CBS, NBC Launch Attack on Regular and Diet Soda

The list of media-approved drinks in dwindling. Bottled water is out for its contribution to global warming, we're not supposed to chuckle at beer ads and energy drinks make kids sick according to the news media.

CBS and NBC warned of the dangers of soda, even diet soda, on July 23.

Soda "may be bad for our hearts," worried CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric.

The CBS report focused on a woman "hooked" on soda, consuming eight glasses of soda a day according to CBS Medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook.

What CBS left out was an industry response, although the network had the opportunity. The American Beverage Association told Business & Media Institute that "Evening News" interviewed ABA president Susan Neely, but left it out of the broadcast.

NBC "Nightly News" Dr. Nancy Snyderman said, "a new study links soft drinks to risk factors for heart disease." She also said, it "suggests softs drinks become more of an occasional treat."

But the report from the Journal of the American Heart Association admitted the data was unclear.

Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, BMI adviser and president of the American Council on Science and Health, said to BMI that when it comes to soda addiction, "given that soda is 99 percent water, I cannot imagine what could be 'addictive' about it."