Some recent observations on the media:
Liberals and strategically-important southern Africa: The Rev. Rex Humbard prize for rightist propaganda goes this week to the news editors of The New York times, along with editorial page Editor John B. Oakes. The outpouring began earlier this week with a by-lined story from Salisbury, Rhodesia, cataloguing the murderous Rhodesian army raid on a black guerilla camp in Mozambique. More than 300 Africans were killed according to Salisbury sources quoted by The Times; this, in retaliation for a mortar attack on an army camp where four Rhodesian troops died. Following that story, in which not one Mozambican or guerrilla source was quoted, a piece appeared on the op-ed page, extolling the virtues of white-run Rhodesia and claiming that the nation is as free a state as one can find in Africa. The only mystery about this article is not why The Times ran it, but what is the real name of the author of this pile of crud? Is "Alexander Harrison" really Daniel P. Moynihan? or is it Nixon? This latter guess is where the smart money is going.
That wasn't enough for The Times. In Thursday's paper we are given the official Salisbury press release version of the Mozambican retaliation for the Rhodesian attack, complete with homeless and brave white people and savage black maniacs. This courtesy of Reuters, graciously printed on the front page by The Times. Again, no guerilla or Mozambique comment, or any African black nation's comment for that matter. Then on the ed page The Times deplores Rhodesia for the thousandth time and backs majority rule. The clear reason for this: embarrassment at running all the other racist garbage this week.
I don't know what to think about this, but I've heard that next week The Times will run an op-ed piece by Gerald L. K. Smith saying Jews aren't human beings and will follow this with an editorial insisting that they are.
Establishment Hit Men: I wish I could write this without mentioning two of the most irresponsible reporters alive today--Rowland Evans and Robert Novak--but I'll throw in the towel and admit that many people now believe they are paid members of President Ford's reelection campaign.
Tim Crouse of Rolling Stone has written that Novak is the so-called "brains" of the operation--the man with all the sources--and that Rollie is just there to mingle at cocktail parties. Whatever the internal dynamic, though, every one of their major sources is with the Ford camp: Alexander Haig, Donald Rumsfeld, Melvin Laird. They've buried Reagan more times this year than they resurrected Muskie in '72, and while claiming the Schweiker gambit was Reagan's only hope to stave off Invincible Jerry, they say it won't make any difference.
The Evans-Novak tandem's worst failing since Ford's accession is the way they cynically trade inside information for certain politicians' private purposes. Again and again they've blasted certain guys on the White House staff as part of chief source Rumsfeld's power game. They're real tight, too, with Treasury Secretary William Simon, who they've boosted for vice-president since the year bagan.
This isn't old hat for them, though. In 1968 the Louisiana Republican chairman, Tom Stagg, said he though they were genuine members of Nelson Rockefeller's staff. They had come down to report on the state convention and apparently kept flashing those old Rockefeller polls that always said Rockefeller could win and Nixon couldn't. Stagg said he couldn't believe they were reporters, much less "objective." The Rock owns a piece of them.
