Hardball's pattern of misinformation and imbala ... [Media Matters]

Hardball's pattern of misinformation and imbala ... [Media Matters]: "Hardball panels skew right

A review of Hardball programming since July 2 revealed nine separate discussions of the Plame investigation with panels solely composed of Republicans, prominent conservatives, and journalists or political figures with no public partisan or ideological affiliation. By contrast, Media Matters found only one instance of a panel that was arguably skewed left: In a July 5 discussion on whether journalists should have federal protections against revealing their sources to prosecutors, Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant was paired with Barbara Cochran, president of the nonpartisan professional organization the Radio-Television News Directors Association. (Oliphant is occasionally paired with a conservative commentator on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer -- here, for example.) The nine panels that skewed right are:

* July 15 (with NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory guest-hosting): Andrea Mitchell and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX);
* July 15: Washington Post correspondent Dana Milbank and National Review White House correspondent Byron York;
* July 21: Washington Post staff writer Jim VandeHei and Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley;
* July 22: Hotline editor Chuck Todd and Weekly Standard staff writer Stephen F. Hayes;
* September 30: Todd and Hayes;
* October 6: Newsweek investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff, Washington Post national political editor John Harris, and Hayes;
* October 12: Republican attorney Victoria Toensing and former Kenneth Starr deputy independent counsel Sol Wisenberg;
* October 18: MSNBC contributor and former Republican presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan and former presidential adviser David Gergen;
* October 18: Newsweek political analyst Howard Fineman and Hayes."