The CNSNews.com (or Cybercast News Service), formerly called the Conservative News Service, is an American news website owned by the Media Research Center.^[1]

Background[link]

CNSNews.com was founded on June 16, 1998, under the name "Conservative News Service" using the domain name, conservativenews.org.^[2] The web site originally operated with a staff of two editors, four reporters, and a three-year budget of $5.46 million entirely funded by private donations.^[2] The name was eventually changed to the Cybercast News Service and the domain name was changed to CNSNews.com.

As of 2007, CNSNews.com described its role as serving an audience which puts a "higher premium on balance than spin."

"In response to these shortcomings, MRC Chairman L. Brent Bozell III founded CNSNews.com in an effort to provide an alternative news source that would cover stories that are subject to the bias of omission and report on other news subject to bias by commission. CNSNews.com endeavors to fairly present all legitimate sides of a story and debunk popular, albeit incorrect, myths about cultural and policy issues." ^[3]

CNSNews.com's motto is "The Right News. Right now."^[4]

CNSNews.com's editor from 1998-2005 was Scott Hogenson, who took a leave of absence in November, 2003 to serve as the director of radio and online operations for the Republican National Committee in the 2004 election cycle. Hogenson's leave of absence expired on November 15, 2004 when he returned to CNSNews.com in his original capacity. CNSNews.com has staff in Washington, D.C., London, Jerusalem and the Pacific Rim. Editor-in-chief David Thibault (deceased) became top editor in April 2005 when Hogenson accepted an appointment as a deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Public Affairs. Thibault died on July 20, 2007 as a result of complications with his cancer treatment.^[5]

Terence P. Jeffrey became editor-in-chief in September 2007. Jeffrey was and remains an editor-at-large for the conservative weekly newspaper Human Events. He wrote editorials for The Washington Times from 1987–1991 and was research director for the presidential campaign of Patrick J. Buchanan in 1992. Jeffrey was Buchanan's national campaign manager in his 1996 campaign.

Controversies[link]

A July 15, 2005, CNS article claimed that Democratic strategist Paul Begala said that Republicans wanted to kill him and his family.^[6] Begala vehemently denied this, claiming that when he said, "They want to kill me and my children if they can," he was referring to terrorists, not Republicans.^[7] CNS refused to retract the claim, insisting that "[t]here was nothing unclear about what Begala said."^[8] Then-CNS editor in chief David Thibault challenged Begala for his "unmistakable and outrageous coupling of terrorists and Republicans."^[9]

A January 13, 2006, CNS article assailed the military record of Democratic Rep. John Murtha, a former Marine who had heavily criticized the Iraq war. The article quoted people who were either former political opponents of Murtha or who were dead or incapacitated casting aspersions on the two Purple Hearts Murtha earned while serving in the Vietnam War.^[10] The next day, the Washington Post repeated the article's allegations.^[11] The liberal website Alternet likened the CNS article to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks on the war record of Democrat John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign as another example of conservatives attempting to discredit the military credentials of Democrats in order to blunt their criticism of the Iraq war.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• CNSNews.com
• Sourcewatch.org -- SourceWatch entry on CNSNews.com