The journalists at CBS This Morning on Monday actually showcased the growing problem of suppression of speech on college campuses, in this case at commencement addresses. Reporter Don Dahler even featured a representative from a conservative group fighting for open dialogue. However, the segment avoided hinting that this is primarily a problem on the left. Dahler featured former Princeton President William Bowen . While speaking at Haverford, he lectured those students for pressuring another speaker to withdrawal. Bowen complained, "I regard this outcome as a defeat, pure and simple, for Haverford. No victory for anyone who believes, as I think... continue reading
Opening Sunday's NBC Meet the Press , moderator David Gregory proclaimed: "Republican attempts to take down Hillary Clinton are in full swing after a headline-grabbing attack from Karl Rove. So will Republicans stop at nothing to keep her from running in 2016?" Introducing a report moments later, he wondered: "Is this just the start of a Republican strategy to persuade her not to run?" [ Listen to the audio ] Gregory turned to correspondent Andrea Mitchell, who declared: "...there is no longer any doubt that some powerful Republicans are playing hardball against Hillary Clinton..." Mitchell snidely remarked: "It all started... continue reading
Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, sat down with David Gregory, moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press and was immediately met with a barrage of questions on Hillary Clinton ranging from Karl Rove’s questioning of Clinton health to her tenure as Secretary of State. Gregory did his best to defend Ms. Clinton from her legacy and asked Priebus: “Is she the candidate that you, as the head of the Republican Party, most fear?” The interview began with Gregory immediately asking his guest about Karl Rove: “What about the Republicans saying this was over the line? Should Karl Rove... continue reading
Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, to promote his new memoir Stress Test , yet host Bob Schieffer barely touched on the most controversial aspect, that the Obama Administration had directed him to spin negative aspects of Obama’s policies. Schieffer briefly asked his guest: “Did the administration ever try to get you to put a more positive spin on things than you thought the situation deserved?" After Geithner said he “never had that experience,” the CBS host quickly moved on to an unrelated topic without challenging his contradictory claim. According to Geithner’s book... continue reading
On Sunday, ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today hyped President Obama’s selection of Julian Castro, Democratic Mayor of San Antonio, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both NBC’s Jenna Wolfe and ABC’s Ron Claiborne beamed at how Castro is a “rising star in the Democratic Party” with Wolfe praising how “there’s been speculation that he could be vice presidential pick in 2016.” While the ABC and NBC reports were short news briefs, both cheered on the potential political career of Castro. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, host of This Week and Good Morning America , went one step... continue reading
Friday's World News on ABC mentioned the ongoing scandal surrounding the Veterans Administration only in passing, despite the fact their own chief White House correspondent, Jonathan Karl, hounded Press Secretary Jay Carney at the regular White House press briefing on the issue. Meanwhile, they set aside two full segments totaling seven minutes and 54 seconds of air time to Barbara Walters' departure from The View . Diane Sawyer gave a 30-second news brief to a new development in the scandal – about one-sixteenth the amount of time that she and her newscast spent on Walters: [MP3 audio available here ;... continue reading
Barbara Walters gushed over Hillary Clinton, who made a surprise appearance on the ABC personality's last episode of The View on Friday. Walters wasted little time before exclaiming to Clinton, " Why don't you just take my place on the show? " The host later exalted the former First Lady as "someone we admire – and, for me, it's more than admiration – it's very deep affection ." Co-host Sherri Shepherd pointed out that Clinton has been on Walters' "most fascinating" list more than any other person. The retiring View host repeatedly used this label through out the segment, which... continue reading
In the 9 a.m. ET hour on Friday, NBC's Today provided only 26 seconds to another major change to ObamaCare that news anchor Natalie Morales acknowledged "may end up costing you thousands of dollars out of pocket." Neither ABC's Good Morning America nor CBS This Morning bothered to mention the development, which was reported overnight by the Associated Press . Morales explained: "The Obama administration has given the go-ahead for a new cost-control strategy, it's called reference pricing. It lets insurers and employers put a dollar limit on what health plans pay for some expensive procedures such as knee and... continue reading
While a Thursday article posted on MSNBC.com celebrated college commencement speakers who "drop like flies" due to to "feisty campus dissent," on Friday's NBC Today , correspondent Peter Alexander warned: "On campuses in the last two years, 25 speakers have withdrawn or been disinvited....The growing trend is fueling concern that campuses could become islands of intolerance." [ Listen to the audio ] A soundbite was included of Greg Lukianoff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education observing: "The danger here is that we send a message to students that they have a right to only hear from people that... continue reading
Returning from a trip to Iran for an upcoming 60 Minutes story on the authoritarian regime, correspondent Steve Kroft appeared on Friday's CBS This Morning to preview the piece and made an observation about the nation's nuclear weapons program: "...they're convinced that they're not building a bomb. They don't believe – we didn't talk to anybody who believes they're building a bomb. That the supreme leader has dictated that it's against their religion, you know, and that a fatwa was issued. It's on his website." [ Listen to the audio ] At the top of the exchange, Kroft praised Iranian... continue reading