ABC Highlights Clergy Sex Abuse, Spins Pope’s Message on Immigration
April 16th, 2008 12:51 PM
All three broadcast networks on Tuesday led their evening news programs with Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival at Andrews Air Force Base to begin his visit to the U.S., as well as his comments during a press conference on the plane about the priest sex abuse scandal. ABC’s "World News" and CBS’ "Evening News" especially focused on the scandal. In addition to this, "World News" also highlighted what the…
Networks Ignore All Positives with Delta/Northwest Merger
April 15th, 2008 4:11 PM
Operating under the assumption that what's good for business is bad for consumers forces the media to give Americans a narrow view of the world. All three network newscasts on April 14 reported the Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) as if it were a conspiracy to bilk air travelers out of more money. "It's an unsettled time in the skies - planes grounded, flights…
CNN Show Viewers the Right Way to Handle a Distressed Mortgage
April 14th, 2008 6:25 PM
Rather than beating up on home lenders and accuse them of intentionally targeting borrowers who were in over the head, CNN took a more instructive approach. The April 14 edition of CNN's new business show, "Issue #1," showed that there are ways other than whining and moaning about how you were victimized by an unscrupulous lender. A Brooklyn, N.Y., homeowner on the brink of foreclosure sent a…
NYT's Friedman in 2006: $100 Oil, Ethanol - Now Causing Food Riots Wor
April 11th, 2008 6:11 PM
ABC’s April 11 “World News with Charles Gibson” is showing they finally get it – ethanol production and high energy costs are causing food shortages worldwide. “[P]rices are rising across Africa, pushed up by the cost of oil and demand for biofuels,” ABC correspondent Jim Sciutto said. “Those biofuels are in fact a large part of the equation,” ABC correspondent David Muir added. “Many…
CNBC on the Future of Network Newsgathering: 'That Ship has Sailed
April 8th, 2008 12:32 PM
It's no longer profitable for networks to have their own news organizations, according to CNBC's David Faber. In the wake of the news that CBS is in negotiations to outsource its news division to CNN, Faber explained on CNBC's April 8 "Squawk on the Street" CBS's news division is a victim of an evolving business. "The news that CBS is once again considering a deal under which it would…
ABC Finds Soldiers in Iraq Backing Candidates: Obama and Clinton
April 7th, 2008 10:55 PM
ABC, which wasn't so interested in 2004 in reporting overwhelming military support for President Bush over John Kerry, on Monday night aired a story on how soldiers in Iraq are split between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- with only an afterthought about how “some” prefer John McCain. Relating how “only moments before we talked to them, these troops had been listening to Vice President Cheney…
Nets Remember Charlton Heston as 'Polarizing' and 'Controversial
April 7th, 2008 9:16 AM
Remembering Charlton Heston, who died Saturday night in his Beverly Hills home at age 84, the ABC and CBS anchors on Sunday night tarnished the actor's political activity on behalf of conservative causes, particularly his leadership of the NRA, as “controversial” and “polarizing.” Dan Harris, anchor of ABC's World News, asserted: “As President of the National Rifle Association, he became one of…
‘World News’ Leads With Hillary’s Uninsured Pregnant Woman Fib
April 6th, 2008 1:34 PM
On Saturday, NewsBusters asked, "Will Media Pounce on Hillary's Lie About Dead 'Uninsured' Pregnant Woman? Hours later, ABC's "World News" certainly did, actually leading the program with yet another example of how candidate Clinton loves to play fast and loose with the facts when delivering stump speeches. Anchor David Muir began the program:
ABC Marks MLK Death By Featuring Jackson's Left-Wing Bombast
April 4th, 2008 9:16 PM
In a story from Memphis on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King in that city, ABC's Steve Osunsami acknowledged great economic progress for black citizens with “a definable black middle class,” but warned “there are still large disparities.” He then featured a man at the anniversary events who insisted “we're waiting for progress” followed by Jesse Jackson using the…
'World News' Broadcasts Playbook for Cheating on Your Mortgage
April 4th, 2008 4:37 PM
Missed a few payments on your mortgage? About to be kicked out of that house you probably couldn't have afforded in the first place? Don't worry - ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" has advice for you. The April 3 "World News" featured a Staten Island family that managed to purchase a $335,000 home, but with only an annual income of $30,000. "Karen and David Shearon, working people who…
Nets Focus on the ‘Sidestepping’ of Laws With Border Fence Constru
April 2nd, 2008 4:43 PM
ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson, in a news brief on Tuesday’s "World News," spun the Bush administration’s decision to fast-track the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border, focusing almost entirely on the "more than 30 laws and regulations to be bypassed," as the graphic accompanying the brief put it. "The Bush administration today announced plans to speed up construction of the…
