Networks Skip Liberal Labels For Dem Convention
While NBC's Matt Lauer took pains to label John McCain's vice presidential nominee a "staunch" and "stalwart" conservative on Friday, all three network morning shows almost entirely avoided any ideological descriptors for Senators Obama, Biden and the major liberal speakers during the just completed August 25 to 28 Democratic National Convention. Some of the individuals at the convention included…
Morning Shows All Hail Obama’s ‘Fiery,’ ‘Historic’ Speech
After each of the first three nights of the Democratic convention, network news reporters have offered enthusiastically positive reviews, and Friday morning’s coverage of Barack Obama’s acceptance address made it a clean sweep. CBS Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith, the only morning show host still in Denver, said he felt the earth moving. “This place rumbled....The stadium was just so alive, and…
CBS’s Rodriguez Acts Like Obama Campaign Spokesman
While speculating on John McCain’s upcoming vice presidential running mate, who we now know will be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, on Friday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez explained: "I found myself at one point last night thinking how difficult it must be for John McCain to watch such a huge celebration in honor of his opponent, especially on the eve of his 72nd birthday, which is…
Couric, Williams Back Obama’s Economic ‘Turmoil’ By Ignoring Pos
As my colleague Brent Baker noted last night, the August 28 CBS "Evening News" and NBC "Nightly News" broadcasts completely ignored the Commerce Department's upward revision of second quarter gross domestic product growth. The department announced August 28 the economy grew at 3.3 percent in the second quarter of 2008, up from initial reports of 1.9 percent. The revised number exceeded…
TV Journalists Relieved Obama 'Masterpiece' Took on McCain
Television journalists were nearly uniformly enthralled with Barack Obama's Thursday night acceptance speech, relieved he showed the toughness to take on John McCain directly, unlike, in their world view, all too-soft past Democratic nominees. Only FNC offered a contrarian view or mentioned the word “liberal” while David Gergen on CNN trumpeted the address as a “symphony” and a “masterpiece” with…
CBS ‘Early Show’ Gushes: ‘History Being Made in Denver
At the top of Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith set the tone for the show’s coverage of Barack Obama’s upcoming nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic convention: "First, history being made in Denver today." While Obama being the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party is historic, the Early Show went far beyond the other network morning shows, doing…
The Biz Flog Highlighted Export Boom Weeks before GDP Jump
That “Made in America” sticker is looking more attractive.Second-quarter (2Q) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was revised up from 1.9 percent growth to a higher than anticipated 3.3 percent, according to reports on August 28.Rising exports played a significant role in the expansion. According to the Commerce Department, real exports increased 13.2 percent in the 2Q of 2008, compared with an increase…
CBS: Barack Obama = Martin Luther King
In the wake of Barack Obama officially becoming the first African-American presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, on Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith declared: "This day, August 28, is steeped in history. Barack Obama delivers his historic acceptance speech and 45 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have A Dream" speech. August 28, 1963, hundreds of…
Another Night, Another Round of Cheers for the Democrats
ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’s Early Show led the praise for the third night of the Democratic convention, with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos enthralled by how well it was going for Democrats. “I think every night in this convention has built on the one that came before,” he exclaimed Thursday morning, adding: “The speeches have gotten better every night.”[Check here and here for a re-cap of…
Elite Media Give Big Bucks to Gay Journalist Group
Rarely do the media put their institutional political bias on public display, but this past weekend, America's news industry titans left no doubt that they're fully behind one of the nation's most radical cultural and political movements. ABC, AP, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the corporate owners of USA Today, the Miami Herald, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution…
Carter: Oil Industry Will Hold Down Prices to Help Republicans
Is there an echo in here? Nope, just another attack on oil companies in the months leading up to an election. Former president Jimmy Carter told Harry Smith on CBS's "The Early Show" August 27 that he predicted "oil companies will hold down oil prices a little bit, you know, to try to help the Republican ticket." Carter also said that the economy would be the most important issue, "as it…
CBS ‘Early Show’ Features Dem Spin on Hillary Speech
At the top of the 8am half hour of Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith talked to former Hillary Clinton Press Secretary Lisa Caputo about Clinton’s convention speech: "Everybody in the Pepsi Center buzzing last night about Hillary Clinton's prime time speech...So did she accomplish what she set out to do?" Caputo responded: "She knew what she had to do. And I think in many respects…
Nets Gush: Hillary ‘Aced’ It; a 'Perfect' Convention Speech
All three broadcast morning shows hailed Hillary Clinton’s convention speech on Wednesday, as ABC’s Diane Sawyer saw Clinton “bringing down the house,” while George Stephanopoulos declared that “she aced it. I think she's gone farther than any losing candidate has ever gone in a convention like this.”Sawyer gushed: “If her candidacy put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, her speech…
CBS’s Smith: Should Republicans ‘Worry’ About Dem ‘Enthusiasm
Speaking to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith asked: "But standing in this building...feeling the enthusiasm, don't you think Republicans have something to worry about?" Giuliani, who has been attending the Democratic convention and will give the keynote address at the Republican convention next week, replied: "No, I think Republicans are…
