http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1059770A conservative media watchdog organization says the mainstream media is clearly showing a double standard in the way it has covered the unfounded accusations of a Republican candidate facing a primary runoff today.
Even prior to the June 8 South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, State Representative Nikki Haley was the target of the scandal mill as two men claimed she had "inappropriate relationships" with them.
Nathan Burchfiel, associate editor at the Culture and Media Institute of the Media Research Center, points out that in spite of her accusers' inability to prove their claims, the media has done all it can to perpetuate the myth.
Nathan Burchfiel"No evidence ever surfaced, other than just these guys' claims," Burchfiel notes. "And rather than ignoring it, or rather than coming out and saying, 'These claims are unsubstantiated,' the media kind of ran with it and mentioned it in 37 of 42 stories that we found on the broadcast networks and four major newspapers."
But the associate editor adds that the media acted very differently in response to reports that former Democratic Senator John Edwards had fathered a child with his mistress.
"They tried to cover it up. They refused to cover it when the rumors were circulating," he recalls. "There had to be people who knew that there were rumors before they starting getting out via the National Enquirer. There had to be people who knew there were rumors about John Edwards, and nobody wanted to touch it."
Burchfiel concludes that the accusations of infidelity did not prevent Haley from finishing with the most votes in the primary, and he does not think they will have an adverse effect on her chances in today's runoff.
Topic: Haley-Edwards double standard (Read 888 times)