NPR: Conservatives vs 'Women's Health Groups' on Birth Control Mandate
On Tuesday's Morning Edition, NPR's Julie Rovner spun the debate over a proposed mandate for private insurance companies to cover birth control without a copay as being between "women's health groups," which were not given an ideological label, and organizations such as the Family Research Council, which she clearly identified as "conservative." A representative from her example of a "women's…
Charles Krauthammer Accuses Press of 'Accepting Every Leak Out of the
Charles Krauthammer on Friday marvelously demonstrated just how in the pockets of Barack Obama America's news media are.
After claiming on PBS's "Inside Washington" that we now have a "completely compliant, pliant, supine press accepting every leak out of the White House," he silenced the entire panel by asking them to name one specific cut to entitlements the President has proposed (video…
NPR Profiles Grover Norquist, Who Hides His Donors, Isn't Wonky, and D
On Thursday’s All Things Considered, NPR profiled conservative activist Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform. Michele Norris began: “In the debate over the debt ceiling, one person who has outsized influence is not actually at the negotiating table.” That might sound good to Norquist’s donors, but when liberal reporters accuse someone of “outsized influence,” it means “too much…
Bozell Column: Who's Burning Down D.C
The political prognosticator Charlie Cook appeared on National Public Radio on July 11 and summarized perfectly the media narrative on the debt-limit battle. Boehner, Cook said, “is not a burn-the-barn-down, break-the-china kind of guy [and] he does not necessarily reflect the views of a majority...of the House Republican Conference, who are of the burn-the-barn-down, break-the-china mold.”…
No Conservatives in Back-to-Back NPR Reports on Same-Sex 'Marriage' in
NPR devoted over eight minutes on Monday's All Things Considered to the possible economic and social impacts of the legalization of same-sex "marriage" in New York State during two reports from correspondents Margot Adler and Tovia Smith. Adler highlighted the bridal stores and other vendors who were "upbeat" and positive about the development, while Smith focused on the lesbian demographic who…
Krauthammer Corrects 'Inside Washington' Host: David Brooks 'Is Not A
Like so many members of the press, "Inside Washington" host Gordon Peterson wrongly thinks New York Times columnist David Brooks is a conservative.
When Peterson depicted Brooks this way on Friday, syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer marvelously corrected him with surprising support from Politico's Evan Thomas (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Fareed Zakaria: Fox Viewers Don't Watch CNN - Our Competition is NPR a
CNN's Fareed Zakaria made a bit of a Kinsley gaffe Friday.
On NPR's "Morning Edition," Zakaria said, "The people who watch Fox are not going to watch CNN...Our competitors should properly be The New York Times, the BBC, NPR" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
NPR Bemoans Danish Muslims are Being 'Beleaguered' By 'Nationalist Ext
On Tuesday's All Things Considered, NPR's Philip Reeves lamented the supposedly "anti-Muslim" climate in Denmark, noting that the country was once "considered a model of tolerance," but now, "men...[with] beards and traditional Islamic robes....are no longer entirely welcome, because some Danes want them to leave." Reeves quoted one imam who feared "a spiral, in which anti-immigration…
NPR Trumpets 'Gender Neutrality' Advocates, Wonders 'Do We Really Need
On Thursday, NPR's Linton Weeks spotlighted several extreme proponents of eliminating gender differences and hinted at support for such an endeavor: "In a country with the ideal of treating everyone fairly and equitably, do we really need to know if someone is a boy or a girl?" Weeks portrayed the cause as just part of the normal progression of society: "As history shows, one enterprise in…
NPR's Nina Totenberg: 'I Finally Felt Sorry For Anthony Weiner
Did you feel sorry for disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) when he finally resigned last week?
NPR's Nina Totenberg did, and actually said so on Friday's "Inside Washington" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
NPR Looks Back Favorably at 'Passionate Defender of Heroes' Weiner
NPR's Andrea Seabrook reminisced about the "defining moments" of former Representative Anthony during a glowing report on Thursday's All Things Considered. In particular, Seabrook highlighted his infamous 2010 speech on the House floor defending a multi-billion dollar proposal to aid sick 9/11 rescue workers, and labeled the New York Democrat a "scrappy and passionate defender of heroes."…
NPR's Terry Gross Hails Stephen Colbert's 2010 House Testimony Stunt f
NPR Fresh Air host Terry Gross is never more favorable toward a guest than when she’s hosting a conservative-bashing comedian. (See her cooing over Jon Stewart.) On Tuesday, Gross interviewed Stewart’s partner in satire Stephen Colbert for 40 adoring minutes. She fawned over his moonlighting on Broadway and boosted him as brave for going to Iraq (and Colbert mocked both attempts to fawn).…
NPR Lets Daily Show Regular, WaPo's Milbank Knock GOP Presidential Fie
On Wednesday's All Things Considered, NPR's Ari Shapiro let The Daily Show's John Oliver and The Washington Post's Dana Milbank cast aspersions on some of the declared 2012 Republican presidential candidates and their surrogates. Oliver mocked the talking points of a Ron Paul spokesman as "pointless" and "meaningless," while Milbank derided the candidacy of Herman Cain.
Host Melissa Block…
NPR Reporter Gets in Testy Chat Over No-Taping Rule at Her Speaking Gi
NPR counter-terrorism correspondent Dina Temple-Raston walked into a testy confrontation recently when she spoke to a YWCA "Women of Distinction" luncheon in Darien, Connecticut. A local journalist was amazed that she would insist on no video or audio taping of her remarks there. The journalist, Jim Cameron, wrote about the fight on his blog. He was upset that print reporters could cover it,…
