Today Show Trumpets Obama Comeback in New NBC Poll Numbers

January 20th, 2011 12:30 PM
NBC's Matt Lauer was joined by his colleague Chuck Todd, on Thursday's Today show, as the two trumpeted "good news" for President Obama in the latest results from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. After Lauer hailed Obama received "an eight-point leap from last month" in his approval rating, Todd explained the surge was because the respondents "think he's going to be the reasonable guy"…

Mission Accomplished: Palin Bashing Reaches New High As Does Her Unfav

January 20th, 2011 11:08 AM
After days of relentless attacks by media across the fruited plain, Sarah Palin's unfavorable rating hit an all-time high this week. A look at the assault by television and radio news organizations since bullets were fired in Tucson will give you an idea how the press accomplished their mission (image of Palin was found via a Google search and was not created by NewsBusters or the Media…

NBC Unquestioningly Parrots Former Gitmo Inmate's Specious Charges Aga

January 19th, 2011 6:14 PM
How much does NBC hate Guantanamo Bay? On Tuesday, the network brought a former inmate on air, let him rail against U.S. foreign policy, insist he was tortured, and proclaim his innocence, all without a single dissenting voice, and without even mentioning the massive amounts of evidence against him. It's not that the evidence isn't available. Indeed, you can get enough information online to…

Today Show Brings Back Glenn Beck to Bash Him Some More

January 19th, 2011 4:28 PM
Say what you will about NBC's Today show but they recognize a ratings winner when they see one and they demonstrated that, when they invited Fox News host Glenn Beck back for a second appearance on Wednesday's show. However with that second guest spot came another opportunity to accuse him of fomenting hate. In the 7am half hour Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira accused Beck of contributing to…

NBC Awards Obama Four More Years? Vieira Wonders if Hillary Will Stay

January 19th, 2011 12:39 PM
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on all three morning shows, Wednesday, but only Meredith Vieira on the Today show seemed to assume a second term for Clinton's boss, Barack Obama. After questioning how long she'd stay in the job, the NBC co-anchor wondered, "Do we expect any time soon that you are planning to retire like defense Secretary Gates?...How about the second term?" On…

On Today: Glenn Beck Beats Back Meredith Vieira's Charge of Hate Talk

January 19th, 2011 11:08 AM
Fox News host Glenn Beck showed up on Wednesday's Today show to promote his new book The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life, but it was NBC's Meredith Vieira's misperceptions of him and conservatives as a whole that Beck was forced to try to change. After an initial discussion about Beck overcoming his personal struggles, Vieira brought Beck into the debate over whether conservative…

ABC, NBC Fret Over Gun Show in Tucson, ABC Surprised Crowds ‘Aren

January 19th, 2011 7:46 AM
 On Saturday, both ABC and NBC ran stories fretting over the Crossroads of the West Gun Show that was held over the weekend in Tucson, Arizona. On ABC, at one point, correspondent David Wright seemed surprised that the large number of people showing up at the event were customers instead of protesters. After relaying that some members of Congress want more gun control laws and cautioning…

FLASHBACK: Nets Targeted Conservative Speech After Giffords Shooting

January 18th, 2011 3:57 PM
Almost immediately after the shooting in Tucson that killed six people and left Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords severely wounded, the media establishment linked the attack with a debate about “civility,” suggesting an association between Jared Loughner’s rampage and the words and phrases used in national political debates. Many of these network news stories offered ambiguous…

Health Care Cost Estimates Challenged, But Media Skip Criticism of 'No

January 17th, 2011 10:37 AM
- Since Obama took office, only 16 percent of health care stories mentioning the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) included any criticism of their accounting, despite criticism from many conservative and libertarian experts as well as the former head of CBO. - Networks reporters and guests emphasized the CBO's integrity calling them "non-partisan," "independent" and the "referee" or "…

VIDEO: Media Blame Conservatives, 'Culture of Violence' For Tucson Sho

January 15th, 2011 12:00 PM
The liberal media wasted no time in trying to exploit the shooting in Tucson, Arizona by blaming Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, and conservatives in general for creating a "culture of violence" that led to the tragedy. Here is a video compilation of journalists and pundits promoting the meme in the hours and days that followed. View video below  

Lauer to Tom DeLay: Will You Rethink Your Opposition to Gun Control No

January 13th, 2011 4:01 PM
Former Texas Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, on Thursday's Today show, was cornered by NBC's Matt Lauer on his anti-gun control stance, as Lauer pressed: "In the wake of...that shooting out in Tucson, Arizona, do you today feel the same way about gun control that you did when you were an elected official?" DeLay was invited on to discuss being sentenced in his campaign finance case…

Brokaw Pontificates: Time for the Parents to Say 'Time Out' on Hot Tal

January 13th, 2011 11:40 AM
Former NBC Nighty News anchor Tom Brokaw visited the Today show set, on Thursday, to play referee, or more specifically daddy, in the debate surrounding the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords as he pontificated that it was "time for the parents to say time out" on the heated political rhetoric. However he then went on to question how Sarah Palin could dare to respond to all the personal attacks on…

Media Quiet Over Cancellation of JFK Drama, Cried Censorship Over Remo

January 12th, 2011 4:37 PM
While journalists such as Brian Williams railed about "extortion" when CBS pulled a historically inaccurate 2003 miniseries about Ronald Reagan, there has been very little outcry over the news that the History Channel has withdrawn a (reportedly) hard-hitting drama about the Kennedys. The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday explained the behind the scenes role Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver…

Bill Maher Heckled by 'Tonight Show' Crowd for Saying Conservatives Wa

January 12th, 2011 2:51 PM
Comedian Bill Maher had a tough evening on the "Tonight Show" Tuesday. As he spewed his typical vitriol at conservatives and Republicans, he continued to get negative feedback from the audience (video follows with transcript and commentary):