Media Applaud Teen Abortion on 'Friday Night Lights
NBC's "Friday Night Lights" wants to tackle more than football players. In a bold move for scripted dramas, which usually shy away from taboo issues, the July 9 episode of the network drama featured a high school-aged character deciding to have an abortion, declaring it was "the right thing to do." The plotline earned praise from many in the media. Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker praised "…
Maddow: Extending Unemployment Benefits 'Most Stimulative Thing You Ca
Channeling her inner Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Maddow on Sunday actually said extending unemployment benefits is "the most stimulative thing you can do" to help the ailing economy.Appearing on the panel discussion of NBC's "Meet the Press," Maddow boldly presented a liberal view of economics that only the current House Speaker would be proud of."I think that most Americans also, though, understand the…
Biden Tells Leno He Wanted To Send Rush Limbaugh to Russia in Spy Swap
Vice President Joe Biden on Friday told Jay Leno that he wanted to send Rush Limbaugh to Russia as part of last week's spy swap.As a special guest of the "Tonight Show," Biden was asked why we traded ten of their spies for four of ours. "Well, we got back four really good ones," joked Biden.Leno then showed a picture of Anna Chapman and asked, "Do we have any spies that hot?"Biden stammered, "Let…
'Today' Declares Itself a Gay 'Ally,' Will Permit Same-Sex Couples in
NBC proved that it will respond quickly to charges of bias - at least if the charges come from a left-wing activist group. When NBC announced the "Today" show's annual summer wedding contest, the network made it clear homosexual couples would not be eligible since New York does not license same-sex marriages. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation issued a press release condemning the…
NBC Reporter Discovers New Immigration Law Causing Illegals to Leave A
NBC's Lee Cowan, on Thursday's NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, discovered a stunning result of Arizona's new immigration policies - illegal immigrants are now leaving the state. Cowan opened his piece noting a long line now "stretches around the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix every day" but noticed a twist, as the line was full of "immigrants trying to figure out not how to stay in Arizona,…
'Today' Goes Goo-Goo for Gaga, Ignores Controversy
"Mommy, why is that lady dancing on stage in her bra?" might have been a common question in American households that were tuned in to NBC's "Today" show July 9. The broadcast featured performances by and an interview with Lady Gaga, a pop star whose fashion sense is aimed at making eyes pop and jaws drop. For "Today," Gaga donned a white bustier with "strategically placed" rhinestone crucifixes…
NBC Offers Additional 35 Seconds to Story of Controversial Medicare Ap
NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams on Thursday became the first evening news broadcast to cover the recess appointment of Donald Berwick to run Medicare. Anchor Brian Williams asserted that "Republicans are angry, claiming it's antagonistic." He also observed, "Berwick has spoken about the need to ration medical care to control costs." NBC has offered the most reporting on Berwick: 20 seconds…
Evening Newscasts Downplay or Ignore Obama Appointee Berwick’s Pro-S
President Obama’s recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick – a controversial advocate of socialized medicine and of government rationing of health care, particularly for the elderly – as head of the Medicare and Medicaid programs has so far received no attention on ABC’s World News or on the CBS Evening News, while the NBC Nightly News on Thursday devoted just 38 seconds to the President’s…
Evening News Watch: NBC Trick May Have Enabled Big 3 Nets to Avoid Goi
Last week, Matt Robare at NewsBusters noted the fact that the Big 3 networks' combined year-over-year audience fell by a bit more than 1 million during the second quarter. Last week's showing appears to be to a slight pickup over the previous week, but it may have been much worse. Here, per Media Bistro, is how the the week of June 28 as reported by Nielsen compared to the week of June 21, the…
Dems Inaccurately Claim GOP Blocked Berwick Nomination, Media Happy to
The GOP as the party of obstructionism: it's a tried and true media meme, but very often falls a tad short of the truth. Yet on occasion, even stubborn facts are not enough to dispel such accusations.Some in the media have taken President Obama's recess appointment of Donald Berwick to the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as an occasion to bash purportedly obstructionist…
Morning Shows Devote 52 Minutes to Lindsay Lohan, a Scant 20 Seconds t
Over the span of two days, the network morning shows have given just 20 seconds of coverage to the recess appointment of Donald Berwick, a pro-rationing doctor who will run Medicare. In contrast, Good Morning America, Today and Early Show devoted 52 minutes of coverage to every detail of Lindsay Lohan's sentencing. On Wednesday and Thursday's GMA, ABC hosts discussed Lohan for 14 minutes. CBS's…
ABC, NBC and CBS Mostly Ignore Obama's Recess Appointment of Pro-Healt
Barack Obama's decision to make a recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to run Medicare has been vastly ignored by the mainstream news media, despite the fact Berwick has made controversial statements favoring rationing of medical care. As CNSNews.com's Terry Jeffrey reported Dr. Berwick, at a talk celebrating the 60th birthday of Great Britain's National Health Service, told the audience to…
Examiner's Byron York: The NASA-Muslim Outreach Story 'Has Not Made th
At the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog (HT Instapundit), Byron York documents the results of some Lexis Nexis searching: Total words about the NASA Muslim outreach program in the New York Times: 0. Total words about the NASA Muslim outreach program in the Washington Post: 0. Total words about the NASA Muslim outreach program on NBC Nightly News: 0. Total words about the NASA…
CBS 'Early Show' Follows ABC's Lead, Touts Kagan's SNL-Worthy Humor
During the 'Early Wrap' segment on Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith discussed the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan with a panel of media pundits: "The almost unknown, practically under the radar, the Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, before committees this week being funny. She was downright funny."GQ Magazine's Washington correspondent Ana Marie Cox…
