CBS’s Smith Wonders if Tape of U.S.- Iran Naval Conflict Was Fake

At the top of Thursday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Harry Smith questioned the authenticity of an audio tape of the confrontation between U.S. and Iranian ships on January 6: We're going to try to re -- to deconstruct the Pentagon tapes just released of that hostile incident in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian speedboats taunting a U.S. ship. A tape the Iranians are calling a hoax. There's something…
Kyle Drennen

ElectionWatch: Obama Proposes Tax Hike as Part of Economic Stimulus Pl

After being pressed by 'American Morning' anchor, Democratic presidential hopeful says tax increase on wealthy would 'bolster our fiscal situation.'
Jeff Poor

BaltSun Parrots Gov. O'Malley's Specious Charge About Foe Being GOP 'P

*Update/Correction (15:28 | January 11): Grasmick has donated to Republicans running for statewide office (OpenSecrets tracks only federal contributions), as Mark Newgent of the RedMaryland blog notes, yet all told her state and federal contributions to the GOP are quite smaller than that of those to the Democratic Party. See Newgent's item here. The January 10 Baltimore Sun, reporting on an…
Ken Shepherd

After Near Total Silence, ABC Finally Investigates Obama Land Deal

After completely ignoring the story, ABC investigative correspondent Brian Ross finally featured a segment on a questionable real estate deal by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. On Thursday's "Good Morning America," the reporter looked at the Illinois senator's relationship with Tony Rezko, a political operator who raised cash for candidates. Rezko, who will go on trial in February…
Scott Whitlock

WaPo Notes CIA Traitor's Death in Cuba, Fails to Note He Was Castro Ap

Yesterday fellow NewsBuster Matthew Balan and I wrote about media bias in Reuters and Associated Press reporting on the death of CIA turncoat Philip Agee. Today the Washington Post devoted a 23-paragraph obituary to Agee that was also somewhat lacking. The Post's Joe Holley did relay to readers that former President George H.W. Bush believes Agee's role in divulging the names of covert operatives…
Ken Shepherd

Clintons Put Crying in Politics, Press Eat it Up

In the 1992 blockbuster movie "A League of Their Own," coach Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks, marvelously shouted at one of his weeping female players, "There's no crying in baseball!" Sadly, on Monday morning, Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (D-NY), followed by her husband and former President Bill Clinton Tuesday evening, put crying in politics. And the press ate it up. In…
Noel Sheppard

HufPo Effrontery: U.S. Fabricated Iranian Boat Incident

Warner Todd Huston

Open Thread

NB Staff

Lauer to Bill's Defense: 'Nothing to Do With Race

To know what's on a morning-show anchor's mind, it's often easy to read between the lines. Katie Couric famously employed the "some say" technique to put her own views in the mouths of unidentified others. But it's relatively uncommon to hear an anchor flatly express an opinion in the way Matt Lauer did this morning. The topic was whether there were racial overtones to Bill Clinton's "fairy…
Mark Finkelstein

CNN Implies Bloomberg Is a Republican

Bill Hobbs

Brian Williams Lauds Obama's 'Beautiful, Soaring Concession Speech

On a Wednesday blog entry on The Daily Nightly, NBC anchor Brian Williams candidly admitted the media screwed up in expecting a massive Obama wave, but then said "virtually everyone got it wrong." He also said "Give us a few weeks – we will promptly forget the lessons of this debacle in polling, predictions and primary politics" and "live to screw up another day." But then, Williams went back to…
Tim Graham

Barack Oba-moderate

It's one of the great MSM rituals of presidential politics: the labeling of leading Dems as "moderates" or "centrists." Gail Collins honors the tradition in her New York Times column of today. Now it's true that Collins ostensibly speaks more of Obama's tone than of his politics. But, ultimately, as you'll see, she melds the two to portray a thoroughly moderate man. We'll do a reality check…
Mark Finkelstein

Couric Encourages 'Humanized' Clinton to 'Reveal More of Yourself

Telling Hillary Clinton “some observers believe” that when she got “emotional” -- as “your voice cracked and your eyes welled up” -- that “humanized you and made you much more attractive to women voters,” CBS's Katie Couric on Wednesday night cooed: “Will you be willing now to reveal more of yourself and be less reserved?” As if the “emotional” moment Monday in New Hampshire exposed the real,…
Brent Baker

Brian Williams Admits NBC Undercovered GOP Side in NH

Brad Wilmouth