NBC's Lee Cowan: Blagojevich 'Fell Victim to History
Certainly delivering a unique take on the Blagojevich case, in a Thursday night story on why Illinois politics are so corrupt, NBC reporter Lee Cowan characterized the Governor of Illinois as a politician who “fell victim” to Chicago's political machine. Apparently, corruption was just irresistible. Cowan contended:The Windy City is a political stew of characters, a cast of players that even…
'Nightly News' Finds Libraries 'Popular,' but Suffering from Economy
NBC News went out of its way this time to show how the American public relies on government Dec. 10 by focusing on the public library in it's "Hard Times" series. The broadcast examined the hardships public libraries are facing in the economic downturn - at a time when people are flocking to libraries instead of the local bookstore. "These tough economic times, as we have been saying, have…
Only ABC's 'World News' Questions Obama's Relationship with Blago
The three broadcast networks started their evening newscasts on Tuesday with stories on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's arrest and corruption charges. All of the newscasts mentioned Blagojevich's Democratic affiliation, but only in passing. And, only ABC's World News questioned the details about the Illinois Governor's relationship with President-elect Barack Obama, while NBC and CBS brushed…
Label Bias: Previous Corrupt Illinois Governor Labeled 'Republican
Much as when then-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught with a prostitute last March, the arrest Tuesday of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on allegations he was trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat raises the issue of whether or not the Big Three networks will forthrightly tag him as a “Democrat.”Among wire services, the Associated Press has included the “Democrat” label…
Only NBC Notes Fewest Ever Monthly Deaths in Wars
Of the broadcast network newscasts Thursday evening, only the NBC Nightly News took a few seconds to note some more good news from the war front as fill-in anchor Lester Holt reported “combined deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan in November” stood at eleven, “the lowest total since the U.S. invaded Iraq.” ABC's World News devoted more than two minutes to LBJ tapes, which showed him “anguished about…
Brian Williams: 'Could We Use a Little FDR Right About Now
Working on the day after Thanksgiving, Brian Williams used Friday's NBC Nightly News to promote a new book from FDR's grandson, providing Williams with an opportunity to propose: “In your estimation, could we use a little FDR right about now?” Though Franklin Delano Roosevelt's policies failed to end the Depression, Williams hailed him as “the man who led this nation out of financial disaster.”…
Mitchell Impressed by Obama's 'All-Star Cabinet' of 'Smartest People
While ABC, CBS and NBC on Friday night all touted how news that New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner will be nominated for Secretary of the Treasury fueled a market rebound, NBC was the most excited with Andrea Mitchell, sounding completely in the tank, hailing President-elect Obama's “all-star cabinet” as she maintained “Obama is determined to pick the strongest, smartest people he…
Ann Curry Cites Gross 'Mis-Example' of Climate Change
The glacier on Mt. Kilimanjaro is melting. If you were watching NBC "Nightly News" Nov. 19 you probably would think that ice is declining because of "climate change."After all, "Today's" Ann Curry said it: "Mt. Kilimanjaro has become a kind of poster-child for climate change. Eighty-four percent of the ice has disappeared in less than 100 years and by 2020, scientists expect as early as that it…
Holder Hailed, But in 2000 Ashcroft Marked as Sop to 'Far Right
Eight years ago when incoming President George W. Bush named Senator John Ashcroft as his choice for Attorney General, the broadcast network evening newscasts applied ideological labels and highlighted opposition to him from liberals, but Tuesday night with President-elect Barack Obama's pick of Eric Holder for the same position, the anchors avoided any ideological tags or controversies and…
Can't Afford Health or Heat...in Liberal Hub of Boston
There's economic trouble in the land with people unable to afford proper health care or heat for their homes ABC and NBC contended on Wednesday night. And where did the network journalists travel to find the heart-rending anecdotes of people in pain thanks to the awful Bush economy? Some Republican area with harsh conservative politicians who have slashed government funding to the poor? No, to…
ABC and NBC Fail to Correct Obama's 'Seance' Gaffe
Friday night stories on ABC's World News and the NBC Nightly News ran a clip of President-elect Barack Obama's gaffe at his press conference in which he related he had talked to all of the “living” former Presidents, as “I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances.” But both newscasts failed to note it was Hillary Clinton, not Nancy Reagan, who reportedly had…
Bozell Column: Media Defeats McCain
The election of Barack Obama was certainly historic, and the great attraction of that historic moment led to more history: an Obama-smitten news media that completely avoided their responsibility to test the nominee with hard questions. It made the gooey 1992 Clinton campaign look like a fistfight by comparison.Obama faced none of the withering scrutiny applied to even the Republican vice…
