Bill Weir, ABC's New Nightline Host: A Profile in Bias
ABC's Bill Weir, the former co-host of weekend Good Morning America, debuted on Monday as the new co-anchor of Nightline. ABC President David Westin lauded Weir in July for conducting "some of our most innovative reporting." But, he may be better known for standard liberal bias, such as hyperbolically asserting during Barack Obama's inauguration: "From above, even the seagulls must have been awed…
CBS 'Early Show' Promotes Levi Johnston Pitch for Reality Show
Teasing an upcoming story in the 7:30AM ET half hour on Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith cheerfully promoted Levi Johnston's pitch for a reality show in Alaska: "He's going to star in a new reality show and it's all about him running for mayor of Wasilla. That's right, he's gunning for his would-have-been mother-in-law's old job."Later, Smith further teased: "Johnston's quest to…
CBS's Dickerson Questions 'Claim' That California Judge in Prop 8 Ruli
During a discussion of California's Proposition 8 being overturned on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, fill-in host John Dickerson questioned Family Research Council President Tony Perkins's assertion that the federal judge who made the ruling was openly gay: "You mention this claim that he's openly homosexual. I'm not sure if that's, in fact, the case."Perkins replied by citing his source on…
ABC's Cokie Roberts Defends Michelle Obama's Spanish Vacation: 'What R
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos and Cokie Roberts on Monday downplayed the potential bad PR Michelle Obama might suffer for taking a Spanish vacation costing $250,000Roberts justified, "But in the grand scheme of things, what real difference does it make? I would guess that Sasha is probably learning some Spanish." Continuing to spin the First Lady's vacation, she argued, "And we…
Special NB Bonus: Notable Quotables that Couldn't Fit Into the Regular
Too much bias, not enough space. Collecting quotes for the latest edition of MRC’s bi-weekly Notable Quotables, I found more outrageous liberal eruptions than could fit into the normal newsletter. So, just for NewsBusters readers, here are a dozen worthy quotes that just couldn’t squeeze into the regular issue:■ Confusing Tired Liberal Cliches with Economic Strategy“Let’s let the entire slew of…
Harris on 'This Week': Giving Bush Credit for Iraq Too Much for Obama
Christiane Amanpour on Sunday asked a rather surprising question of her "This Week" panel concerning President Obama's speech earlier in the week about the troop draw down in Iraq: Do you think everybody is taking a lot of credit but not giving credit where credit is due?Obviously, "everybody" in this instance meant the current White House resident who chose not to give credit to former President…
ABC Hypes Michelle Obama's 'Lush,' Luxurious' Spanish Vacation, Hit Ex
Good Morning America's Yunji de Nies on Friday touted Michelle Obama's "five-star," "luxurious" vacation to Spain, skipping any discussion of controversy over the $148,000 trip. In January of 2009, however, the very same program chided Laura Bush for introducing new presidential dinnerware, despite the fact that the bill was being paid by a private organization. De Nies gushed, "They toured the…
CBS 'Early Show' Ignores Accusations of Bias Against Judge Behind Prop
While Thursday reports on both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today featured Proposition 8 supporters questioning the impartiality of California Federal Judge Vaughn Walker's decision to strike down the state's referendum defending traditional marriage, CBS's Early Show failed to provide any such arguments. On Good Morning America, correspondent Terry Moran explained: "Opponents of same-sex…
No Balance on ABC: Network Features Liberals When Prop 8 Was Passed an
On Thursday's Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos sought out the reaction of liberal Slate correspondent Dahlia Lithwick to discuss Proposition 8. No conservative guest appeared in opposition. Back in November of 2008, in the days after the legislation banning gay marriage passed, GMA also brought on supporters of gay marriage. Stephanopoulos asked Lithwick, the legal correspondent for…
ABC Shoves Back at Shales, Insists Amanpour's Memoriam for 'All Who Di
ABC is fighting back against Washington Post critic Tom Shales asking if ABC's new Sunday show host Christian Amanpour meant to send flowers and regrets to members of the Taliban in her overbroad eulogy on her debut as This Week host. Justin Elliott of Salon's War Room blog found remarks from Jeffrey Schneider, senior vice president at ABC, that Shales' criticism here is "utterly fabricated." He…
George Stephanopoulos Defends Ground Zero Mosque: What Better Way to S
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday Defended the building of a mosque near Ground Zero as a monument to tolerance. Talking to conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, he proclaimed, "This is a country founded on the notion of religious freedom. What better way to say they [the terrorists] haven't won?"Ingraham decried the plan for being so close to the site of 9/11 terrorist…
CBS and ABC Wish Obama Happy Birthday: Still 'Full of Energy,' But Fee
Playing Stevie Wonder's version of 'Happy Birthday' at the end of Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Erica Hill reported: "The Obamas, of course, big Stevie Wonder fans. And President Obama, 49 years old today." After she observed that Obama looked a little grayer, co-host Harry Smith, who interviewed the President on Friday, chimed in: "He came bounding into the interview area full of energy."…
ABC Highlights Stimulus Waste: Funding Cocaine for Monkeys; Will Other
Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Tuesday highlighted a new report by two Republican senators on extreme examples of waste in the stimulus bill. Karl rattled off some eye catching data: "$71,000 for researchers at Wake Forest University to see how monkeys react under the influence of cocaine." The ABC journalist informed viewers that Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn released their new report…
ABC, CBS Extol Chelsea's Wedding as a Happy Reminder of the 'Rosy' Cli
ABC and CBS's morning shows on Monday hyped Chelsea Clinton's wedding as happy reminder of the '90s. Daily Beast editor Tina Brown appeared on Good Morning America and enthused, "Well, I really felt that this wedding came in for the real rosy glow, Clinton, sort of back-lit feeling, because people are really very depressed right now." [MP3 audio here.]Co-host Robin Roberts prompted the former…
