Media Praise President Obama’s ‘Humility’ In State of the Union
January 28th, 2010 11:07 AM
Immediately following President Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday night, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos got reaction from Newsweek editor Jon Meacham, who observed: “There were at least three moments where he expressed explicit humility. ‘I’m not – I know that people aren’t sure I can deliver this change. I take my share of the blame for not explaining health care.’” At the same time,…
Morning Shows Tout Risk to Republicans for ‘Continuing to Say No
January 28th, 2010 9:28 AM
The three morning shows on Thursday reacted to Barack Obama’s State of the Union address by highlighting the risk Republicans run in continuing to oppose the President’s agenda. On NBC’s Today, Meredith Vieira fretted to Joe Biden, "What risk do the Republicans run by continuing to say no, by being the party of no?" NBC put the happiest spin on the speech, featuring a graphic that trumpeted, "‘…
Networks Ignore Contradiction Between Obama's Middle Class Giveaways
January 27th, 2010 4:22 PM
In an attempt to boost flagging approval ratings, President Barack Obama announced a series of initiatives aimed at helping out the middle class on Jan. 25, two days ahead of his State of the Union address. The networks, which have protected him from public outrage for months, praised the initiative. NBC heralded the move, giving Obama credit for "getting the message" Jan. 25. CBS's Katie Couric…
Networks Pounce on ‘Louisiana Watergate’ Story After Only 17 Hours
January 27th, 2010 12:08 PM
All three morning shows on Wednesday highlighted the revelation that a conservative activist had been arrested in connection to an attempt to tamper with the phones of Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. Despite jumping on the "Louisiana Watergate" story only 17 hours after it was first reported, the networks took five days to file full reports on the same James O’Keefe and his undercover footage…
Fox Is The Most Trusted Name In News According To New Poll
January 26th, 2010 6:43 PM
CNN might call itself the most trusted name in news, but a new poll found Americans think the Fox News Channel is the organization deserving this honor.In fact, according to Public Policy Polling, FNC is the only national television news organization that more people trust than distrust.Kind of makes members of the Obama administration who regularly depict Fox as not being a real news…
Study: Only Fox News Offered Obama Historically Normal Scrutiny in
January 26th, 2010 3:44 PM
The Washington Times’s Jennifer Harper picked up on a new study from the non-partisan Center for Media and Public Affairs showing President Obama getting much more flattering news coverage from ABC, CBS and NBC (46% positive vs. 54% negative) during his first year in office than did Presidents Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush, all of whom received roughly three times more bad press than good…
David Gregory Bashes Republicans As 'The Party of No
January 24th, 2010 3:56 PM
NBC's David Gregory on Sunday used his interview with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bash Republicans.After his largely friendly discussion with senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, the "Meet the Press" host abruptly changed his tone and manner with the very first question to McConnell, "Is there one Republican who will support any Democratic healthcare initiative?"…
Chuck Todd: Obama Can't Buy GOP Votes Because of Tea Parties
January 24th, 2010 2:34 PM
NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday said the Tea Party movement has made it impossible for President Obama to buy the Republican votes he needs to pass his agenda.Appearing on "Meet the Press," Todd told his fellow panelists, "I think the most striking thing about the minority party today...is that a Republican can't go home, and it's mostly because of this tea party crowd, cannot go home and sell a piece…
NBC Prez on Olbermann-Scarborough Tiff: Don't Publicly Criticize Colle
January 24th, 2010 10:39 AM
The president of NBC has officially responded to Joe Scarborough criticizing Keith Olbermann for his attacks on Scott Brown.In a memo obtained by the Huffington Post, Phil Griffin told his on air staff: "We do not publicly criticize our colleagues. This kind of behavior is unprofessional and will not be tolerated."Griffin was addressing comments made by MSNBC's Scarborough about Olbermann. As…
NBC Trumpeted the Launch of Liberal 'Counterweight' Air America, Skips
January 22nd, 2010 4:00 PM
When the liberal radio network Air America debuted on March 31, 2004, NBC trumpeted it as the “counterweight” to the "right-wing bent" of talk radio. Katie Couric enthused that Al Franken and his colleagues hoped “to break into what has been a conservative lock on the radio.” However, when the beleaguered Air America announced bankruptcy on Thursday, both the Nightly News and Friday's Today…
NewsBusters Interview: Tim Carney, Author of 'Obamanomics
January 22nd, 2010 11:08 AM
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Americans were treated to a number of populist sermons on the "special interests" who would oppose "reform" at any cost to maintain the "status quo" from which they "profit financially or politically." The drug companies, the energy companies, the Wall Street bankers, and the health insurers were the corporate enemies of a just and harmonious America, or so…
NBC's O'Donnell Refuses to View Scott Brown Win as a Victory for GOP
January 21st, 2010 8:12 AM
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, over the last three days on the Today show, has refused to acknowledge Scott Brown's success as something for the GOP to celebrate. On Tuesday she accused Brown of ducking the GOP label throughout his campaign, then on Wednesday's show she noted that in Brown's victory speech "Interestingly, Senator-Elect Brown did not talk about being a Republican, instead, he framed this…
Companies Donate $83 Million to Haiti, Get Less Than Three Minutes of
January 21st, 2010 4:39 AM
Americans are generous people, and they prove it every time a disaster strikes like last week's earthquake in Haiti. They have donated more than $275 million to relief efforts in the Caribbean nation in the week since the quake. Nearly one-third of that money came from U.S. companies, a point rarely mentioned on the broadcast news. According to the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), 203…
NBC's David Gregory Realizes What Tea Parties Are All About
January 20th, 2010 5:46 PM
A small group of liberal talking heads may be realizing that opposition to Obama is not, in fact, wholly irrational. Though it would be a bit too hasty to proclaim it a trend among the mainstream media, it has been a refreshing break from the smears usually hurled at the right by the nation's pundits. First was Chris Matthews, who stunningly turned right and voiced his concern about an…