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Priya David-Clemens

'Candorville' Strip Mocks CBS Early Show's Taste for Fluffy News

By Ken Shepherd | January 12, 2011 | 11:55

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Cartoonist Darrin Bell is no conservative. His syndicated comic strip "Candorville," when it does get political, often skews to the left.

But Bell's January 10 strip caught my eye the other day for mocking a dreadfully dopey line uttered by CBS correspondent Priya David-Clemens on the January 3 "CBS Early Show."

"Gandhi likely never had a year like [Lindsay] Lohan's 2010," David-Clemens noted in a report on the actress that began by noting the celebrity's New Year's Day 2011 tweet which quoted Mahatma Gandhi.

Bell's strip depicts Candorville's main character Lemont lying in bed, wishing to skip 2011, asking his friend Susan to wake him up when it's 2012.

Last week my colleague Scott Whitlock noted that the January 3 network morning shows devoted 52 minutes to Lohan coverage and only 20 seconds to a controversial recess appointment by President Obama.

Below you'll find the comic strip and the video in question from the 7:30 a.m. EST hour of the January 3 "Early Show":

CBS 'Early Show' Promotes Levi Johnston Pitch for Reality Show

By Kyle Drennen | August 10, 2010 | 12:43

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Teasing an upcoming story in the 7:30AM ET half hour on Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith cheerfully promoted Levi Johnston's pitch for a reality show in Alaska: "He's going to star in a new reality show and it's all about him running for mayor of Wasilla. That's right, he's gunning for his would-have-been mother-in-law's old job."

Later, Smith further teased: "Johnston's quest to follow in Sarah Palin's foot steps and hold political office." Introducing the report, fill-in co-host Erica Hill remarked how Johnston would "be chasing Sarah Palin's legacy." Correspondent Priya David-Clemens discussed the show as if it was about to go on the air: "He's inked a reality show deal that will be all Levi and no Bristol. The new show, called 'Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office,' will follow the young father as he campaigns for the top job in his hometown of Wasilla, Alaska." In fact, as the New York Times reported, the show is simply an idea being pitched by Johnston and producers but has not been picked up any network yet.

David-Clemens touted a description of the proposed show: "In a statement to 'Us Weekly,' the show's executive producer said, quote, 'he'll give us a real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker, and, of course, his journey down the road of small town politics, right after he gets his high school diploma.'"

CBS 'Early Show' Ignores Accusations of Bias Against Judge Behind Prop 8 Ruling

By Kyle Drennen | August 05, 2010 | 16:31

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While Thursday reports on both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today featured Proposition 8 supporters questioning the impartiality of California Federal Judge Vaughn Walker's decision to strike down the state's referendum defending traditional marriage, CBS's Early Show failed to provide any such arguments.

On Good Morning America, correspondent Terry Moran explained: "Opponents of same-sex marriage vowed to fight on and blasted the judge for, they said, letting personal interests trump his legal duty." A clip was played of one Proposition 8 supporter: "The judge has imposed his own agenda upon the voters and the children and the parents of California."

On Today, legal correspondent Pete Williams noted: "But opponents of gay marriage, who supported Proposition 8, denounced the ruling and began preparing to fight back." Supporter Randy Thomasson explained: "The judge has shut the Constitution, imposed his own agenda. He's made a lot of people happy in the gay community in San Francisco, but he is the most dangerous type of judge in America."  

The Early Show report by correspondent Priya David-Clemens only featured a couple brief sound bites of gay marriage opponents in "outright disbelief" of the ruling, but no specific criticisms of the judge being biased. In contrast, three sound bites in favor of the ruling were featured.

Of the three network morning shows, only Good Morning America noted that Judge Walker was himself openly gay. Introducing the segment, co-host George Stephanopoulos mentioned: "The judge, Vaughn R. Walker, a Republican first nominated for the bench by Ronald Reagan, he is also openly gay." Both the Early Show and Today skipped over that detail.