Preacher and long-shot presidential candidate Pat Robertson was a “conservative … culture warrior,” his obituaries told us. Read NBC News at the time of Robertson’s death in 2023, and you’ll learn he “drew criticism for his incendiary political statements” and spread his “fiery ideology.”
In contrast, preacher and long-shot presidential candidate Jesse Jackson was not a “liberal” or a “progressive.” His “ideology” wasn’t worthy of mention. Jackson was merely a “Baptist minister and two-time presidential candidate whose booming oratory and populist message propelled the civil rights movement.”
In the only passage where NBC even hinted at Jackson’s ideology, they gave him the last word: “His 1984 campaign angered some Democrats who said his ideas were too left-leaning and would hurt the party in the general election. Jackson dismissed the concerns.”
“‘The great responsibility that we have today is to put the poor and the near-poor back on front of the American agenda,’ Jackson said of his 1984 campaign in a 1996 interview with PBS. ‘This is a dangerous mission, and yet it’s a necessary mission!’”
The media’s unthinking liberal bias is particularly visible whenever a conservative or liberal figure dies. The conservative is described as a “controversial” ideologue, while the liberal’s ideology is mostly ignored.
Because last week was the tenth anniversary of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, I was thinking about the articles covering Scalia at the time. Article after article about Scalia’s death and life used the adjective “controversial.”
NBC said Scalia was “known for his sharp tongue and controversial opinions.” Bloomberg wrote this about Scalia: “Known for his sarcasm and combative style, Scalia was a polarizing force on the court and across the country … Scalia was as controversial off the bench as on.”
As you can guess, Jesse Jackson, who just died, didn’t get this treatment.
Compare the lead paragraphs of the articles at NBC: Scalia was an “ideological conservative known for his fiery comments.” The biggest chunk of the piece was about Scalia not being a fan of gay marriage.
Now read the entire NBC obit of Jackson. It’s all positive except for one paragraph — only one, and far down the piece — where they mention that he called New York City “Hymietown.” If you’re not familiar with antisemitic jargon, Jackson was complaining that one in eight New Yorkers is Jewish.
WHAT IS GERRYMANDERING AND CAN IT BE STOPPED?
NBC never once called Jackson “controversial” or “divisive,” even though he objectively was controversial and divisive. He stated that there was “absolutely” an effort to disenfranchise black voters in Florida in 2000. He had an extramarital affair with an employee. He, again, called New York City “Hymietown.” He befriended Yasser Arafat and Louis Farrakhan.
Maybe the editors at NBC agreed with Jackson, but about half the country would really be put off by this behavior. Maybe you think the wrong time to mention controversies is upon the person’s death, but NBC obviously doesn’t believe that.
