BiasAlerts

During a news brief on Wednesday’s CBS This Morning , co-host Norah O’Donnell promoted David Axelrod, President Obama’s presidential campaign strategist, and his new book in which the Democrat criticizes Mitt Romney following the 2012 presidential campaign . Ths CBS host played up how in Axelrod’s new book “President Obama was slightly irritated by Mitt Romney’s concession call in 2012...Listen to this. Axelrod claims that when Romney called the Republican suggested the president won by getting out the black vote.” The CBS anchor did note that the network “reached out to the Romney camp but haven’t heard back yet” but... continue reading

The journalists at CBS This Morning on Monday offered a jovial segment on Groundhog's Day and Bill de Blasio's 2014 mishap where he dropped "Staten Island Chuck." Yet, they ignored the mayor's less funny role in the rodent's death. Video of the incident played as co-host Norah O'Donnell mused, "You may remember last year that the Mayor dropped the groundhog. Well, this year, he didn't even try to pick it up." Co-host Gayle King joked, "Yeah, the groundhog said, 'Please, Mr. Mayor, leave me alone. I'll stay right here.'" As the hosts chucked, King added, "Looked like a drop to... continue reading

ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday ignored the massive new budget proposed by Barack Obama (and the tax increases contained within). NBC's Today , despite four hours of air time, allowed a scant 23 seconds. But in that brief period, news reader Natalie Morales spun, "President Obama unveiling a record $4 trillion budget on Monday aimed at helping the poor and middle class." Parroting the White House, she noted that "President Obama says the budget is practical, not partisan." The only hint of opposition came when Morales briefly noted that "Republicans say the plan is just more taxes and spending."... continue reading

Following the unveiling of President Obama’s 2016 budget proposal, two of the three major broadcast networks made time to mention the story during their Monday evening newscasts, but only in the form of short news briefs. ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir dedicated 16 seconds of airtime to the subject and while it brought up how much of the President’s proposal centers around tax increases, anchor David Muir failed to note that the prospects of the budget proposal coming to fruition is slim to none. Instead, Muir put the news this way to viewers: And now to Washington tonight... continue reading

During a live interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on Sunday, President Obama told her how, at the White House, “[w]e make beer – the first president since George Washington to make some booze in the White House.” While it may be true that beer was brewed at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the President’s statement about former President George Washington also making beer there was far from accurate. Washington did, in fact, brew his own beer, but not from the White House since he never lived there (as John Adams was the first president to occupy it in 1800). In a move... continue reading

In an interview aired on Monday's NBC Today , President Obama discovered that speaking to an actual journalist was a bit tougher than having YouTube celebrities lob softballs at him. In the exchange – conducted prior to the Super Bowl on Sunday – co-host Savannah Guthrie grilled the President over his handling of the war on terrorism: "You said in your State of the Union that American leadership is helping to stop the advance of ISIS in Syria and Iraq. But your critics say that is delusional, that in fact they've gained more territory since the air strikes have begun."... continue reading

On Sunday’s Meet the Press , moderator Chuck Todd took House Speaker John Boehner to task for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without notifying the White House ahead of time. During an interview with Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), Todd accused Boehner of trying to “antagonize the relationship between the two sides" and wondered "is that worth doing?” Todd began his questioning of Ryan by suggesting Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu was extremely inappropriate and would cause further problems between the two allies: Is it appropriate for Congress to invite a world leader to address them without... continue reading

None of the Big Three networks' evening newscasts on Friday covered the shooting of an American citizen in eastern Saudi Arabia earlier in the day. A Friday item by Reuters reported that "a vehicle carrying two U.S. citizens came under fire in the Eastern Province district of al-Ahsa, one of the main centers of Saudi Arabia's minority Shi'ites." The only mention of Saudi Arabia on ABC's World News Tonight , CBS Evening News , and NBC Nightly News came from CBS anchor Scott Pelley, who noted during a 13-second news brief that " when it comes to snow removal, it... continue reading