NB Staff's blog

Today's starter: Are conservatives who stay home on election day insulting the troops by not voting?

For weekend discussion...

Today's starter: The Secret Service is investigating death threats against President Bush that were posted on the leftist bulletin board Democratic Underground.

Fire away.

For general discussion and chat.

Discuss the news of the day and anything else here.

At about 9:40pm EDT Monday night, MRC President Brent Bozell, publisher of NewsBusters, appeared on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes to discuss CNN's decision to air video, provided by terrorist insurgents in Iraq, which showed the perspective of snipers as they targeted U.S. troops. CNN faded to black on last Wednesday's Anderson Cooper 360 before the impact of the bullets. Bozell appeared with retired Major General Don Edwards, a Fox News analyst. Hannity & Colmes will re-run at 2am EDT Monday night/Tuesday morning. (Matthew Sheffield's NewsBusters posting, "CNN Defends Showing Terrorist Sniping Americans.")

Video clip (5:30): Real (4.2 MB at 100 kbps) or Windows Media (3.5 MB at 81 kbps), plus MP3 audio (1.9 MB)

Open for discussion on whatever you like.

For general discussion and chat.

Discuss the news of the day and whatever else here.

Talk amongst yourselves...

What's news today?

NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell, President of the Media Research Center, appeared Monday on CNBC's "Kudlow and Company" where he discussed how the media are misreporting the economy.

The segment, in which Bozell appeared with Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, was prompted by a new Special Report study from the MRC's Business & Media Institute, "Bad News Bears: How Networks Distort a Good Economy and Batter President Bush."

Video clip (4:58): Windows Media (9.8 MB at higher-quality 256 kbps) or Real (3.8 MB at lower-quality 100 kbps) , plus MP3 audio (1.7 MB)

Today's starter: A former Arabic translator for ABC and FNC has been charged with helping a terrorist leader communicate with his followers.

Fill 'er up.

"My source tells me this paper proves the existence of Big Foot. Don't ask, just take my word for it."

Thursday evening, nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin treated listeners to a round-up of NewsBuster items documenting how big liberal media outlets like CNN and the New York Times are playing down or totally ignoring questions about Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid’s failure to properly disclose a $1.1 million land sale.

Numerous MRC/NB staffers heard Levin cite NewsBusters in the opening minutes of his 6pm EDT radio show, which is heard live in Washington on WMAL-AM. Levin’s flagship station is WABC in New York City, where his program is the top-rated AM show in its time slot. MP3 Audio (1.35 MB)

The Web site MarkLevinFan.com posted a lengthy audio file of Levin’s entire discourse on Reid from Thursday’s show. MRC’s Scott Whitlock transcribed the portion in which Levin cited postings from himself, MRC’s Tim Graham and TimesWatch editor Clay Waters.

Today's starter: The much-hoped-for Foley effect doesn't seem to be panning out. "There is no data to support the expectation voiced by some that the Foley matter would reduce Evangelical Christian support for GOP candidates," Rasmussen's latest poll says.

Open for general discussion.

NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell is appearing on FNC's "Hannity & Colmes" to discuss Ted Turner's comments on North Korea and how he thinks it's difficult to choose sides in the war on terror. Tune in now (or 2am Eastern) and watch. Post your comments here.

Bozell appeared with former ABC News reporter Bob Zelnick, now with Boston University. Sean Hannity set up the segment by playing a clip of Turner at the National Press Club on Monday:

“He said, 'either you're with us or you're against us.' And I had a problem with that because I really hadn't made my mind up yet. You know, what if you haven't made your mind up? What if you're thinking about it, doing some studying, doing some reading? Because it's an important decision to go to war, whether to go to war or not to go to war. I mean, you're either with us or against us -- that's pretty black and white.”

Video clip (5:10): Real (3.9 MB at 100 kbps) or Windows Media (3.3 MB at 81 kbps), plus MP3 audio (1.8 MB)

Today's starter: Is it possible that the Foley story was supposed to break closer to the election than it did?

Open for discussion on the news of the day and anything else.

On Friday's "Countdown," MSNBC host Keith Olbermann named NewsBusters the "Worst Persons in the World." Olbermann took issue with a posting by NB contributor Al Brown, who mistakenly said Brian Williams instead of Brian Ross. Brown corrected the post after an NB commentor, SMGalbraith, noticed the error. But it was too late: Olbermann had seized the error and made it the centerpiece of his "Worst Person" segment.

A name error tops the list as the "worst"? The "paper of record," the New York Times, runs a daily corrections page and has an average of seven errors per day.

Video clip (1:30): Real (2.5 MB) or Windows Media (2.9 MB), plus MP3 audio (0.5 MB)

"But tonight's winners: NewsBusters. Rabid right-winger Brent Bozell's self-styled media watch dog, with its typical kind of breathless headline: 'Is Brian Williams the Next Dan Rather?' Somebody named Al Brown claiming that the Mark Foley instant message story was a prank, and that in breaking it, quote, 'Brian Williams and ABC have already abused the anonymous source dodge at least once in this saga,' and, quoting again, 'Perhaps Brian Williams should resign. But for now, ABC is standing by their story.'"

Open for comment this Saturday afternoon.

Original caption: Director Robert Altman, left, and [NPR] radio personality Garrison Keillor pose Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Altman and Keillor sat down to discuss their oddball movie, "A Prairie Home Companion."

MRC president Brent Bozell appeared on Fox News to discuss the Foley scandal and the calls for Speaker Hastert to resign.

Bozell was asked if Hastert was being "demonized by the media."

Watch the video clip and post your reaction.

Video clip (2:30): Real (4.10 MB) or Windows Media (4.69 MB), plus MP3 audio (716 KB)

Todays starter: Does all the attention on Mark Foley spell doom for the GOP, or will everyone forget it within a month?

Fill 'er up, folks.

Also, be sure and enter our "The View" contest if you haven't already.

Today's starter: Michelle Malkin vs. Gawker/Wonkette.