CBS’s Schieffer on FEMA: ‘Your IQ Must Be Below a Certain Level to
October 31st, 2007 5:04 PM
In his "Final Word" on Sunday’s "Face the Nation" on CBS, host Bob Schieffer denounced a fake news conference held by FEMA officials in the wake of the California wildfires. Not content to just say the staged conference was a bad mistake, Schieffer decided to be as arrogant and condescending as possible:The last time I was at Disney World, they had sticks of a certain height stuck in the ground…
ABC Grills Huckabee; Gushed over Clinton's 'Knowledge Base
October 30th, 2007 12:47 PM
ABC's George Stephanopoulos highlighted adversarial quotes and characterizations for an interview with 2008 Republican candidate Mike Huckabee on Tuesday's "Good Morning America." The former Clinton operative quoted conservative Phyllis Schlafly as saying, "[Huckabee] destroyed the conservative movement in Arkansas" and Betsy Hagen of the Eagle Forum who compared the GOP contender to Bill Clinton…
ABC's Sawyer Lectures O'Reilly: See 'Reality' of Sexually Active Kids
October 29th, 2007 3:59 PM
Two weeks after seeming to take the side of a "sexual educator" who advocated giving birth control to middle school children, "Good Morning America" co-anchor Diane Sawyer exhorted the same position on Monday's show. Sawyer discussed the case of a Maine school system voting to allow contraceptives to be given to children as young as 11 with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. The GMA journalist operated…
TV Week: Most Journalists Found Arnold's Hand Grab 'Inappropriate
October 29th, 2007 11:20 AM
According to the media website TV Week, "most TV news operations" deemed Arnold Schwarzenegger's grabbing of "Good Morning America" reporter Claire Shipman's hands during an interview to be "inappropriate." The exchange, which was first reported last Wednesday on NewsBusters, occurred after Shipman repeatedly tried to get the California governor to admit that some efforts to combat the state's…
The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: October 20 to
October 27th, 2007 9:42 AM
Aren't they Grand? On Wednesday's "Early Show," Harry Smith gushed over Bill and Hillary Clinton and how two "idealistic kids" transformed themselves into "political rock stars." Smith also took pains to point out that the Clintons are a "still-young couple." Over on ABC, Clinton-fan Kate Snow fawned over Bill and Hillary for being "masters at turning bad news into good." In general, she seemed…
ABC's George Stephanopoulos Spews: U.S. Lacks 'Credibility' on Iran
October 26th, 2007 12:22 PM
According to former Bill Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos, one reason the United States wouldn't start a war with Iran is because the Bush administration doesn't possess the "troops or the allies or the credibility that it would take to launch a war right now." Stephanopoulos, who is now the host of ABC's "This Week," slipped that bit of bias into a discussion on Friday's "Good Morning…
ABC Gushes: Clintons Are 'Masters at Turning Bad News Into Good
October 25th, 2007 12:09 PM
In early October, ABC reporter Kate Snow sprang to the defense of Senator Hillary Clinton's much maligned laugh. On Thursday's "Good Morning America," the correspondent marveled over Bill Clinton's successes and also how his wife is able to make turning 60-years-old a good thing. While an ABC graphic wondered if the Democratic power couple are "masters of spin," Snow gushed, "The Clintons have…
California Wildfires: Media Blame Another Natural Disaster on Bush
October 24th, 2007 2:49 PM
As wildfires rage throughout Southern California, media have predictably begun to blame this awful natural disaster on President George W. Bush much as they did almost exactly two years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. On Tuesday evening, MSNBC's Dan Abrams set up an interview with California Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Cal.) thusly:But the fire storms in California`s raising…
Arnold Grabs ABC's Shipman, Demands: Stop Spinning Fire Coverage
October 24th, 2007 12:42 PM
Reporter Claire Shipman did her level best to get California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to say the efforts to combat the state's wild fires were going poorly. Shipman interviewed the governor on Wednesday's "Good Morning America" and wondered about "the comparison to Katrina that everybody's making in the back of their mind..." At one point, Governor Schwarzenegger cut off Shipman's pleas for…
ABC's Ross Accuses Rudy of Being Pedophile Priest's Pal
October 23rd, 2007 12:21 PM
On Tuesday's "Good Morning America," reporter Brian Ross continued his critical series of investigations into Republican presidential candidates. Just two weeks after he slammed Fred Thompson for his role in the 1973 Watergate investigation, the ABC correspondent looked into the fact that Rudy Giuliani's consulting firm has employed a priest that has been accused of molesting children in the '70s…
ABC's Roberts to Laura Bush: Export Generosity, Not Bombs
October 22nd, 2007 12:43 PM
America should export generosity and hope instead of bombs and fear. Host Robin Roberts quoted these sentiments from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and columnist Thomas Friedman to Laura Bush on Monday's "Good Morning America." Roberts was traveling with the First Lady through the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries as part of a tour to increase breast cancer awareness in that region…
The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: October 13 to 19 (Al Gore Edition
October 20th, 2007 10:21 AM
Al Gore: He Speaks for Us AllIt would be quite the understatement to say that members of the media approved of Al Gore's Nobel Prize win. Sam Donaldson lauded Gore for doing something "very important." Cokie Roberts justified the former vice president's inaccuracies by claiming that even if it was propaganda, Gore made an important issue popular. Over on CNN, reporter Miles O'Brien, once again,…