ABC NEWS GETS IT

The last story on ABC News tonight was Sawyer taking the media to task for "playing the Dean Scream tape over 700 times over the course of 3 days". She included footage recorded at the event in which the yell of the crowd completely obscures Dean's "screaming" moment. And she included testimonials from every news agency but CBS (yes, even FOX) saying that they had overplayed the story. CNN even apologized to the Dean campaign.

Is it too little too late? Maybe. But it could help.

el - Did she mention that she had played the scream three times during her Howard and Judy interview?

In NH it wasn't a big story but the pervasive national media bias was apparent.
However, the biggest applause line of the night came not from Dean, but from a man who prefaced his question with a statement: "Thank you for not apologizing for your enthusiasm in Iowa." Dean adroitly seized the cue, replying with exaggerated calm, "We're going to win in New Hampshire, South Carolina," and on down the list of early primary states. Another roar, more laughs, more warmth to stem the bitter cold outside.

After the rally I asked Dean if he thought that he was being targeted by the big media. He mentioned the study of network TV bias, then retreated to conventional wisdom: "I got disproportionately negative coverage because I was the front-runner; I'm not a conspiracy theorist."

I am. Throughout the speech and subsequent Q & A, I saw not a hint of "the fierce grin and red face" described by The Times on Iowa caucus night. But this is the same newspaper that preposterously called Bush "somber" and "determined" in its headline describing the State of the Union address, while ignoring the dreadful smirk that played on the president's lips -- a smirk that said, "I don't give a damn what I'm saying; I'm getting away with murder."