FLASHBACK 2006: The Media’s Massive Pre-Election Foley Feeding Frenzy

Rich Noyes
September 29th, 2024 10:01 AM

Eighteen years ago tonight, ABC News revealed that Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley had sent lewd text messages to underage congressional pages. ABC, CBS and NBC spent a huge amount of airtime over the following weeks trumpeting the scandal, the idea being that Foley’s bad behavior could bring down Republicans all across the country.

 

USAT's Story on Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Sentencing Fails to Tag Him as a D

Tom Blumer
August 14th, 2013 2:30 PM
USA Today's "breaking news" email ("Ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. sentenced to 30 months") opened with the following opening sentence: "The nine-term Democrat from Illinois and son of the former civil rights leader had pleaded guilty in February to using $750,000 in campaign money to pay for living expenses, clothes and luxury items." So it seemed like it would be a waste of time to click through…