Open Thread

NB Staff

'World News' Uses Excessive Example to Impugn Restaurant Food as Unhea

ABC reporter consumes 6,190 calorie/187 grams of saturated fat to prove nothing.
Jeff Poor

'Thanks So Much For Going Up Next To The Fish And Getting The Intervie

How brave of Kate Snow.  Not only making the trek to Flyover Country North, but even getting close to some yucky fish. That seemed to be Diane Sawyer's attitude in congratulating Snow for snagging an interview with Sarah Palin.The soon-to-be-former Governor of Alaska invited Snow out for some salmon fishing.  At one point the intrepid ABC reporter observes to Palin: "you have some fish guts on…
Mark Finkelstein

On the Left, Jackson Memorial Reminds That America's a 'Dishonest Cust

Tim Graham

CBS Highlights Tea Party Protests on July

On Saturday’s broadcast network evening newscasts, the CBS Evening News uniquely gave attention to the tea parties that were inspired by the Tax Day Tea Parties from April. Anchor Jeff Glor set up the report: "In scores of communities tonight, people spent their Fourth of July not celebrating but protesting. Taking a cue from the 1773 Boston Tea Party, they rallied against federal tax and…
Brad Wilmouth

Seven Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Get 1/20th Time Given to Jackson

Two days after Sunday's Washington Post carried a letter from a woman who asked “where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers” who were killed in the days after Michael Jackson died, attacks in Afghanistan took the lives of seven U.S. soldiers, but their deaths earned a total of less than one minute combined on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts on Monday night -- 1/20th the time…
Brent Baker

CNN Covers July 4 Tea Parties, But Anchor Hopes 'They'll Clear Out of

Tim Graham

ABC Showcases Russian Teens Excited by Obama: 'Energetic' and 'Innovat

After the Bush years Russians are naturally “wary” of a U.S. President, as negative views of the U.S. have soared ABC reported Monday night, but the network still managed to highlight teens, at a “Kremlin-sponsored summer camp,” who “are optimistic about President Obama.” One asserted “he's so young and energetic” and “he will give a new surge to our relationship,” while a second, echoing the…
Brent Baker

AP Lauds Michelle Obama's 'Superstar Glamor'; Mocks Russian First Lady

The way the Associated Press is fawning over Michelle Obama and her supposed sense of fashion, you would almost think they were talking about Carla Bruni who really does dress quite elegantly and oozes glamor. To add to this absurdity, the AP also went out of its way to paint the Russian First Lady as frumpy. Um, advice to AP personnel; don't expect the Russians to go out of their way to help you…
P.J. Gladnick

CNN’s Jack Cafferty Again Derides Palin, Calls Her 'Lame

CNN commentator Jack Cafferty revisited his favorite punching bag on Monday’s Situation Room: Sarah Palin. After referring to one of Palin’s reasons for her resignation, that she wanted to avoid becoming a lame duck, Cafferty cracked: “She was already lame.” He also predicted that she would become a mere “thumbsucker” if she’s no longer considered a contender for the 2012 presidential race.…
Matthew Balan

Vermont Senator: Health Insurance Firms Should Be 'Afraid' of Governme

Sen. Bernie Sanders launches attack on healthcare industry, and admits companies should fear prospect of 'a strong Medicare-type public plan.'
Jeff Poor

NYT's Dowd Passes Along Dubious Psych Diagnosis: Sarah Palin's 'Pervas

In Maureen Dowd's Sunday New York Times column on the shock resignation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ("Now, Sarah's Folly"), the proudly shallow columnist piled on with her usual self-satisfied (and pseudo-sophisticated) mockery. More seriously, she regurgitated an extremely dubious anecdote from the recent Vanity Fair hit piece on Sarah Palin by former Times journalist Todd Purdum. It's a good…
Clay Waters

Second-Guessed: CNBC's Harwood Suggests Tax Cuts May Have Been More St

Question for CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent John Harwood: Where were you six-and-a-half months ago? Harwood on CNBC's July 6 "Squawk Box" noted that the stimulus was not working quite as well as the Obama Administration had hoped - this coming in the wake of comments from Vice President Joe Biden that the economy was "misread" by the administration. The difficulty with the stimulus, he…
Jeff Poor

PBS's Bonnie Erbe, Avowed Atheist, Moved by 'Emotional' Gay Church Ser

What could move avowed atheist Bonnie Erbe to say something positive about religious enthusiasm? Here's a hint, the colors of the rainbow: I walked into a huge church auditorium and there were thousands of gays and lesbians singing hymns and crying as they watched a gay pastor deliver a sermon, many of them for the first time. It was an extremely emotional experience. Erbe, a contributing editor…
Ken Shepherd