NBC's Gregory: Obama Doesn't Like Washington Press Corps, Feeling is

Reacting to the contentious exchange between the Obama White House and the Washington Post's Bob Woodward, on Friday's NBC Today, Meet the Press moderator David Gregory saw the conflict as part of a "larger issue": "...the President does not particularly like the Washington press corps. And I think that feeling is mutual in a lot of respects....there's not a great relationship between that…

Bashing Benedict Cont.: Scandalous Coverage Of Pope’s Retirement Day

The final count is in. From the day of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation announcement to the day of his retirement, the networks unabashedly attacked the pope and the Catholic Church, adding to a pope resignation coverage tally of referencing the church as troubled 157 times and using the world “scandal” 105 times in 118 reports.  A previous Culture and Media Institute tally noted the frequency…

Leno’s White House Sequester Ad: ‘Girl Scouts Will Be Forced To Se

It’s certainly clear to Jay Leno that the Obama administration is fearmongering the budget sequester. On NBC’s Tonight Show Thursday, Leno played a mock White House ad claiming among other things that if sequestration occurs, “Girl Scouts will be forced to sell meth" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

'Writing the Words That Made History': NBC's Puff Piece on Obama's Dep

One week after Politico declared President Obama to be a "puppet master" for his ability to manipulate media coverage, on Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Willie Geist was a willing participant in the string pulling as he conducted a fawning interview with outgoing White House speechwriter Jon Favreau: "[Obama] calls Favreau his mind reader....the departing speechwriter takes us inside his life as…

NBC's Lauer Dismisses Woodward: 'I'm A Little Surprised You've Gone Pu

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post's Bob Woodward on Friday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer belittled the veteran journalist for daring to reveal a contentious exchange with White House adviser Gene Sperling: "I'm a little surprised you've gone public with this. I mean, these kinds of high-energy, high-octane, high-emotion conversations and debates happen all the time between…

Jay Leno Presents 'Les Miserables' Style Sequester Negotiations

NBC Tonight Show host Jay Leno presented a great interpretation of the sequester negotiations Wednesday. In a mock video, many of our political leaders sang their views as if characters in the hit musical "Les Miserables."

NBC Allows 16 Seconds to White House Battle With Bob Woodward, Avoids

The Today show on Thursday allowed a scant 16 seconds, out of a possible four hours, to the claim by veteran journalist Bob Woodward that the Obama White House is trying to intimidate him and attack his coverage of the sequester cuts. The NBC program also avoided using the word "threat." ABC's Good Morning America gave the most coverage to the battle, offering a full report and a news brief…

Bashing Benedict: Networks Make Pope Butt of Jokes, Center of Scandal

A frail, ailing 85-year-old man announces he doesn’t have the strength to continue as the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion people. With the humility of one whose entire life has been in service to God and his Church, he says he will retire to quietly live out his remaining years. Cue the laugh track and gin up the scandal rumors. It was three weeks full of journalistic contempt for the Pope…

Leno On Obama Realizing First Term Mistakes: 'Apparently He Does Watch

Jay Leno took a marvelous swipe at the Obama-loving media Wednesday. During the opening monologue of NBC's Tonight Show, the host commented on the President's claim about realizing his mistakes after being in office for four years saying, "So apparently he does watch Fox News" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

NBC: 'Knives Came Out' When Pope Announced Abdication, Church in 'Holy

Keeping up NBC's barrage of attacks against the Catholic Church in the days leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's abdication, on Wednesday's Today, correspondent Anne Thompson made this nasty declaration: "...as one observer said, the stiletto knives came out as the battle for control of this institution begins, that some say is a holy mess....reports of infighting, back stabbing, and political…

NBC Touts Michelle Obama's Oscar Appearance as 'Part of a Carefully Cr

In a report on Tuesday's NBC Today that only briefly mentioned criticism of First Lady Michelle Obama's appearance during Sunday's Academy Awards, White House correspondent Kristen Welker gushed that people were "still buzzing" over the "Oscar finale that no one saw coming." Welker described Obama's recent "media blitz": "The First Lady has been popping up all over the place lately, on Jimmy…

NBC: Christie in 'Battle' With 'Right Wing' After CPAC 'Snub,' Won't

Reacting to Chris Christie not being invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), on Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer melodramatically announced: "...another battle for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today. But this time, he's at odds with the right wing of his own party." The headline on screen throughout the segment read: "Cold Shoulder for Christie;…

NBC Proclaims: 'A Moment of Crisis for the Catholic Church Hit By A Wa

At the top of Monday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams made this hyperbolic declaration: "A moment of crisis for the Catholic Church hit by a wave of scandals, just as the leaders must gather to select a new pope." Introducing the lead story moments later, Williams further hyped: "The problem for the Catholic Church is the drumbeat of scandal is now growing so loud and so vast, it's…

NBC’s Today Toes White House Line on Sequestration Cuts

NBC continued to sound the alarm over the impending sequester on Saturday’s Today show. On a day when the CBS and ABC morning shows questioned how bad the cuts would really be, NBC ran a highly unbalanced story that mostly propagated President Obama’s doomsday scenario. [Video below. MP3 audio here.] Co-anchor Lester Holt set the scene with a dire metaphor: “There's a storm of another kind…