Cramer Goes After Cuomo … Again
November 8th, 2007 5:34 PM
One day after calling New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo a communist, CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer appeared on the November 8 “Today” with another attack. “No, he's not doing his job,” Cramer said to host Meredith Vieira, in his usual animated, over-the-top manner. “This is New York State. This is not the federal government. He is making it so that the very institutions we need…
MRC Study: Network Morning TV Helps '08 Democrats
November 8th, 2007 10:20 AM
A Pew Research Center poll released late last month found that while four out of five American adults (81%) could name one of the Democratic presidential candidates, far fewer (just 59%) could recall any of the GOP candidates. Even among self-described Republican voters, Pew found “Clinton and Obama are much more visible than Giuliani or any other GOP presidential candidate.”One reason may be…
Shirley MacLaine Fears 'Mad Men' Like Bush
November 7th, 2007 6:30 PM
Shirley MacLaine appeared on the Wednesday "Today" show to promote her new book Sage-ing While Age-ing, and after host Matt Lauer finished talking to the actress about her belief in UFOs and reincarnation, he asked if there was anything she feared in life, the author responded: "Mad men who say they're at the head of democracies scare me." Now while MacLaine didn't mention George W. Bush by name…
Al Gore, Comedian: Media's Global-Warming Coverage Too Balanced
November 5th, 2007 8:50 AM
Did Al Gore win his Nobel for "peace," or did it perhaps come in a new category: comedy? I ask in the wake of his rib-tickling routine on this morning's "Today." Al, that inveterate card, actually claimed that the MSM's coverage of global warming is . . . too balanced.View video here.
Lauer Begs Barack to Say Economy's Headed to Recession
November 2nd, 2007 9:50 AM
Talk about talking down the economy! No fewer than three times today, Matt Lauer invited Barack Obama to declare that the U.S. economy is headed into recession. At the end of a "Today" interview that focused largely on Hillary-related issues and Iran, Lauer turned to the economy and pressed Obama to predict the worst.View video here.
'Going Green' Puts Business in the Red
November 1st, 2007 12:50 PM
Like the latest runway trend, "green is the new black" according to the media. At least where business is concerned. But it turns out that companies are finding "going green" is an easy way to put themselves in the red.Back in 2003 FedEx announced it would begin switching to hybrid trucks and won an award from the Environmental Protection Agency, but at $70,000 more per truck the costs got in the…
Brokaw Laments Too-Low Taxes on Rich: 'A Fundamental Injustice
October 30th, 2007 9:58 AM
A billionaire and a receptionist walk into an IRS bar. They each order a beer. The IRS bartender charges the receptionist $2.50 and the billionaire $2,260. Who got undercharged? If you're Warren Buffett or Tom Brokaw, the answer is . . . the billionaire.As NB Editor Brent Baker has noted, the NBC Nightly News "decided Monday night to base a story on a four-year-old contention by a professor…
Plame Blows Kisses at CBS, NBC, Bloggers; Husband Hails Hillary
October 24th, 2007 7:57 AM
As Valerie Plame does the interview rounds – CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR – someone might miss the far-left, Bush-hating blog interviews. On Firedoglake, the most notable pro-Plame blog, Plame did a typewritten chat with her leftist admirers on Monday. She loved the leftist bloggers at FDL – even had them to her home for dinner -- and declared her interviews on CBS and NBC were fair.
Vieira Tougher Than Couric With Plame, Still Frets Over War With Iran
October 23rd, 2007 2:04 AM
Meredith Vieira on Monday's "Today" show, like Katie Couric on Sunday's "60 Minutes," offered a sympathetic venue to Valerie Plame Wilson, but unlike Couric, her replacement pointed out how the leaker of Plame's name was not a White House operative with a vendetta against Plame's husband and quoted an editorial that contended Plame's outing was her husband's fault. Vieira began the interview by…
Curry Crack Up: Shouted Questions, Breaking Voice in Bhutto Interview
October 22nd, 2007 8:41 AM
Careening from the accusatory to the adoring, there was only one constant in Ann Curry's interview of Benazir Bhutto aired on this morning's "Today": an over-the-top emotionalism that had the show's news anchor lurching from shouted accusations to the verge of tears.Curry is in Pakistan this week, and scored an exclusive with Bhutto, whose triumphal return to the country where she has served as…
Reid Letter: 'Today' Omits Mention of Rush's $2.1 Million Donation
October 20th, 2007 1:58 PM
Given his show's modest ratings, it's unlikely that Keith Olbermann would be in a position to make a multi-million dollar donation to charity anytime soon. But let's imagine he did. Do you think that, in a segment on a related subject, NBC might find a moment to mention Olbermann's generosity?So do I.But "Today" managed to get through its report this morning about Rush Limbaugh's auctioning off…