Networks Sympathetic to Violent UK Protests Against 'Skyrocketing' Col
December 10th, 2010 4:05 PM
On Friday, all three network morning shows expressed sympathy for protestors in London rioting against college tuition increases, despite a Thursday attack on the royal family. While CBS's Early Show, ABC's Good Morning America, and NBC's Today all reported on security concerns over Prince Charles and wife Camilla, each broadcast also lamented Britain's "drastic new budget cuts."
At the top…
Dem Congressman Fumes: 'F**k the President,' All Three Networks Ignore
December 10th, 2010 12:33 PM
Thursday's network newscasts and Friday's morning shows all ignored the report that an unidentified Democratic House member muttered, "F**k the President" during a closed door meeting on a compromise over taxes. Yet, many journalists professed outrage when Congressman Joe Wilson yelled "You lie" at President Obama in 2009.
ABC's The Note website on Thursday afternoon explained, "An…
Vieira to Michele Bachmann: Why Won't You 'Mean Spirited' Republicans
December 10th, 2010 11:13 AM
Michele Bachmann had a formidable task, on Friday's Today show, as she tried her best to explain to NBC's Meredith Vieira that Republicans wanted to keep taxes low on the job producers to create more jobs, but Vieira wasn't having any of it, as she accused her and the GOP of being "mean spirited" to the jobless for not being more generous on unemployment benefits.
Vieira argued that the…
Sloppy ABC Misleads on Estate Tax Being 'Slashed'; It Will Actually In
December 9th, 2010 4:02 PM
Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Thursday offered misleading, sloppy reporting on a congressional tax deal, bizarrely suggesting that the proposal "slashes" the estate tax. In a follow-up piece, news anchor Juju Chang asserted that many Democrats "are still opposed, especially to the estate tax cut."
In reality, the so-called death tax is currently at zero. Under the deal, it will increase…
'Nightly News' Correspondent Laments Tough Fight Over DREAM Act
December 9th, 2010 3:06 PM
Previewing yesterday's vote on the DREAM Act, which passed the House 216 to 198, NBC News correspondent George Lewis empathized with supporters of the measure on the December 8 "Nightly News."
Lewis acknowledged the bill's dim prospects for passing the Senate, but stood in awe at the apparent surge in support for the bill: "By the thousands, young people, who as children were brought here…
Same Media That Fretted Over 'No Compromise' GOP, Now Distressed Obama
December 8th, 2010 5:09 PM
In the wake of November's election results there was much discussion in the press over whether or not the newly strengthened Republican Party would be willing to compromise with Democrats. However, since Monday's announcement of a deal on extending current tax rates, many in the media have been critical of President Obama for giving in to the GOP.
Before the votes had even been cast in the…
Vieira to Axelrod on Tax Cut Deal: 'Why Shouldn't Americans Look At Th
December 8th, 2010 11:40 AM
NBC's Meredith Vieira, on Wednesday's Today show, hit David Axelrod repeatedly from the left as she lectured the White House senior adviser that the left is "furious" at Barack Obama for making a deal with the GOP on tax cuts as she pressed: "Why shouldn't Americans look at this as a disaster in the making?"
During a segment headlined: "Tax Cut Compromise: Did President Go Too Far In…
Networks Offer Scant Coverage of Liberal DREAM Act, Frothed Over Arizo
December 8th, 2010 10:18 AM
For much of the spring and summer, the big broadcast networks threw staff and airtime at covering Arizona's attempt to control its borders against rampant illegal immigration. Liberals detested Arizona's "harsh" new law, so the media elite reflexively treated it as a scandal in their coverage.
But now, Congress is debating a liberal immigration plan, the so-called "DREAM Act," that would…
Meredith Vieira on Seeing Sarah Palin with a Gun: 'Makes Me Nervous
December 7th, 2010 12:26 PM
The Today show cast, on Tuesday, previewed a guest appearance by reality show star Kate Gosselin on Sarah Palin's TLC show, and after showing a clip of the former Alaska Governor frightening the celebrity mother of eight kids by firing off a gun, Vieira revealed she shared Gosselin's fears as she yelped: "You're with a woman with a gun. The whole thing makes me nervous, you know?"
The…
On Today: If It Weren't for this Tax Cut Deal We Could've Had Universa
December 7th, 2010 11:10 AM
Invited on Tuesday's Today show to discuss the tax cut compromise in Congress, CNBC's Erin Burnett initially whined that "We can't afford it" but then went on to tell viewers that if Congress were to forego tax cuts we could afford "universal pre-school for free and provide free college tuition for half of the college students."
When asked by Today co-host Meredith Vieira about the "price…
ABC, FNC Highlight Dem Senator Menendez Comparing Republicans to Terro
December 5th, 2010 2:11 AM
On Saturday morning, FNC’s Fox and Friends Saturday and ABC’s Good Morning America highlighted Democratic Senator Bob Menendez’s assertion that negotiating with Republicans taxes is like negotiating with terrorists. NBC’s Today show included a brief mention, but CBS’s The Early Show and CNN Saturday Morning ignored the New Jersey Democrat’s over-the-top rhetoric.
FNC included a soundbite…
On Today: NYT Editor Feebly Tries to Explain Away Success of Conservat
December 3rd, 2010 4:07 PM
During a Norah O'Donnell report, on Friday's Today, about how well books written by the likes of Sarah Palin, George W. Bush and Glenn Beck are selling, the New York Times' Jenny Schuessler rationalized the only reason conservative books are outpacing liberal ones is because "conservatives have some really strong media personalities" like Beck and Bill O'Reilly " that have a platform that they…
CBS Early Show Ignores Rangel Censure, ABC and NBC Are Sympathetic to
December 3rd, 2010 11:58 AM
On Friday, the CBS Early Show failed to make any mention of New York Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel being censured by the House of Representatives on Thursday for 11 ethics violations. ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today did cover the historic punishment, but adopted a very sympathetic tone toward Rangel.
In a slightly extended news brief on Good Morning America, co-host George…
By MSNBC Standards, GE's $16 Billion in Bailout Loans Compromises NBC
December 2nd, 2010 2:34 PM
Do a media company's political activities affect the way its subsidiaries report the news? The folks at MSNBC sure think so. That channel's hosts have insisted ad nauseum that Fox News parent company News Corporation's political actives compromise the ability of Fox to report the news fairly and accurately.
But MSNBC has, as I have noted before, shilled for policies that would enrich its…