witness. Or a logical suspect.
InSannity, Lou Doggs, Bull O'Really? want to be journalists. Until someone calls them on it, then they want to be commentators who "commentate" (as opposed to English language "comment").
Which is it? Get on one side or the other, make it clear what you are doing, and let people decide from there. But this mix is not only unhealthy, it is downright destructive...