The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: August 18 to 24

A ‘Beautiful’ Alarmist

NBC’s "Today" show continued its global warming alarmism this week. Reporter Bob Dotson profiled a polar explorer who is teaching, or indoctrinating, today’s youths about global warming. The "Today" crew couldn’t refrain from gushing over this "sobering," "beautiful" message from an "impressive guy." However, NBC doesn’t want viewers to get excited over every issue. Correspondent Andrea Mitchell recently told viewers that "internet writers" need to take "a breath" over reports that Michelle Obama was attacking Hillary Clinton during a campaign speech.

You Know What I Hate?

"Situation Room" reporter Jack Cafferty, CNN’s answer to Andy Rooney, this week concluded that conservatives are dumb and George Bush should be impeached. Discussing a new poll on American reading habits, Cafferty claimed, "Liberals read more books than conservatives. Why?" Earlier in the week, he railed against Democratic Senator Chris Dodd’s statement that impeaching President Bush would be counterproductive.

George Bush: Vermont Hater

Jack Cafferty isn’t the only Bush basher on "The Situation Room." Reporter John King filed a story on Wednesday about the fact that President Bush has visited every state in the country, save one: Vermont. CNN featured the grieving mother of a soldier killed in Iraq to highlight this "snub." "Good Morning America" also wondered why Bush is giving "the cold shoulder" to this northern state.

New York Times? Never Heard of it

Finally, in a segment on "Good Morning America," correspondent John Berman discussed a new program that allows people to find out just who is altering the Wikipedia entries of well known individuals and companies. Berman solemnly noted that companies such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks have been outed for editing their entries. Somehow, however, he left out the role that journalists have played in changing content. It has come to light that a New York Times computer was used to add the words "jerk, jerk, jerk" to President Bush’s Wikipedia entry. At the online encyclopedia’s site, a BBC computer changed the President’s middle name from Walker to wanker. Apparently though, this childish behavior by journalists didn’t interest Mr. Berman.