CBS's Byron Pitts Concedes He's 'Excited' by Obama's Nomination
June 9th, 2008 11:42 AM
On Sunday's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz played a clip of CBS reporter Byron Pitts on Wednesday's CBS Evening News hailing Barack Obama's Democratic nomination victory as proof “one of America's oldest and ugliest color lines has been broken, and there is a new bridge for a new generation,” then proposed: “You obviously are paid to be an objective journalist, but some part of you must be…
CBS Frets Energy Cost, Skips Impact of Bill to 'Fight Global Warming
June 6th, 2008 9:05 PM
After leading Friday's CBS Evening News with Morgan Stanley's prediction of $150 barrel of oil by the 4th of July and reporter Anthony Mason citing the “runaway price of energy,” anchor Katie Couric delivered a short item on how “today the Senate gave up on legislation to fight global warming.” Couric explained that “faced with a Republican-led filibuster, Democrats withdrew their proposal to cap…
CBS & NBC Focus on KSM's Torture Claims, Only ABC Tags Him 'Evil
June 5th, 2008 10:50 PM
CBS and NBC on Thursday night were as interested in highlighting the claims of torture, from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and four 9/11 terrorist attack co-conspirators who were arraigned by a military commission court in Guantanamo Bay, as to informing viewers about the charges against them. ABC didn't consider the torture allegations relevant and so didn't mention the topic as Jan Crawford…
CBS’s Couric to Obama: Are You and Hillary ‘Chemically Compatible
June 5th, 2008 1:31 PM
On Thursday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Julie Chen teased an upcoming segment about CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric’s recent interview with Barack Obama: "And then Obama. The Katie interview. What he thinks of Hillary," a clip of Couric was played: "Do you think you're chemically compatible?" Co-host Maggie Rodriguez then teased an interview with Clinton supporter Congressman Charles…
Anchors Rejoice: Obama Making History, 'Son of Gun, I've Done This
June 4th, 2008 10:10 PM
The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts all led Wednesday night with celebratory interviews with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama -- with ABC and NBC plastering “MAKING HISTORY” on screen -- as the three anchors luxuriated in Obama's success. ABC's Charles Gibson wondered: “I'm curious about your feelings last night. It was an historic moment. Has it sunk in yet?” Gibson followed up by…
CBS Blames Gas Prices In GM Closures, Disregards Expensive Union Labor
June 4th, 2008 10:25 AM
High gas prices strike again, says the "CBS Evening News." The June 3 "Evening News" blamed surging gas prices and General Motors reluctance to produce "more fuel-efficient vehicles" for closure of several plants, including one in Janesville, Wisc. "It's not just here and it's not just GM. Since 2005, the big three - GM, Ford and Chrysler - have had 70 plants and supplier shutdowns with a…
Couric Provides Forum for Female Clinton Backers to Vent
June 3rd, 2008 9:30 PM
With the end of liberal Democrat Hillary Clinton's “historic campaign for the presidency” seemingly very near, CBS anchor Katie Couric devoted more than four minutes Tuesday night to wondering: “What will the many women who supported her do?” (Based on her reporting, that likely includes her.) Noting that “women helped propel Clinton to a big win in Pennsylvania,” Couric explained: “We asked…
McClellan Tells ABC & CBS: 'Intrigued' by Obama, May Vote for Him
May 29th, 2008 8:07 PM
In the midst of media hype for “insider” Scott McClellan's attacks on the Bush White House, ABC's Martha Raddatz and CBS's Katie Couric prompted a revelation from McClellan that undermines the presumption he's any kind of partisan Republican or conservative ideologue. They asked a question NBC's Meredith Vieira did not in two lengthy live segments on Thursday's Today show: Will he vote for John…
Media Ran Charges Israeli Troops Killed Boy, Ignore Evidence Israel In
May 29th, 2008 8:45 AM
When France 2 TV helped stoke a new wave of anti-Semitism and anti-Western sentiment and violence by presenting the world footage it claimed to show the Israeli military targeting and killing a Palestinian boy, Mohammed al-Dura, a scene that has been invoked by Osama bin Laden and many other terrorists and suicide bombers, the American news media also ran the story, showing the footage numerous…
Couric: Nefarious Talking Point Coordination from McClellan Critics
May 28th, 2008 9:02 PM
The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts, naturally, all led Wednesday night with Scott McClellan's attacks on the Bush White House, but CBS anchor Katie Couric inaccurately reported McClellan was “forced out” of his Press Secretary position “last year” (he left in early 2006) and, interviewing McClellan's predecessor Ari Fleischer, she tried to discredit White House defenders by demanding to know…
Across the Board, Networks 'Cherry-Pick' Housing Data
May 28th, 2008 4:44 PM
As of late, the networks just can't get enough of bad housing news, seizing each opportunity to make a point how bad the American economy is. Each of the network news broadcasts on May 27 - ABC, CBS and NBC - took the news that home prices fell 14 percent in the first quarter of 2008, despite the news that new home sales rose an unexpected 3.3 percent in April from March, to portray the…
CBS’s Couric: Iraq War Coverage ‘One of the Most Embarrassing Chap
May 28th, 2008 11:37 AM
On Wednesday’s CBS "Early Show" evening news anchors, ABC’S Charles Gibson, NBC’s Brian Williams, and CBS’s Katie Couric, were all on to promote an upcoming cancer research telethon, but near the end of segment, co-host Harry Smith asked about former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s new book in which McClellan claims the media did not ask tough questions leading up to the Iraq war…
CBS: 'Substance Abuse'? People Think McCain's War Injuries 'Funny
May 23rd, 2008 9:16 PM
The night after ABC's World News raised the possibility John McCain's POW ordeal caused “psychological damage,” on Friday's CBS Evening News Dr. Sanjay Gupta thought it noteworthy that the release of McCain's medical records ignored the Senator's “mental health,” any “mention of post-traumatic stress disorder” or of “substance abuse.” Oddly, Dr. Jon LaPook asserted that “people” notice McCain is…
