ABC's Stephanopoulos Lobbs Softballs to Gibbs; CBS and NBC Provide Cha
June 15th, 2010 1:30 PM
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs made the rounds on the network morning shows on Tuesday, ahead of President Obama's prime time Oval Office address on the Gulf oil spill. While he had confrontational interviews on CBS's Early Show and NBC's Today, on ABC's Good Morning America, co-host George Stephanopoulos made sure Gibbs's appearance was low-stress.Stephanopoulos kept the questions…
Network News Shows Largely Skip President's $50 Billion Spending Reque
June 14th, 2010 3:46 PM
The network morning and evening news shows have all but ignored President Obama's Saturday letter to congressional leaders asking for $50 billion in additional spending to prevent the "massive layoffs of teachers, police, and firefighters." Only Sunday's Good Morning America on ABC has covered the President's request so far.The chief executive's June 12 letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate…
Jerry Brown Calls Meg Whitman a Nazi, Media Mostly Mum
June 12th, 2010 7:13 PM
California's Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown on Tuesday called his Republican rival Meg Whitman a Nazi.You probably didn't hear about this because America's media largely ignored it. By contrast, the press had a field day when Republican senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina made a comment about Barbara Boxer's (D-Calif.) hair that was picked up by an open microphone Tuesday evening.Why…
Today Show Cares More About Fiorina Gaffe Than Sestak Scandal
June 11th, 2010 1:09 PM
As of this Friday, NBC's Today show has yet to mention the Joe Sestak scandal, (as noted by the MRC's Tim Graham in this Media Reality Check) however they did find time to poke fun at Republican California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina making fun of Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer's hair in an open mic moment. On Thursday's Today, they ran the clip of Fiorina's gaffe three times, even leading…
On Today: Dems Happy 'Too Conservative' Tea Party Candidate Won Primar
June 9th, 2010 3:46 PM
On Wednesday's Today show NBC's Matt Lauer, Chuck Todd and Kelly O'Donnell forwarded the Democratic line that Tea Party candidate victories in Republican primaries will be the GOP's downfall in November. First up Kelly O'Donnell, in a set up piece, claimed: "In Nevada, a big Tea Party victory in the GOP Senate primary...But Democrats are actually cheering Sharron Angle's win, believing that a Tea…
MSNBC’s 'Morning Joe' Panel: Drudge Headline Racially-Tinged
June 8th, 2010 4:09 PM
For over seven minutes this morning, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” panel expounded on the racial overtones of Matt Drudge’s Tuesday morning headline and other criticisms of the Obama administration.It started when Time magazine’s senior political analyst Mark Halperin brought up the Drudge Report headline, “Obama Goes Street: Seeking ‘Ass to Kick’,” and alleged that it spun Obama’s comments to NBC’s Matt…
NBC's Lauer Prompted Obama's Use of the 'A' Word
June 8th, 2010 3:56 PM
In teasing the more emotional portion of Matt Lauer's exclusive Today show interview with Barack Obama, in which he blurted that he needed to "know whose ass to kick" over the oil spill in the Gulf, NBC's Brian Williams, on Monday's NBC Nightly News, left the impression that the President was finally showing "some anger." Something, as the MRC's Brent Baker pointed out, liberals had been pushing…
Evening News Shows Enthuse Over Helen Thomas, a 'Bona Fide Icon' and a
June 8th, 2010 12:47 PM
The three evening news shows on Monday treated the announcement of Helen Thomas' retirement as an occasion to gush over the "bona fide icon" and "trailblazer." At the same time, CBS's Evening News, NBC's Nightly News and ABC's World News didn't find much time for outrage over Thomas' attacks on Jews and Israel. Instead, NBC's Andrea Mitchell played a clip of Thomas ranting to President Bush in a…
Shiny Happy Talk: NBC's Today Insisted Gore Split Was 'Brave' and Prov
June 4th, 2010 11:36 PM
NBC's Today crew tried to put a heavy spin on the Gore split on Wednesday morning. The audience was told that the Gores' 40-year marriage wasn't a failure, it was a success, several times over. Matt Lauer even insisted their divorce was "brave" -- as if all the other old married people would do the same if they weren't cowards. It's fine if the liberals at NBC don't want to think less of the…
The Attorney General vs. BP: Little Skepticism on ABC & NBC, While Lef
June 3rd, 2010 3:35 PM
The American lawyers who flock to Guantanamo Bay to represent captured terrorists are simply fulfilling their duty to provide representation, it is often argued by those who seem to enjoy mucking up efforts to curtail future terrorism. But once representing the American beverage giant Coca Cola makes Attorney General Eric Holder a “corporatist” who’s going to “do the Devil’s work” and only “…
CBS Finally Notes Flotilla’s Terrorist Ties, NBC Highlights Calls fo
June 3rd, 2010 11:50 AM
After initially lagging behind the other networks in even mentioning the Gaza-bound flotilla's connections to terrorist groups, on Wednesday CBS finally noted the existence of such ties, and on the same day NBC caught up with CBS in highlighting calls for Israel to end its blockade. Without directly relaying to viewers that the Israelis already allow tons of aid into Gaza on a regular basis, NBC’…
Ed Schultz Sells Book, Pushes Obama From the Left on Today Show
June 1st, 2010 1:08 PM
NBC's Today show has yet to interview or plug any of conservative radio talk show host's Mark Levin's best-selling books but on Tuesday's Today show they helped sell two liberals' books as they invited on MSNBC host Ed Schultz to hype Killer Politics and interviewed Sarah Palin stalker Joe McGinniss who hasn't even written his book about the Alaskan governor. Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira sat…
Palin Stalker Compares Her to Nazis on Today Show
June 1st, 2010 10:48 AM
NBC's Matt Lauer invited on author and new Sarah Palin stalker/neighbor Joe McGinniss to defend his moving in next to the Palin residence in Wasilla, Alaska, on Tuesday's Today show, and the author had the audacity to play the victim as he compared the former Alaskan governor's actions to that of a Nazi. After Lauer noted the author was receiving "death threats" McGinniss screeched "It's a lesson…
Pathetic Obsession: Palin's Hometown Paper Notes National Media Intere
May 31st, 2010 11:21 PM
With all the major news stories and developments out there, the editorial board at the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman in Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin's hometown, is bemused, bewildered, and somewhat befuddled at the national media's interest in a privacy fence (HT Michelle Malkin) on residential property. The just-built fence is on Palin's property. Its purpose is to frustrate the prying eyes of…