ABC's Karl Highlights Stimulus Waste; Stephanopoulos Spins for White H

July 10th, 2009 3:56 PM
Good Morning America's Jonathan Karl on Friday provided a questioning, skeptical analysis of how stimulus money is being spent on road signs promoting the legislation. At one point, the correspondent quipped, "But for now, the signs seem easier to create than jobs." However, former Clinton aide-turned journalist George Stephanopoulos provided White House spin on the total amount of stimulus money…

The 12 Days of Michael

July 8th, 2009 5:56 PM
There's no doubt about it. Celebrity is the media's top priority. Michael Jackson's June 25 death overshadowed all other news for almost two weeks. Nightly news programs on ABC, CBS and NBC featured at least one story each night about Jackson since his death. More than half of those broadcasts aired since June 25 lead with a story about Jackson. A Pew poll found cable news devoted 93…

ABC's David Wright Continues Sniping at Palin: Gov Lacks 'Firm Grasp

July 8th, 2009 3:27 PM
Good Morning America's David Wright on Saturday continued his habit of dropping insulting comments into stories about Sarah Palin, snidely asserting that the Alaska governor "lacked seasoning and, some would say, a firm grasp of the issues." Wright, who was reporting on Palin's announcement that she would be resigning her office, also speculated that far more serious motives could be behind the…

Tough Jake Tapper Interview With Obama Fails to Hold Interest of Jacks

July 7th, 2009 12:13 PM
Despite devoting almost the entire Good Morning America program on Tuesday to Michael Jackson, ABC could only find three minutes for a hard-hitting Jake Tapper interview with Barack Obama. And even though co-host Diane Sawyer promised at the close of the piece, "And we'll have more of the President's interview with Jake Tapper later in the broadcast," the segment never returned. Tapper, who was…

'Thanks So Much For Going Up Next To The Fish And Getting The Intervie

July 7th, 2009 8:59 AM
How brave of Kate Snow.  Not only making the trek to Flyover Country North, but even getting close to some yucky fish. That seemed to be Diane Sawyer's attitude in congratulating Snow for snagging an interview with Sarah Palin.The soon-to-be-former Governor of Alaska invited Snow out for some salmon fishing.  At one point the intrepid ABC reporter observes to Palin: "you have some fish guts on…

ABC's Sawyer Asks Sheriff if He’s 'Concerned' People Have 'Guns Righ

July 6th, 2009 4:32 PM
ABC’s Diane Sawyer acted more concerned than the reporter on the scene on Monday’s Good Morning America over a small town in South Carolina arming itself against a serial killer. She asked the local sheriff, “The community has apparently been arming up and we’re reading that ammunition is selling out at some of the stores. How concerned are you that people are standing at their doorways with guns…

ABC Features Own Journalist in 'Debate' With Conservative Gingrich on

July 1st, 2009 12:10 PM
ABC medical expert Dr. Tim Johnson, a fervent fan of universal health care, actually talked to the other side on Wednesday, featuring Newt Gingrich for what an onscreen graphic labeled a "debate" on the merits of a government-run program. It might seem odd for the network to tag a segment of a conservative talking to one of its journalists as a debate, but Johnson is certainly a partisan on this…

ABC Hits Reverse Discrimination Case From Left; CBS Skips It Entirely

June 30th, 2009 2:38 PM
Following up on Monday’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of New Haven firefighters who were denied promotion after no black applicants passed a written exam, ABC’s Bob Woodruff on Tuesday’s Good Morning America approached the decision from a liberal perspective, wondering if “the ruling really make future workplace discrimination harder to prove” — as opposed to wondering whether the ruling will…

GMA: ‘Secret Life’ Gives ‘Great Advice’ to Teens

June 29th, 2009 3:20 PM

Morning Shows Devote Almost an Hour to Hyping Sanford Story

June 26th, 2009 3:14 PM
The three network morning shows on Thursday devoted a staggering 18 segments to the revelation that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was having an affair with a woman from Argentina, adding up to over 54 minutes of coverage. NBC's Today show spent the most time on the subject, highlighting the infidelity with six segments and 25 minutes of air time. Co-host Matt Lauer even talked to disgraced…

Sam Donaldson: It's Hard to Forgive Bible-thumping GOPers for Their Se

June 25th, 2009 4:00 PM
ABC's Sam Donaldson appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to talk about the developing Mark Sanford scandal and loudly assert that it's hard to forgive Bible-thumping Republicans for their sexual transgressions. He began by deriding, "The problem Republicans have, so many of them are sanctimonious." [audio available here] The longtime contributor continued his attack on members of the GOP…

After GOP-less ObamaCare Special, ABC's Sawyer Chides McConnell and St

June 25th, 2009 2:12 PM
Apparently feeling some heat about its decision to not allow any Republicans to participate in its primetime ObamaCare infomercial Wednesday evening, ABC decided at the last minute to invite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and RNC Chairman Michael Steele on Thursday's "Good Morning America."Unfortunately, both McConnell and Steele, having been given less than 24 hours notice, were…

NBC, CBS, and ABC Highlight Sanford’s GOP Label; Downplayed Label Fo

June 25th, 2009 12:38 PM
In the wake of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s admission to having an affair, evening and morning newscasts on NBC, CBS, and ABC all immediately identified him as a Republican. In contrast, in March of last year, the networks rarely identified disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer as a Democrat in the wake of his affair with a prostitute. In a 2008 study of evening and morning network…

Former Clinton Aide Stephanopoulos: Dems Have a Harder Time Surviving

June 25th, 2009 12:21 PM
Former Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to bizarrely assert that Democrats have a harder times surviving sex scandals than Republicans. While discussing South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, he breathlessly claimed, "We've never seen anything like this before" and never mentioned his former boss, Bill Clinton, who escaped impeachment conviction…