In a fawning interview with actress Lena Dunham on Wednesday's NBC Today to promote the latest season of HBO's Girls , co-host Savannah Guthrie sympathized with the feminist activist over people doubting an allegation in her memoir of being sexually assaulted by a "campus Republican" in college – a claim which has been disproved on several of the key details . Rather than press Dunham on her highly disputed story, Guthrie instead lobbed this softball: "And the reaction to that, in the media and in the public world was strange. In some ways – some places you were discredited, in... continue reading
While Republicans officially took control of both the House and the Senate on Tuesday, NBC, ABC, and CBS all touted GOP setbacks. NBC's Today led the way, with correspondent Peter Alexander seizing on comments from the top Senate Republican: "Among incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's main goals for his party: don't be scary." Alexander went on to promote Republican divisions and controversy: "Their first tests, whether John Boehner can hold off Tea Party conservatives challenging his speakership and the controversy over Louisiana's Steve Scalise, the House's number three Republican, still defending his speech to a white supremacist group led... continue reading
On Tuesday night, each of the major broadcast networks devoted time to covering the swearing in of the 114th Congress and the race for House Speaker that saw John Boehner retain his post, but not without 25 conservatives voting in dissent against the incumbent Republican. Overall, the networks lamented how the group presented “a thorny obstacle to Boehner's leadership” and, in turn, will force him to be “more confrontational with President Obama” instead of "working with the President on some issues, including tax reform and trade." [MP3 audio here ; Video below] ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir first... continue reading
Liberal MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz on Tuesday cheered Barack Obama's veto threat for the Keystone XL pipeline. However, the cable host failed to mention his own previous support for construction. Schultz breathlessly opened his show by announcing, "We start tonight with very important breaking news. President Obama will veto the Keystone XL pipeline. If you voted for this president and you care about climate change, you have to be proud tonight." [MP3 audio here .] Dialing up the hyperbole, the anchor cheerleaded, "We still have a lot of power, the progressives do. The President has just cemented his legacy as... continue reading
Journalist Ezra Klein on Monday pronounced that if economic conditions continue, Hillary Clinton will win "42 states" in 2016. The former Washington Post columnist, now the editor at Vox.com , appeared on MSNBC's All In to prognosticate. [MP3 audio here .] Talking to Chris Hayes, he cited falling gas prices and declared, "If this was one year from today, if this were 2016, Hillary Clinton would be about to carry 42 – ...if it continued on, Hillary Clinton would be looking to carry 42 states, right?" Offering a caveat, he continued, "If it continues, Clinton is in great shape, but... continue reading
In a live interview with Sarah Palin on Tuesday's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie accused the former Alaska governor of taking a "cheap shot" at President Obama while defending herself against nasty attacks from animal rights group PETA : "You also talk about President Obama, saying that he tried dog meat when he was under ten years old in Indonesia. I have to ask you about that one, though, is that kind of trading cheap shot for cheap shot?" Palin dismissed Guthrie's assertion: "Oh, heck no, that was the best line in the post that I wrote, it was... continue reading
On Tuesday, the newly elected members of the 114th Congress were officially sworn in and CBS This Morning co-host Norah O'Donnell sat down with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) the youngest woman ever elected at age 30. While the interview was mostly friendly, co-host Norah O’Donnell found time to push her guest on the GOP’s standing with minorities voters and asked Stefanik: “Does the Republican Party have an image problem?” O’Donnell began her interview by highlighting the barriers the young Republican overcame to win her election before she pushed liberal talking points about the GOP’s so-called image problem: Republicans are calling... continue reading
During his MSNBC show All In on Monday, Chris Hayes put up his best defense of far-left New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio against criticism from NYPD officers and their union, lamenting that de Blasio has been subject to “brutal attacks” over the past few weeks while praising him for a drop in crime during 2014. At the start of a segment about the drop in crime and a changing of tactics, Hayes chose to chastise the NYPD’s top union for speaking and acting in opposition to the Mayor: “If, the Mayor has taken to dreading the spotlight over... continue reading
While there were six governors sworn into office on Monday, it was liberal Democrat Jerry Brown taking the oath of office for a record fourth term in California that caught the fawning eye of NBC Nightly News and anchor Brian Williams who, in turn, spent a news brief gushing over how his first stint in office was during the Ford administration and that he had improved the state’s finances. Following a brief on news that the owner of the St. Louis Rams plans to build a stadium outside Los Angeles, Williams pivoted to the Golden State at-large and Brown’s fourth... continue reading
Good Morning America's keys to success: Replace hard news with tabloid stories and viral videos, that according to Baltimore Sun critic David Zurawik. The columnist appeared on Fox News, Sunday, and derided ABC's obsession with superficial topics: "This is what it looks like on a daily basis when video is driving what you do. And it's astonishing." Speaking of GMA 's George Stephanopoulos, MediaBuzz anchor Howard Kurtz noted that when the host joined in 2009, he "talked about trying to do more in-depth [stories] and instead he's tossing to pieces about sensational murders." Kurtz chided, "It kind of seems like... continue reading