Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has been making the rounds on television promoting her new book “A Fighting Chance” and ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos was the latest to promote the liberal senator on Sunday April 27. Prior to her interview with host George Stephanopoulos, ABC’s Jeff Zeleny narrated a report on Warren in which he gushed over how “Warren’s tough take on Wall Street has made her a folk hero on the left” and hyped how “hopeful Democrats are lining up, eagerly awaiting the first female president." As the segment continued, Zeleny beamed at how “A U.S. senator for... continue reading
Friday's CBS Evening News was the lone Big Three evening newscast to spotlight how the State of Oregon decision to scrap its multimillion dollar health exchange website, and join the federal government's HealthCare.gov. ABC's World News was too busy covering violence over spots at mall parking lots to notice, while NBC Nightly News zeroed in on baby Prince George's first trip to Australia. Scott Pelley underlined how "the State of Oregon said that after months of trying, it cannot get its state health insurance website to work . It hasn't signed a single customer, and it is pulling the plug... continue reading
The Friday before the Catholic church would celebrate the canonization of two popes, NBC's Today hyped the "controversy" of the jubilant fans of Blessed John Paul II "drowning out dissent" from those who felt "stomped on" during his papacy. Raining on the canonization parade, NBC's Anne Thompson said the crowds who chanted "sainthood now" at John Paul II's funeral were "drowning out dissent" from folks like, as leftist religion reporter David Gibson told NBC, "Voices of women, voices of sex abuse victims, voices of the more progressive folks in the church who felt they had gotten stomped on during the... continue reading
Thursday's NBC Nightly News decided it was newsworthy to air a Democrat's tentative support for a hypothetical Hillary Clinton presidential run. NBC's Chuck Todd pressed U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy on the matter. "Can you foresee yourself supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016 if she chooses to run?" Todd asked Kennedy, who reservedly expressed her support. "Because the last time you didn't support her, that's why I was just curious if this time you want her to do it and this time you would be behind her." [Audio here .] That wasn't NBC's first report on Kennedy support for Clinton... continue reading
For the first time on their weekday evening newscasts, the broadcast networks picked up Cliven Bundy's standoff with the federal government – but only after Bundy's racist comments went viral and his conservative supporters denounced them. Amid what NBC called a "firestorm," the networks made sure to tie Bundy to the conservatives and Republicans who sympathized with his cause, but who have since vigorously condemned the racist comments. Obnoxiously, ABC's World News aired Fox News host Sean Hannity's support of the rancher but said nothing of Hannity's condemnation of his racist words. "Before this, Bundy had become a cause celebre... continue reading
Norah O'Donnell pursued Texas Governor Rick Perry on Thursday's CBS This Morning over the controversial land dispute between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the federal government. O'Donnell asked Perry, "What do you make of this standoff? What do you think of Clive Bundy? Do you think what he's done was a good thing? " When the Republican politician replied that Bundy is a " side story ," and that "rather than sending armed troops....I hope our government officials...use common sense when it comes to these issues of conflict...dealing with something...in a substantially-less confrontational way," the CBS anchor followed up by... continue reading
On Wednesday Darrell Issa demanded Attorney General Eric Holder answer new questions about the Justice Department’s role in the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups. In a letter sent to Holder, Issa sought answers about a newly released email between former IRS official Lois Lerner and DOJ official Richard Pilger in which Pilger asks Lerner “When you have a moment, will you call me? I’ve been asked to run something by you” and requests who at the IRS “DOJ folks could talk to” about ways to target politically involved non-profit groups. So far none of the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC)... continue reading
NBC’s Today devoted a full story Thursday morning to speculation that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush might run for President in 2016. Correspondent Andrea Mitchell vouched for Bush’s “conservative” credentials, then ran a snarky soundbite from Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent political strategist Mark McKinnon: “He said he wants to run joyfully, and in today’s Republican primaries, that’s pretty tough to do.” Mitchell correctly noted how Bush is “at odds with his party’s base” because of he has “endorsed the Obama Administration’s Common Core education curriculum and he’s passionate about the human side of immigration reform.” But rather than citing a mainstream conservative who... continue reading
President Obama is currently on a week-long tour of Asia and all three networks took the opportunity to promote the tenure of Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. On Thursday April 24, all three morning shows sat down with Kennedy and heaped praise on the long-time Democrat. ABC’s Jonathan Karl and NBC’s Chuck Todd both used their interviews to plead for Kennedy to support Hillary Clinton’s prospective 2016 run for president, with Todd beaming that “Ambassador Kennedy said she was looking forward to Hillary Clinton running and thought she’d make a great candidate. While CBS’s Major Garrett was the... continue reading
Tuesday's World News on ABC stood out as the only Big Three network evening newscast to cover a new "watchdog report" that found that the IRS " handed out more than $1 million in bonuses to employees who were delinquent on their federal taxes ." Jeff Zeleny also pointed out how " more than 1,000 IRS workers, who didn't pay their taxes, received not only cash bonuses, but extra time off ." [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] By contrast, NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News on Tuesday both devoted air time to the 50th anniversary of... continue reading