On Today: Spike Lee Attacks NRA, Calls USA 'Most Violent Country In H

January 12th, 2011 11:36 AM
Director Spike Lee, along with his wife Tonya, came on Wednesday's Today show to promote their new children's book, but he couldn't leave without blaming the NRA for the Gabrielle Giffords shooting and slamming the United States of America for being "the most violent country in the history of civilization." Initially both Lees just talked about their new book, Giant Steps to Change the World…

NBC's Mitchell: 'There's No Direct Link' to Palin in Giffords Shooting

January 11th, 2011 11:12 AM
NBC's Andrea Mitchell just can't let go of the media spin that political rhetoric, specially from conservatives like Sarah Palin, is somehow partly to blame for the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords as on Tuesday's Today show, she questioned if Palin's use of crosshairs on her Web site to target Democratic districts was "inflammatory?" Mitchell couldn't even report that "There is no direct link"…

Tom Brokaw Praises Sheriff Dupnik For Remarks Against Violent Rhetoric

January 10th, 2011 6:45 PM
Appearing on Monday's "Morning Joe" on MSNBC, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw praised Sheriff Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz. for condemning political vitriol, and wished more officials would follow suit. Dupnik, a Democrat, blamed violent political rhetoric in part for the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), and singled out conservatives Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle for…

Networks Tout Democratic Sheriff's Warnings That 'Climate of Political

January 10th, 2011 5:16 PM
ABC, NBC and MSNBC on Monday all eagerly hyped the complaints by an Arizona sheriff that the "anger and bigotry" of everyday Americans contributed to Saturday's shooting. None of the journalists interviewing Clarence Dupnik identified as an elected Democratic official. (ABC's Jake Tapper did in a separate piece.) Former Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe and lauded…

NBC's Lee Cowan Highlights Palin Map As Possible Rationale for Attack

January 10th, 2011 4:13 PM
On Monday's Today show, NBC's Lee Cowan, inspired by Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik's blaming political rhetoric for the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, highlighted Sarah Palin's Web site map featuring crosshairs on Giffords' district, as he scolded: "Not since Timothy McVeigh attacked the federal building in Oklahoma City has a crime sparked so much attention on anti-government rhetoric. That…

Today Show Links Sarah Palin to Giffords Shooting

January 10th, 2011 12:23 PM
NBC's Matt Lauer, at the top of Monday's Today show, alerted viewers that Sarah Palin was being drawn into the Gabrielle Giffords shooting as he teased an upcoming Andrea Mitchell story this way: "Sarah Palin has been coming under some criticism. While there is no evidence her Web site featuring a target on Giffords' district had anything to do with this attack, some are asking if today's…

Video: Media Bash Repealing ObamaCare As A Waste Of Time

January 8th, 2011 12:00 PM
With Republicans taking control of Congress, those in the media suddenly feel that proposing legislation, such as repealing ObamaCare, is a waste of time. From CBS's Harry Smith referring to it as "a fool's errand" to MSNBC's Chuck Todd fretting over the GOP "relitigating health care," here is a video compilation of the slanted coverage this proposal has received. View video below   

Media Mash: Bozell and Hannity Take On Slanted Media Coverage of GOP C

January 7th, 2011 12:33 PM
Appearing on FNC's Hannity on Thursday, NewsBusters publisher and Media Research Center President Brent Bozell slammed left-wing media coverage of the incoming Republican Congress, from ABC's Good Morning America bashing John Boehner while praising Nancy Pelosi, to all three networks dismissing a scheduled vote to repeal ObamaCare as simply "a fool's errand." In 2007, Good Morning America…

Baffled Vieira to Bachmann: Why Vote to Repeal Obamacare If It's Going

January 6th, 2011 11:16 AM
NBC's Meredith Vieira seemed baffled by the concept of taking a principled stand against Obamacare, as she repeatedly pressed Michele Bachmann, on Thursday's Today show, why Republicans would bother to vote to repeal the health care bill in the House if it wasn't going to get passed in the Senate or signed by the President? Vieira's very first question to the Republican Minnesota Congresswoman…

Networks Out of Step with Public, Ignore Majority Support for ObamaCar

January 6th, 2011 10:30 AM
The 112th Congress took office Jan. 5 and the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives planned to immediately tackle the unpopular health care legislation signed into law in 2010. The Washington Post reported that House Republicans intend to vote on a repeal of ObamaCare Jan. 12, just one week into the new congressional session. "ObamaCare is a job-killer for…

Vieira to Paul Ryan: It Feels Like the GOP is Out For 'Revenge

January 5th, 2011 12:13 PM
NBC's Meredith Vieira wasted no time in jumping down Paul Ryan's throat, on Wednesday's Today show, as she said it appeared the Republican Party did not care as much about creating jobs, since they seemed to be more focused on repealing Obamacare, which the Today co-anchor characterized as "an act of revenge." For his part the Wisconsin Republican Congressman responded that repealing Obamacare…

Lauer On New Congress: Will the Right's Yellers and Dissenters Win Out

January 3rd, 2011 4:45 PM
NBC's Matt Lauer, on Monday's Today show, feared cooler heads would not prevail in the newly GOP controlled House as he worried that those who've "staked their entire careers and reputation on dissent" are going "to do a lot of yelling in these first couple of days and weeks." Lauer, apparently not realizing that many Americans voted in the midterms for "dissent" against the likes of Obamacare…

CBS, NBC Highlight List That Advocates Ban of Two Terms Coined by Sara

December 31st, 2010 2:48 PM
 The Early Show on CBS and NBC’s Today show on Friday both gave attention to Lake Superior State University’s "list of words that should be banned in 2011 because of overuse or general uselessness," and both shows mentioned one or two words made famous by Sarah Palin as each show listed four or five out of the 14 words tallied. Both CBS’s Betty Nguyen and NBC’s Thomas Roberts noted the…

Nets Bolster Accusers of Christine O’Donnell, Ignore Liberal Nature

December 31st, 2010 1:39 AM
 As the broadcast network morning newscasts on Thursday each interviewed former Delaware Republican Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell regarding allegations that she misused campaign money, in the setup piece on each network, the correspondent failed to inform viewers of credibility weaknesses on the part of O’Donnell’s accusers and omitted O’Donnell’s contention that she did not use campaign…