Matt Lauer

During a political panel discussion on Wednesday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer bemoaned Bernie Sanders not yet conceding the Democratic race to Hillary Clinton: “...Bernie Sanders didn't give her, her moment last night. He didn't urge his supporters to get behind her. Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd noted how Democrats wanted to “give Bernie Sanders a little bit of space, give him a little…

On Tuesday, all three network morning shows celebrated the news that Hillary Clinton had won enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. At the top of NBC’s Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie heralded: “Making history. NBC News declares Hillary Clinton the presumptive nominee. The first woman in history to be nominated on a major party ticket.”

On Monday, rather than simply remember Muhammad Ali’s boxing career and humanitarian work around the world, NBC’s Today chose to politicize the athlete’s death and praise the liberal activism of his youth. Co-host Savannah Guthrie wanted to avoid a “gauzy portrait” of Ali and instead focus on “How radical, how controversial, and how expensive it was to him personally to do what he did in the '60s…

On Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer cheered the “historic accomplishment” of Army Secretary Eric Fanning being the first openly gay military service leader, but fretted over reaction from his Defense Department colleagues: “Have you ever had to confront someone here at the Pentagon because of something they said to your face, something you heard they said behind your back, or a careless…

Wednesday on NBC’s Today, viewers watched a special series titled Undercovered, a segment where NBC News Investigative Correspondent Ronan Farrow shares stories that apparently “aren’t necessarily in the headlines every day.”  Apparently, these stories don’t present both sides of the issue, either.

On Tuesday, all three network morning shows promptly dismissed talk of a third party conservative candidate stepping forward in the presidential race as “fantasy” and “a fool’s errand.” Hosts and correspondents openly mocked the notion of an independent alternative to Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. On NBC’s Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered: “Let's start with this tantalizing tweet from…

On Wednesday, the network morning shows all promoted violent left-wing protests outside a Donald Trump rally in New Mexico as a sign of trouble for the “controversial” GOP candidate and even provided a platform for rioters to justify their actions. At the top of NBC’s Today, co-host Matt Lauer breathlessly declared: “Breaking overnight, protests turn violent at a Trump rally in New Mexico.…

On Tuesday, all three network morning shows denounced Donald Trump’s campaign ad going after Bill Clinton’s treatment of women as a “another low” in the presidential race and parroted Hillary Clinton’s campaign talking points dismissing numerous sex abuse allegations against her husband as “old” and “discredited.” On NBC’s Today, Matt Lauer warned the campaign was “getting even nastier.”

In an interview on Friday’s NBC Today with the filmmakers of the newly-released documentary about disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner, perplexed co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered: “How on earth did you get this access? But why on earth would Anthony Weiner grant that kind of access, knowing what he knew about himself?”

On Monday, all three network morning shows reveled in President Obama blasting Donald Trump during a college commencement address over the weekend. At the top of NBC’s Today, co-host Matt Lauer touted: “President Obama takes a not-so-veiled shot at Donald Trump in a commencement address...” A soundbite played of Obama ranting: “It's not cool to not know what you're talking about.”

On Friday, NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer provided Yahoo! News anchor Katie Couric a softball platform to promote her new anti-gun documentary: “She’s here to talk about a powerful new documentary called Under the Gun. It examines both sides of the gun safety debate in this country and explores the drastic rise in mass shootings and daily gun violence across the United States."

During an interview with Dan Quayle on Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer reminded the former Republican vice president of the liberal media narrative that he was unqualified for the job: “And in all honesty, your qualifications were questioned when you became vice president. People worried whether you had the experience to be vice president or president, if that would happen.”

Donald Trump’s rise as a presidential candidate has prompted many political observers to blame TV outlets for giving him historic amounts of free air time. While it’s true the media have overwhelmingly focused on Trump in their coverage during the current election cycle, there is another media phenomenon at play. NBC has spent more than a decade building his brand as a successful businessman of…

At the top of Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer proclaimed: “Game on. Clinton and Trump gear up for their likely general election showdown....They’re two of the most unpopular candidates in recent history.” He then promised an examination of the flaws of both candidates: “This morning, the major obstacles facing both campaigns.”