Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 10, 2006
1:31 PM
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CONTACT: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
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NBC Distorts Its Polling on Warrantless Wiretaps
Russert, Reid paint public as backing Bush
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NEW YORK - February 10 - The story of the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping is one
that mainstream media have been slow to give the attention it deserves
(Action Alert, 1/11/06; Media Advisory, 1/27/06).
Now some journalists are pointing to public opinion to justify the news
industry's less-than-aggressive approach to this major constitutional
scandal. But when NBC's Tim Russert
and Chip Reid cite polling data, are they really talking about what the
public thinks—or what they think we ought to think?
On February 7, when syndicated radio host Don Imus (whose show is simulcast on MSNBC) interviewed Reid, an NBC
congressional correspondent, about Democratic criticism of the NSA
wiretapping program, Imus remarked, "I wonder if these senators
understand that the American people don't care about this." Reid
replied:
"Well, that's part of the problem here. I know the NBC
poll and other polls have shown that people aren’t really paying
attention.... The American people are saying, 'Wait a minute. Are you
criticizing the administration for intercepting communications from al
Qaeda to American sympathizers who then want to bomb us? Please
intercept those calls!'... If you find out they’re abusing the program,
then you’re going to have a serious problem. Otherwise Americans are
going to say: 'Please intercept those calls. Keep me safe.'"
One has to wonder whether Reid even read the NBC poll (1/26-29/06) he claims to be citing, because the actual results look very different. (See www.pollingreport.com/terror.htm.)
When asked to approve or disapprove of the Bush administration "using
wiretaps to listen to telephone calls between suspected terrorists in
other countries and American citizens in the United States without
getting a court order to do so," 51 percent approved vs. 46 percent
disapproving—a fairly even split, hardly evidence that "the American
people" are speaking with one voice on the issue.
But one can't even present that response as evidence of a narrow margin
of support for Bush without taking into account the very next question
in the poll. When asked a question that focuses specifically on whether
the administration should be required to get a warrant or not—"Do you
think that the Bush Administration should conduct wiretaps of American
citizens who are suspected of having ties to terrorists without a court
order, or do you think that the Bush Administration should be required
to get a court order before conducting these wiretaps?"—41 chose
"without a court order" and 53 percent said "with a court order."
Part of the difference in the response may have to do with asking about
"terrorist suspects" vs. "citizens who are suspected of having ties to
terrorists"—the latter formulation being a more accurate description of
the targets, since the administration has no reason to suspect that
most of the estimated 5,000 U.S. citizens or residents whose calls or
e-mails have been monitored are actual terrorists.
Only 3 percent and 2 percent of respondents, respectively, answered
"unsure" to these questions—suggesting that relatively few people
"aren't really paying attention." As for the assertion that Americans
"don't care" about the issue, when NBC
asked, "How concerned are you that the Bush administration's use of
these kinds of wiretaps could be misused to violate people's privacy?"
31 percent said "very concerned" and another 25 percent said "quite
concerned"—for a total of 56 percent. Only 21 percent said they were
"not at all concerned." By comparison, 48 percent were "very worried"
or "fairly worried" that "the United States will experience another
major terrorist attack."
Reid wasn't the only NBC reporter to skew the outlet's own poll. NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert, appearing on MSNBC's Hardball (1/30/06), reported the numbers this way:
"We've asked people about spying issues. And a
majority believe with the president that you can in fact wiretap
without a warrant. However, when you ask the second question, are you
concerned by that policy? Fifty-six percent say they are concerned by
it. So the president has a slight majority supporting his policy."
Russert just skipped over the question where a majority said that the
administration "should be required to get a court order before
conducting these wiretaps"—an answer that directly contradicts his
statement that a majority agrees with Bush. And his account of how many
said they were concerned is inaccurate: A full 78 percent of
respondents reported at least some concern over misuse of the policy.
And on his own show, Meet the Press (2/5/05), Russert dropped any reference to the question about privacy concerns, further tilting the poll in Bush's favor:
"Gentlemen, let me show you the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal
poll on the domestic wiretap program sponsored by the president.
Fifty-one approve, 46 disapprove. Ron Brownstein, has the president
turned the corner on that?"
Brownstein, a Los Angeles Times
political reporter, continued down the same path: "I think, as the
issue is now defined, the polls have been very consistent from the
beginning. That's one of about five or six polls that have shown a
narrow plurality or majority supporting it." Brownstein is not only
wrong in suggesting that the poll under discussion shows consistent
support for Bush, but he's inaccurate about the polling in general.
When a CBS News/New York Times
poll (1/20-25/06), for example, asked whether people approved of the
fact that "after 9/11, George W. Bush authorized government wiretaps on
some phone calls in the U.S. without getting court warrants," 50
percent disapproved while 46 percent approved. Only when the phrase
"saying this was necessary in order to reduce the threat of terrorism"
was added to the question did 53 percent approve (vs. 46 percent
disapproving).
Referring to "telephone conversations between U.S. citizens living in
the United States and suspected terrorists living in other countries,"
a CNN/USA Today/Gallup
poll asked (1/20-22/06), "Do you think the Bush Administration was
right or wrong in wiretapping these conversations without obtaining a
court order?" 51 percent said it was wrong, while 46 percent said it
was right. Fifty-eight percent said a special prosecutor should be
appointed. (Polls by ABC News/Washington Post—1/23-26/06—and Fox News—1/10-11/06—did find majorities supporting warrantless wiretapping.)
FAIR has noted recently that the main reason freedom of the press is
guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution is to serve as a protection for all
the other rights. This is a role that the media have a moral obligation
to play regardless of whether doing so is popular or not. What does it
say when prominent journalists, rather than standing up for the Bill of
Rights, distort the findings of their own polls to make it seem like
U.S. citizens care less about their rights than they actually do?
ACTION: Please contact Tim Russert, NBC's
Washington bureau chief, to point out that his network has mispresented
the results of its polls to downplay public concern about Bush's
warrantless wiretapping program.
CONTACT:
Tim Russert
NBC News Washington Bureau Chief
NBC Washington Bureau
(202) 885-4200
c/o Meet the Press
mtp@nbc.com
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