Latest Blogs
CBS Evening News Airs Brief Against Offshore Drilling
ABC's World News and the NBC Nightly News gave plenty of time to left-wing environmentalists and Democrats opposed to President Bush's call to open up oil drilling off the shores of the continental U.S., but unlike the CBS Evening News the two newscasts provided equal time to supporters and experts who predicted it would lower gas prices. CBS reporter Bill Whitaker began with pro and con…
BBC: Report on Blogger Arrests Obscures Most Arrests Are in Non-Democr
Bloggers are being arrested more and more as the importance of the Internet is realized by governments across the world, at least so warns the BBC. It seems an alarming report where community activists and democracy advocates are finding themselves being oppressed by government, arrested, and maybe even tortured because of their blogging. But, one little fact of the story is never really focussed…
Obama Advisor's Dog-Ate-My-Transcript Dodge
The dog ate my transcript. That's roughly what Susan Rice's response to a pointed question from Laura Ingraham amounted to. Give credit to Rice, Obama senior foreign policy advisor, for appearing on Ingraham's "Just In" FNC show today and taking on the host in a freewheeling conversation. But she and her candidate are really going to have to learn to do better than the feeble dodge she offered…
CNN’s Roland Martin: ‘Weak’ Conservative Men ‘Don't Like Stron
[Update, 10:30 am EDT Thursday: Martin's title at CNN is now political analyst, not contributor, according to an e-mail we received earlier this morning. This must be a very recent development, as Mr. Martin was referred to as "contributor" as late as June 17.] CNN contributor Roland Martin, when asked on Tuesday’s "Anderson Cooper 360" if Michelle Obama was being held to a different standard…
Smoking Drug Chantix Blamed for Problems in Supposed 'Human Drug Exper
ABC News slams the VA and Pfizer for distributing a drug to veterans to help them quit smoking.
NYT's Powell Defends Michelle Obama on MSNBC
The Obama campaign is trying to re-create Michelle Obama after her stumbles on the campaign trail, and the mainstream media are more than willing to pitch in. Earlier today, NewsBusters contributor Clay Waters, director of the MRC’s Times Watch project, critiqued a New York Times story, written by Michael Powell and Jodi Kantor, which helped Obama soften her image and suggested that her "…
Goldberg: Russert Recognized Liberal Media Bias; Russert Interview
In an op-ed in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal (page A-15), “Russert Took Media Bias Seriously,” former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg observed:What made Tim Russert different, and better, I think was his willingness to listen to -- and take seriously -- criticism about his own profession. He was willing, for example, to keep an open mind about a hot-button issue like media bias -- an…
Major Networks Avoid Dem Senators' Countrywide Loan Scandals
As we've noted at NewsBusters, there's been scant coverage of a new scandal involving Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Kent Conrad (N.D.). Both senators chair committees with oversight of the financial industry and Dodd is behind a bailout package for mortgage lender Countrywide. Both senators got "VIP" treatment from Countrywide Financial for refinancing agreements on their respective mortgages.So…
CBS's Lara Logan: I'd Kill Myself If I Had to Watch American News
Chief foreign correspondent for CBS News Lara Logan appeared on Tuesday's "Daily Show With Jon Stewart" to declare that she doesn't watch American news (that would presumably include her own network). She also decried, "If I were to watch the news that you're hearing in the United States, I'd just blow my brains out. 'Cause it would drive me nuts." (How does CBS feel about this?)What became…
CNNMoney E-mails Flag Dow 12000 Intra-day Trough, But Not 14000 Record
Call it an obvious "InCNNsistency." Subtle bias towards emphasizing unfavorable economic news and against reporting good economic news is present in many places. I will demonstrate that it's even sometimes in the brief e-mail alerts many people receive. This alert I received today from CNNMoney demonstrates a long-known (by me) but, until now, unproven point: But when the Dow closed above 14,…
Professor: Gore Needs to 'Slim Down' for Environment
Claims nation's added weight equals 42 million extra people, drains resources, makes climate worse.
Us Weekly: Michelle Obama 'Down-to-Earth Mom' Who 'Shops at Target
Just hours after the New York Times published an article entitled "Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction" (as reported by my colleague Clay Waters moments ago), Us Weekly unveiled its new issue featuring the Obamas in a cover story depicting the potential first lady as a "down-to-earth mom" that "shops at Target."I guess we can declare the Michelle Obama makeover season in full swing,…
CBS’s Tough Look at Obama: Loves Scrabble, Doesn’t Like Ice Cream
On Wednesday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Julie Chen teased an upcoming segment on Barack Obama: "...during the long primary season, we all learned a lot about Barack Obama. He is a Senator. He's a Harvard grad. He's a husband. And he is a father. But this morning, you're going to learn five things you probably don't know about Barack Obama." Later, in David Letterman style, correspondent Jeff…