Charles Kuralt

Flashback Video: Uncomfortable Journalists Being Asked If They Committed Adultery
By Scott Whitlock | June 7, 2013 | 2:00 PM EDT

 

In case you haven't heard, the Media Research Center is moving. Starting June 10, the MRC (which publishes NewsBusters) will be located in Reston, Virginia. As we prepare for the move, we've discovered old, unseen gems. During the 1992 presidential campaign, George H.W. Bush was asked whether he had ever been unfaithful to Mrs. Bush. Tom Sherwood, a local journalist for NBC's Washington affiliate, cornered Dan Rather, Charles Kuralt and Tim Russert at the Republican National Convention in Houston. He turned the tables on his fellow reporters, quizzing them about possible affairs.

An awkward Rather first shot back, "You been asking this to Tom Brokaw, have you?" After Sherwood demanded, "Have you ever committed adultery," Rather retorted, "Have you?" Following another pause, the then-CBS Evening News anchor clumsily concluded, "Mmm. Well, thank you very much. Pleased to see you." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

The MRC@25: The Worst Media Bias of 1994
By Rich Noyes | September 8, 2012 | 8:01 AM EDT

Once a day for 25 days, NewsBusters is showcasing the most egregious bias the Media Research Center has uncovered over the years — four quotes for each of the 25 years of the MRC, 100 quotes total — all leading up to our big 25th Anniversary Gala on September 27. (Click here for ticket information)

So far, we’ve published the worst quotes from 1988 through 1993 (you can find those here). Today, the worst bias of 1994, including ABC’s Peter Jennings calling voters “two-year-olds” for electing a Republican Congress (“the voters had a temper tantrum last week”), and a USA Today columnist hoping Clarence Thomas would die. [Quotes and video below the jump.]

Worst ‘Notable Quotables’ of the Past 20 Years: A Potpourri of Idiocy
By Rich Noyes | October 26, 2007 | 10:08 AM EDT
To commemorate the Media Research Center’s 20th anniversary this month, we’ve just published a special expanded edition of our ‘Notable Quotables’ newsletter with more than 100 of the most outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes we’ve uncovered over the past 20 years. To wrap up this week’s posts, I thought I’d list a few of the most outrageous or moronic quotes we’ve come across since 1987.

For sheer wackiness, it’s hard to top then-CNBC anchor Geraldo Rivera, who sang his disdain for independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr during the height of the Lewinsky scandal, July 21, 1998, on his Rivera Live program, to the tune of “Twinkle, twinkle, little star.”

Video (0:37): Windows (1.22 MB), plus MP3 audio (150 kB).