CBS: White House ‘Dragging its Feet on Review of Toxic Chemicals
April 30th, 2008 12:26 PM
On Monday’s CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric hyped a new potential scandal for the Bush administration as she declared: "Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, a report due out tomorrow raises some serious questions about one of the most influential government agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency...It even suggests political pressure may be putting the health of Americans at risk."…
ABC Ignores Congressional Support, Only Shows Backlash to Northwest/De
April 16th, 2008 4:58 PM
If you didn't know any better, you might think ABC correspondent Lisa Stark has a personal vendetta against airline mergers. For the second consecutive night, Stark gave viewers every reason to oppose a merger between Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) on the April 15 "World News with Charles Gibson." This time it came in the form of opposition on Capitol Hill. "But…
Networks Ignore All Positives with Delta/Northwest Merger
April 15th, 2008 4:11 PM
Operating under the assumption that what's good for business is bad for consumers forces the media to give Americans a narrow view of the world. All three network newscasts on April 14 reported the Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) as if it were a conspiracy to bilk air travelers out of more money. "It's an unsettled time in the skies - planes grounded, flights…
Former NBC and CBS Fill-In Anchor Blames Deregulation for Fall of TV N
April 14th, 2008 12:58 PM
Never mind nightly TV newscasts are geared toward older generation. Never mind scandals like Dan Rather and the falsified National Guard documents leading up to the 2004 presidential elections have caused people to look for their news from other sources like the Internet and talk radio. Former "CBS Evening News" weekend and fill-in anchor and NBC's "Meet the Press" and "Nightly News" co-anchor…
NBC News Can’t Seem to Find a Water Bottle it Likes
April 9th, 2008 4:23 PM
Last summer NBC told viewers bottled water was bad for the environment because of its packaging and transportation demands. This time, NBC's April 9 "Today" warned viewers some reusable water bottles are bad for society because they contain a dangerous substance. "[M]any of those sturdy, reusable plastic bottles contain a chemical, bisphenol-A, that many scientists are worried about," NBC…
'60 Minutes' Attacks Sovereign Wealth Funds with Unlikely Scenarios
April 7th, 2008 3:00 PM
Panicky protectionists are predicting some unsavory possibilities for the U.S. economy thanks to emerging foreign economies with newly created wealth to invest. Although they're unlikely possibilities, CBS's April 6 "60 Minutes" delved into the potential threat one Chinese sovereign wealth fund might pose to the American economy. "All together, the sovereign wealth funds of countries like Abu…
CNN Correspondent Links Rising Food Costs to Ethanol
April 4th, 2008 3:03 PM
You're going to need a few extra bucks to pay for those corn flakes every morning.CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi let viewers in on an underreported fact about rising commodities prices: the government mandate for ethanol production is making corn and other agricultural products more expensive-making inflation a top priority for Americans."Several years ago, we made some decisions…
Media Divide Wall Street and 'Main Street
April 3rd, 2008 4:22 PM
As economic issues move to the front of the on-going presidential campaign, the mainstream media have given an increased amount of coverage to what is happening on Wall Street. However, they have portrayed Wall Street as something completely alien to what happens on "Main Street." "Now to Wall Street, which, as you know, doesn't always like what Main Street likes, and by the end of the…
Early Show Recruits Chorus of Critics to Bash Bush Fed Plan
March 31st, 2008 9:27 AM
When This Week assembled a round-table of four liberals versus one conservative yesterday, I kvetched. Maybe I should have cheered. ABC's idea of balance looks good compared to that of CBS. This morning's Early Show preview of the Bush admin's plan, to be announced later today, to regulate the financial industry was essentially conservative-free. OK, to be absolutely accurate, there was a…
Kyl Spikes Schumer's Bush=Hoover Shtick
March 23rd, 2008 12:08 PM
With Eliot Spitzer gone, Chuck Schumer moves to the head of the list of smugly self-righteous New York pols. So it was particularly satisfying to see Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ] put Schumer is his place on This Week with George Stephanopoulos today. A guest with Kyl for purposes of discussing the economy, Schumer clearly came in with a game plan: to analogize President Bush to the man who presided over…
CBS Mischaracterizes Supreme Court Ruling on EPA Greenhouse Gas Author
March 14th, 2008 4:41 PM
After Environmental Protection Agency Chief Stephen Johnson's appearance before Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's powerless House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, CBS decided to dole out its own criticism of the EPA. The March 13 "CBS Evening News" reported the EPA had not lived up to the obligations of an April 2007 Supreme Court ruling. "Congressional…
