He’s So Fine: CBS Early Show Explores ‘How Cool is “The Man” O

December 27th, 2008 10:39 PM
On Friday morning’s The Early Show on CBS, viewers were treated to what almost seemed like a parody of Barack Obama’s mainstream media paparazzi fawning over the Democratic President-elect, as the show ran a report exploring the question of "How cool is Obama?" and co-hosts Harry Smith and Tracy Smith referred to Obama as "the man" and "the epitome of cool," respectively. Audio of the classic…

Williams Sounds Wail of the MSM Dinosaur

December 24th, 2008 9:02 AM
There was no Memorex around when the brontosauri were bidding bye-bye, but I think we have a pretty good idea of what they sounded like as they were going extinct.  Just listen to Brian Williams this morning.  Appearing on Morning Joe, the NBC Nightly News anchor lamented the decline of "classically-trained" journalists in favor of guys with "an opinion and a modem."  A question from Pat Buchanan…

Network Morning Shows Fawn Over Obama Vacation Photos

December 23rd, 2008 4:25 PM
The Tuesday morning shows of NBC, ABC, and CBS all promoted Barack Obama’s celebrity status as hosts and reporters ogled the latest paparazzi photo of Obama in swim trunks while on vacation in Hawaii, as NBC’s Matt Lauer declared on Today: "And fit to serve, Barack Obama photographed shirtless in Hawaii and a lot of women are giving him the presidential seal of approval." On ABC’s Good Morning…

He's Thrilled: MSNBC's Chris Matthews Wins MRC’s 'Quote of the Year

December 22nd, 2008 1:56 PM
The Media Research Center today announced its Best Notable Quotables of 2008: The 21st Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews "won" the dubious honor of Quote of the Year for gushing over a Barack Obama speech back in February: "I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often….And that is an objective assessment."Top runner-up for Quote of…

Was Harry Smith Hitting On Jennifer Aniston

December 20th, 2008 1:02 PM
The suddenly all over the newstands Jennifer Aniston -- not that there's anything wrong with that! -- was Harry Smith's guest on Friday's "Early Show," and the CBS host seemed to have a hard time hiding the little crush he has on the former "Friends" star.In fact, the 57-year-old Smith seemed to be hitting on the 39-year-old Aniston.Not that there's anything wrong with that (video embedded below…

CBS’s Reid Looks at Barack Obama’s New Deal

December 19th, 2008 5:31 PM
On CBS’s Sunday Morning, correspondent Chip Reid compared Obama’s economic plan to that of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal: "During the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt started the Works Progress Administration, the WPA. It would put 8.5 million to work...Now a new American president-elect is vowing to put the country back to work. This Sunday Morning, we'll take a look back at the…

Leno: Shoe-Throwing Iraqi Offered Show on MSNBC, Letterman: Offered Sh

December 19th, 2008 4:11 PM
During this week, NBC’s Tonight Show host Jay Leno took a couple of noteworthy jabs at the anti-Bush mainstream media in America, on Monday joking that the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush was "offered his own show on MSNBC," and on Tuesday quipping that "he was so anti-Bush, at first people just assumed he was an American journalist."By contrast, CBS’s Late Show host David…

CBS’s Smith: Gay Marriage ‘A Serious Civil Rights Issue

December 19th, 2008 12:29 PM
At the top of Friday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith teased a segment on the controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s decision to have pastor Rick Warren deliver the invocation at the inauguration: "Barack Obama angers gay rights groups by choosing Rick Warren to give his inaugural invocation." Later Smith brought on Dr. Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas and David Corn of…

CBS’s Schieffer: Obama ‘Must Restore Government’s Credibility

December 18th, 2008 5:28 PM
On Sunday’s Face the Nation on CBS, host Bob Schieffer concluded the broadcast by sharing a recent political cartoon: "...a cartoon from the Houston Chronicle caught the flavor, a man standing in front of a burning building labeled the ‘Economy’ is shouting into a phone, ‘My house is on fire. How soon can you get here?’ A fireman who looks like Barack Obama answers, ‘January 20th.’" Schieffer…

GM PR Advisor Appears as 'Auto Analyst' to Argue for Bailout

December 18th, 2008 1:48 PM
Full disclosure, you can take the day off. CBS's "The Early Show" included a statement in its Dec. 18 report on the Big 3 bailout from "auto industry analyst," Dan McGinn. Letting the massive car companies fail "would be like 10 Katrinas hitting America at the same time," McGinn asserted. "The American public understands that." What the report didn't say is that McGinn is also an adviser…

CBS ‘60 Minutes’: Barney Frank, ‘The Smartest Guy in Congress

December 18th, 2008 1:19 PM
In a softball profile of the liberal Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank on Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes, anchor Lesley Stahl led with: "Barney Frank has been called the smartest guy in Congress, which is lucky for us, since he works on some of the thorniest issues around. The 14-term, 68-year-old Harvard-educated Democratic congressman from Massachusetts is chairman of the House Financial Services…

CBS’s Chen: Leave Caroline Kennedy Alone, Criticism ‘Unfair

December 18th, 2008 11:45 AM
On Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen came to the defense of would-be New York Senator Caroline Kennedy, who has faced criticism for her lack of experience: "This is so unfair. I mean, look, the system is set up the way it's set up and Governor Paterson decides and that's it. Leave her alone, everyone." That comment followed a report by correspondent Meg Oliver, in which Kennedy…

CBS Examines Caroline Kennedy’s Qualifications, Promotes Celebrity S

December 17th, 2008 4:13 PM
At the top of Wednesday’s CBS Early Show co-host Julie Chen declared: “Caroline Kennedy gets a boost in her quest to become a Senator from the woman she hopes to replace.” Later, co-host Harry Smith introduced a segment about Kennedy’s qualifications: “There are reports this morning that Senator Hillary Clinton has told her supporters to stop questioning if Caroline Kennedy is qualified to…

Obama Lap Dog du Jour: CBS's Cynthia Bowers

December 17th, 2008 12:39 PM
The first of just three questions asked of Barack Obama at his December 17 press conference [audio available here]:CYNTHIA BOWERS, CBS News Chicago correspondent: I have a question. You ran on a platform of transparency. How difficult is all this having to wait to release your inquiry business when the American people expect transparency?Yes, you read that correctly. Bowers prompts Obama for an…