This month, the MRC marks NewsBusters’ 20th anniversary, two decades as a constant thorn in the left-wing media’s biased, bloated side since 2005. From sharp blogs to damning videos, NewsBusters has chronicled the press’s most unhinged moments, like MSNBC’s Chris Matthews confessing in 2008, “I get a thrill up my leg,” gushing over Barack Obama’s speech — only to be reined in by Keith Olbermann’s dry “steady.”
That exchange, a microcosm of the media’s lunacy, captures why NewsBusters exists. On Friday, MRC President David Bozell joined WMAL’s The Derek Hunter Show to dive into the most absurd and obnoxious outbursts captured over NewsBusters’ 20-year mission as America’s media watchdog.
Host Derek Hunter kicked off the interview by praising NewsBusters as “an incredible organization that not only this show uses regularly, but all of talk radio, conservative television, and conservative media use constantly.” He described it as “the go-to for literally everybody in conservative media.” Bozell shared the origins of NewsBusters, launched in 2005. “We created this blog thinking blogs were the future of Western civilization. We were right for about 5 seconds,” Bozell quipped, noting how the platform evolved alongside the rise of social media.
A cornerstone of NewsBusters’ work is the MRC’s massive TV news archive, which Bozell revealed has “just crossed the one million-hour mark of audio and video recordings.” This archive, housing “every single thing that the media’s ever uttered on national television since October of 1987,” fuels NewsBusters’ daily exposés. Bozell emphasized its impact: “It’s been really the anchor, I think, for the conservative media ecosystem. Shining a mirror in front of these guys and kind of showing how liberals can behave badly.” The archive allows NewsBusters to compare media coverage across decades, proving persistent leftist agendas “scientifically.”
.@DavidBozell reveals how Rush Limbaugh would play clips captured by MRC on the radio:
“We would literally play a clip on our VHS tape and put the phone up against our TV… he put his mic up against his phone. That’s how we would beam these clips nationwide.” pic.twitter.com/HQU2kOnLj4
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) August 22, 2025
Hunter asked about pivotal moments that defined NewsBusters’ influence. Bozell pointed to iconic clips like Matthews’ “thrill up my leg” moment, which NewsBusters played on repeat when few other platforms could. He shared a nostalgic anecdote about the early pre-NewsBusters days: “We would literally play a clip on our VHS tape and put the phone up against our TV and Rush [Limbaugh] would put the mic up against his phone, and that’s how we would play the clips, nationwide.”
The interview highlighted NewsBusters’ meticulous process, with Bozell noting the dedication of his team: “They’re waking up every single morning, and they’re watching the television networks, so you don’t have to.” This effort recently uncovered the broadcast networks’ refusal to cover a Florida case involving an alleged illegal immigrant linked to three deaths, while they eagerly reported a non-fatal car crash involving food influencers. “The networks covered all sorts of other car crashes … but they refused to cover the three deaths,” Bozell said, illustrating selective reporting, aka “bias by omission.”
Hunter also addressed media hypocrisy, citing outlets like CNN and MSNBC downplaying Washington, D.C.’s crime surge while accusing critics of fearmongering. Bozell agreed, recalling safer times during Trump’s first term when he could walk his daughters to Nationals games without worry, a stark contrast to today’s climate, where “shots were fired outside the home plate gate just two years ago.”
The interview closed with Hunter’s genuine praise, saying, “NewsBusters is an indispensable force in conservatism.”
David Bozell: President of the Media Research Center and ForAmerica, a grassroots organization mobilizing conservatives to advance policies that prioritize American sovereignty and values.
Derek Hunter: A 20-year talk radio veteran, Derek Hunter hosts The Derek Hunter Show on WMAL, is a senior columnist for Townhall.com, and author of “Outrage, INC.: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood.”
WMAL NewsTalk 105.9: Washington, D.C.’s top-rated conservative talk radio station, where Capitol Hill turns for incisive commentary and “making sense of the news.”
