The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: August 11 to 17

Chris, How Do You Really Feel?

Cable host Chris Matthews reacted to the resignation of top Bush aide Karl Rove by calling the political operative a "bum" and speculating as to whether he would tell all in an autobiography. Matthews sneeringly wondered if "you have to pay to get the truth from Karl Rove." In general, he contributed to the media frothing by hungering for the scalp of the Bush aide.

MSNBC: Liberal and Unbalanced

Dan Abrams, MSNBC host and general manager of that cable network, continued the political savaging by labeling Rove the "Constitutional Crippler." Abrams went on to slam Rove for "hypocrisy. He also asserted that he wouldn’t "shed a tear at his farewell bash." (I wouldn’t expect an invitation.) The Rove rage wasn’t limited to MSNBC, however. ABC managed to inaccurately blame the Bush operative for the 2004 Swift Boat ads.

MSNBC Newsroom: Boooo!

“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough this week divulged an embarrassing, but not very surprising, fact about the MSNBC network. During the 2003 State of the Union address, reporters at the cable channel were actually booing President Bush during his speech! Scarborough even mentioned NewsBusters in the process.

Two Liberal Thumbs Up

This week, CBS’s "Early Show" ran an uncritical, fawning look at actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s new global warming documentary, "The 11th Hour." Co-anchor Julie Chen closed her report by gushing to co-host Harry Smith that DiCaprio is "sweet," and "smart." She added, "...He's such a great spokesperson to have for this very important cause."

Nurse Hillary

On Tuesday, NBC’s "Today" show continued to show its willingness to participate in stunts organized by Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign. Cameras followed the Democrat around as she participated in a labor union event, included were shots of Hillary talking to patients at a hospital and sitting down with a nurse’s family to say grace. Think NBC would offer such an unquestioning look at Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson?

CNN Covers NYT Jerk Gate

Surprisingly, CNN, of all networks, covered a story that many in the mainstream media have failed to pick up on. A website has been tracking alterations to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. It just so happens that one such change, adding the words "jerk, jerk, jerk," to President Bush’s entry, came from an IP address at a computer in the New York Times building. Shocking, huh?

Congratulations to the editors, writers and readers of NewsBusters for our second anniversary!

August 18 is also the first anniversary of the NB Weekly Recap. Reader feedback and thoughts on this feature is appreciated.