Rainbow Rapture: Networks Cheer Gay Marriage Rulings with 86 Percent F

June 27th, 2013 1:54 PM
It’s hard to know where yesterday’s Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage met with the most jubilation: West Hollywood, the Castro District, Greenwich Village? Or the newsrooms of ABC, CBS and NBC? Combined, the three broadcast networks devoted an astounding 25 minutes, 54 seconds of their evening news shows to the Supreme Court’s decisions striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and…

Two of Three Evening Newscasts Downplay Obama’s Global Warming Speec

June 26th, 2013 5:34 PM
On a big day for news, two of the three major networks downplayed President Obama’s global warming speech on yesterday’s evening newscasts. ABC and CBS reduced the story to a brief anchor-read blurb, while NBC included a sound bite and a full in-studio report from a correspondent. The speech, delivered at Georgetown University, was notable for Obama’s threat to bypass Congress by directing…

IRS Scandal 'Wider' Than First Thought; NBC Ignores and ABC Allows a M

June 25th, 2013 3:30 PM
  According to Danny Werfel, the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS's aggressive investigation of conservative groups was wider than originally thought. Yet, NBC totally ignored the story on Monday night and Tuesday morning. ABC allowed a mere 19 seconds to the continuing controversy. According to the Associated Press, "The Internal Revenue Service's screening of…

Networks Fail to Mention ‘Lull’ in Warming in All 92 Climate Chang

June 25th, 2013 9:57 AM
President Barack Obama’s new climate change initiative will purportedly share “a national plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change and lead global efforts to fight it.” Although he intends to demand action, most Americans do not see climate change as a “major threat,” according to Pew Research. The Washington Post reported Obama will include “a…

CBS, NBC Ballyhoo 'Military-Style Surge' Proposal in Immigration Bill

June 21st, 2013 1:04 PM
Thursday's CBS Evening News all but hinted that the border security measures included in a new compromise attached to the immigration reform bill in Congress was overkill. Scott Pelley emphasized, "To win over Republicans, negotiators today added a military-style surge for the southern border." NBC's Tamron Hall echoed Pelley on Friday's Today: "It [the bill] would involve fortifying the U.S.-…

Networks Ignore 'Audit the IRS' Rally; Minimize Coverage of $70 Millio

June 20th, 2013 12:04 PM
The Big Three all punted on covering the Capitol Hill "Audit the IRS" rally on their Wednesday evening and Thursday morning newscasts. CBS This Morning played a four-second soundbite of Senator Ted Cruz addressing the thousands of Tea Party activists in attendance, but CBS, along with ABC and NBC, didn't air a full report or news brief on the protest. The CBS morning show also stood out for…

Fox's Kelly Smacks Down CBS's Pelley: ‘We Beat You in All the Debate

June 17th, 2013 6:39 PM
As NewsBusters reported Sunday, CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley commented in a Deadline Hollywood interview that Fox News only has 200,000 to 300,000 viewers. Fox’s Megyn Kelly marvelously responded on Monday’s America Live, “We beat you in all the debates and on election night, Scott” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Networks Hype Sequester Slashing 'Desperately Needed Money' to Fight W

June 17th, 2013 3:20 PM
Saturday's CBS Evening News ballyhooed the "enormous strain on resources" that the budget sequester has apparently put on extinguishing a massive wildfire in Colorado. Carter Evans played up how, in addition to fighting the flames, "federal firefighters are facing another challenge: a loss of $50 million, mandated by the budget sequester. That forced the Forest Service to cut 500 firefighters…

Palin: Reporter Comparing Iranian Presidential Candidates to Tea Party

June 17th, 2013 1:57 PM
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer on Saturday’s Evening News compared the Iranian presidential candidates to members of the Tea Party. In her first official re-appearance on Fox News Monday, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin told Fox & Friends viewers that Palmer “put the BS in CBS" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CBS's Scott Pelley: Fox News Only Has 200,000 to 300,000 Viewers

June 16th, 2013 10:28 AM
A key to success in business is knowing your competition. CBS Evening News host Scott Pelley apparently doesn't subscribe to this doctrine, for in an interview with Deadline Hollywood published Saturday, Pelley claimed that Fox News only has 200,000 to 300,000 viewers:

Ayatollah DeMint? CBS Reporter Equates Iran's Islamist Hardliners To U

June 15th, 2013 10:16 PM
For many years, the networks have done a sloppy job of comparing "conservatives" around the globe. As the Berlin Wall fell, the "conservatives" became the communists who wanted to keep their grip on power and not give way to democracy. That's hardly comparable to American conservatives. On Saturday night, CBS News was doing this sloppy dance on the elections in Iran. From London, reporter…

NBC, CBS Criticize Banks for Overdraft Fees That Customers Request

June 13th, 2013 10:50 AM
Banks are bad because they make a profit on things requested by their customers, according to both NBC and CBS. The two networks highlighted a study released June 11 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB] that said banks made $12.6 billion in overdraft fees and non-sufficient funds from bounced checks in 2011. Though only 20 percent of customers actually opt-in for overdraft…

Too Taxing? Big Three Networks Abandon IRS Scandal

June 13th, 2013 10:00 AM
When news broke that IRS agents were abusively targeting conservative groups particularly the Tea Party, it looked at as if this was an Obama administration scandal that would stick. Even reporters like NBC’s Andrea Mitchell counted it as among the “most outrageous excesses I’ve seen.” Obama sycophant Chris Matthews predicted it could be worth “five or 10 points” for Republicans in the next…

ABC, NBC Minimize New State Department Sex and Drugs Scandal

June 12th, 2013 4:32 PM
The latest State Department scandal, involving a possible cover-up of sexual misconduct by an ambassador and security officials, was only newsworthy enough to merit one full report each on ABC and NBC's morning and evening newscasts before the two networks moved on. NBC led Tuesday's Today with the "damaging documents" concerning the "possibly illegal...behavior", but ignored it the following…