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“Exposing & Combating Liberal Media Bias”
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Diane SawyerABC’s Diane Sawyer Ignores Joe Biden Gaffe: The ‘Nuclear State of Afghanistan?’Good Morning America’s Diane Sawyer on Wednesday conducted a generally tough interview with Joe Biden on the subject of Afghanistan, but ignored an embarrassing gaffe from the Vice President: "Our number one enemy concern is the existential threat, al Qaeda. Number two is the stability of a nuclear state called Afghanistan, under siege by radicals." Did the Vice President, perhaps, mean Pakistan? It's unclear as Sawyer didn't follow up. [Audio available here.] Earlier in the segment, responding to Sawyer’s comment that Republicans believe setting a date for removing troops is a bad idea, Biden argued, "How are they emboldened, knowing that by the time we train up the Afghanis, we're going to be gradually handing off, beginning in 2003 [sic]?" Beginning in 2003? Would journalists allow Sarah Palin to get away with such obvious malapropisms? ABC Touts NYT ‘Conservative’ David Brooks to Bash Palin, Features Anonymous Fact Check
She then played a clip of Brooks, who has previously gone after Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and others: "Yeah, she's a joke. I mean I just can't take her seriously. The idea that this potential talk show host is considered seriously for the Republican nomination, believe me, it'll never happen." ABC Omits Critics of Obama’s ‘Jarring and Inappropriate’ Bow to Emperor; Sawyer Says Dealing with Royalty ‘Just Too Confusing’
Actually, the government employs lots of experts on culture and protocol to make sure that our presidents are fully “trained” on what to do when they represent our government overseas — which is not to say that all of our presidents perform these duties flawlessly. Missing from Sawyer’s run-down is a tidbit that ABC White House correspondent Jake Tapper posted on his “Political Punch” blog Sunday afternoon. Tapper said he received a note from an old friend whom he described as “an academic with expertise about the Japanese Empire, and in general a supporter of President Obama.” According to this expert, it wasn’t necessarily incorrect for Obama to bow, but the President’s “forward lurch” was “jarring and inappropriate.” Bozell Column: Fort Hood Horror
By late afternoon, it emerged that the shooter’s name was Major Nidal Malik Hasan. But that night, CBS and NBC completely avoided mentioning that the shooter was a Muslim. ABC’s Charles Gibson suggested he was a "Muslim convert," which wasn’t right, but at least he wasn’t playing hide-and-seek with the facts. ABC reporter Martha Raddatz spoke for the media in choosing this tidbit: "As for the suspect, Nidal Hasan, as one officer's wife told me, ‘I wish his name was Smith.’" The coverage grew more factual the next morning, with all the networks noting Hasan was Muslim, and that he shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) as he opened fire. ABC’s Diane Sawyer, though, repeated Raddatz: "We heard Martha Raddatz say last night that the wife of a soldier said ‘I wish his name had been Smith,’ so no one would have a reflexive question about that." Broadcast TV Morning Shows Offered 64 Words on Maine Gay Vote; NBC Totally Spiked It
ABC’s Good Morning America led the pack with two quick mentions. In the first hour, Diane Sawyer told George Stephanopoulos: "In Maine, you probably heard about this, voters were voting on gay marriage. They decided against gay marriage, 53 to 47 percent." That’s 22 words. In the 8 am hour, this squib from news anchor Chris Cuomo: "And we do have the results of one widely watched ballot initiative. Voters in Maine repealed a law that allowed same-sex marriages." That’s also 22 words. Surprise: ABC’s Sawyer Hits Gore on Profits From Global Warming, Plays Glenn Beck AttackGood Morning America’s Diane Sawyer conducted a surprisingly tough interview with Al Gore on Tuesday, pressing him on profiting from global warming and whether or not climate change legislation is pointless in light of pollution-spewing countries such as China. She also forced the ex-Vice President to respond to a challenge from Glenn Beck. Sawyer even pointed out the amount of methane gas created from the bodily functions of cows, observing that it's "20 times more damaging it is than CO2." The host, who will become the anchor of World News in January, then played a clip of Fox News' Beck mocking Gore:
ABC Heavily Promotes New HBO Documentary on Obama: He’s so ‘Zen’ and ‘Normal'Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer on Tuesday helped promote an upcoming HBO documentary on Barack Obama and allowed producer Ed Norton to gush over the "zen" presidential campaign of the Democratic candidate. [MP3 audio excerpt here] Sawyer breathlessly teased the program as "the Obamas behind closed doors. The grandmother who raised him and the man you’ve never seen." Sawyer played several clips of the By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, a film that followed Obama and his family during the 2008 campaign. The segment, which ran six and a half minutes, will be supplemented by more promotion on Tuesday’s Nightline. When asked what surprised her about the Obamas, director Amy Rice enthused about "just how normal they were." Norton was impressed with the "calm," "no-drama Obama." The actor continued, "And in a weird way, when you look behind the curtain with that team, they are really zen. It's amazing how zen they are." ABC’s Sawyer Gushes: Obama Nobel Win Is ‘Olympic Gold of International Diplomacy'
In a follow-up segment, former top Democratic aide turned journalist George Stephanopoulos touted what an enormous impact the Nobel Prize would have: "But on a serious note, White House aides do believe this will strengthen the President's hand, both at home and abroad." He explained how these "White House aides" (Rahm Emanuel, perhaps?) told him that "this will really strengthen the President's hand as they try to force inspectors in to the Iranian nuclear sites." Sawyer should be credited for at least asking the obvious question. Talking to Geir Lundeestad, the director of the Nobel Institute, she quizzed, "Here’s the first question: Nine months into a presidency. Isn’t that a little fast?" Reporter Yunji De Nies mildly observed, "But with critics arguing that Mr. Obama's accomplishments have yet to rival those of previous winners, the chairman of the committee found himself on the defensive." GMA Hypes Food Scare with Latest Doom-and-Gloom CSPI Study
On Oct. 6 "Good Morning America's" Sharyn Alfonsi devoted an entire segment to the doom-and-gloom study. But of course she conveniently forgot to mention that CSPI is a radical left-wing kill-joy consumer group that has attacked everything from remote controls to washing machines to Chinese food to casual dining. The study was discussed in relation to a recent New York Times headline about the 22-year-old girl Stephanie Smith who was paralyzed apparently from E. coli in a frozen hamburger. ABC’s Tim Johnson Finds Yet Another Way to Lobby for Government Health Care
Johnson, a well known fan of government-run health care, explained how, for a yearly fee of $503, representatives receive free access to X-rays, EKGs and minor surgeries. Talking to a Democratic Congressman who refuses to use this Office of Attending Physician (OAP), Johnson marveled, "In fact, [Steve] Kagen and his hundreds fellow members of Congress receive some of the best health care in the country, without even using insurance." Johnson didn’t explain how, exactly, such a program could be extrapolated to the entire country. And only at the very end of the segment did Sawyer raise the issue of cost: Speaking of the representatives who partake in this service, she finally wondered, "Yes. So, good for you, that you have it. But make it the standard of care for everybody else, too. But, is that realistic, economically?" Day Two of ABC’s Polanski Coverage: ‘Hunted’ Director Subject to ‘Prosecutorial Obsession?’
The network correspondent observed that Polanski, who is wanted for child rape and was detained in Switzerland, "has some powerful friends." He explained, "Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has released this statement. ‘We're calling on every filmmaker we can to help fix this terrible situation.’" Watt also featured a snippet of ex-child star Melissa Gilbert on The View: "I think [Polanski’s] tried to atone. I think the punishment at this point may be excessive." Actress Debra Winger fawned, "We stand by, awaiting his release and his next masterwork. Now, ABC did include one clip of a critic of the filmmaker. Professor and child advocate Wendy Murphy asserted that the director should face justice and that "no matter how much you like the guy's movies, he did something really bad." Co-host Robin Roberts also asked Polanski’s agent, "What do you say to his critics, who say even though it's been three decades, that justice hasn't fully been served yet?" ABC Touts European Outrage Over Polanski Arrest; Sawyer: It’s an ‘International Incident’
Reporter Nick Watt fretted, "When Polanski, who is a French citizen, walked into a police trap here at Zurich Airport, he sparked an international row." Highlighting French outrage, he parroted, "This morning, another French minister said, ‘There is a scary America that has just shown its face.’" Diane Sawyer's Surprisingly Tough Interview With Geithner: Hits Massive Spending, Tax Increases
After Geithner tried to squirm out of responding, Sawyer, who will leave GMA in January to become the anchor of ABC’s World News, reiterated, "Are you still guaranteeing that no one in America will have their taxes raised unless they make more than $250,000 a year?" Geithner noted how this was a "commitment" for the President, prompting Sawyer to again attempt to nail down a firm answer: "That's your promise? It will not happen?" Stephanopoulos: Obama Healthcare Speech No Game-Changer
Referring to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released moments earlier, Stephanopoulos shared numbers with host Diane Sawyer indicating the President's speech wasn't the game-changer Democrats and the Obama-loving media had hoped. And, you can see by the expression on Stephanopoulos's face that no one was more disappointed than him (video embedded below the fold with some of the poll results, h/t Jake Tapper): Two Women Anchors of Network News? N.Y. Times Insists TV's Still SexistTwo of the three network evening newscasts are going to offer women as the lead anchors, and yet, the New York Times is still whiny. TV critic Alessandra Stanley dropped this ridiculous line in a Sunday Week In Review piece:
"Without status" is just silly, but not as silly as "without financial advantage." Katie Couric makes $15 million a year at CBS; Diane Sawyer reportedly makes between $12 and $15 million a year. How they're disadvantaged is anyone's guess. Stanley also uncharitably placed Brian Williams in a self-pitying category:
Reliable Sources Gushes Over Sawyer, No Mention of GMA's Ratings
Mysteriously, there was absolutely no discussion about how Sawyer's "Good Morning America" is constantly second in the ratings to NBC's "Today" show, nor was there mention of how Katie Couric regularly bested Sawyer in the morning but has been a ratings disaster since taking over the "CBS Evening News." That didn't stop Kurtz and his guests from talking about Sawyer's promotion as if it was sheer genius (video embedded below the fold, relevant section at 11:30): Flashback: When Sawyer Anchored World News, She Got Giddy Over Obama Passing Out Cookies
Sawyer brought George Stephanopoulos aboard to admire what Sawyer described as a “scrapbook, if you will, of the President's journey on the road to the stimulus package.” In other words, photos released by the White House. Nonetheless, she effused: “I want to show everybody at home, because there is the President, it's Super Bowl night, and he's serving cookies to congressional leadership in the White House screening room.” (February 16 NewsBusters post, with video.) New ABC World News Anchor Diane Sawyer: A Profile in Bias
ABC Obsessed with Alternative Sexual LifestylesYoungsters' curiosity about sex used to be sated by late night, soft-core flicks on premium cable channels. Now, they simply have to tune into ABC. ABC news programs have featured 76 segments about sexual activity in the last six months. The majority of these reports were related to political sex scandals or crime cases that contained a sexual element, but 11 promoted alternative sexual arrangements such as men who become women, Web sites dedicated to helping married people cheat on their spouses and even people who carry on romantic relationships with objects like F-15 fighter jets and the Eiffel Tower. Stephanopoulos: ObamaCare 'Closer' After Presser; Gushes Obama 'Knows His Stuff'
The This Week anchor appeared early in the 7 am hour to analyze the press conference. GMA anchor Diane Sawyer first asked: “Closer to a health care bill this morning or further away?” Stephanopoulos replied: “Closer -- and it’s clear -- listening to the President last night, that he knows his stuff. He knows health care policy. I also think he made a strong case against the status quo. We just couldn’t keep doing what we’re doing right now.” The only negative remark that the former Clinton administration official made was in analyzing the President’s success in forwarding his plan. Stephanopoulos hinted that the blame belonged more with Congress: “I think he was less successful...in selling what he wants to do in part because...he doesn’t have a single plan to sell right now.” |
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