CNN'S Kyra Phillips zeroed on the controversy surrounding Phil Robertson's remarks about homosexuality on Wednesday's New Day , as she interviewed Robertson's son Willie Robertson and his wife, Korie. Phillips played up the " firestorm " after the Duck Dynasty star's interview with GQ , and asked his son, " Is that what you believe? " However, the correspondent went on to compliment Willie Robertson and his family for how well they apparently have raised their children: [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] KYRA PHILLIPS: You know, guys, one thing that really stood out to me as a... continue reading
Thursday's network morning shows tripped over themselves in their rush to fawn over President Obama meeting Pope Francis for the first time at the Vatican. At the top of ABC's Good Morning America , co-host Robin Roberts touted how the President "feels a special bond with the Pontiff." On NBC's Today , chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd spoke of an "ideological comfort level" between the two leaders , while on CBS This Morning , White House correspondent Major Garrett described their "genuine connection." [ Listen to the audio ] While ABC, NBC, and CBS provided a combined 14 minutes... continue reading
ABC, CNN, MSNBC and PBS on Wednesday and Thursday all covered the "shocking" corruption involving the Democratic mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Yet, while talking about the tens of thousands of dollars in bribes he sought, none of these networks identified Patrick Cannon's political party. Only a Fox News host referred to him as a Democrat. On ABC's Good Morning America , Amy Robach asserted, "Well, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina has resigned after being arrested during an FBI sting." On CNN's New Day , Christine Romans informed that undercover FBI agents "got the mayor to take almost $50,000... continue reading
MSNBC's Ed Schultz on Wednesday slammed charter schools in America, sneering that funding them "breeds and feeds the next generation of segregation in America." [MP3 audio here .] The Ed Show host talked to fellow liberal Michael Eric Dyson who complained about public schools having to compete against charter schools. He insisted, "If you would supply money to these public schools, then they could do equally as well." Of course, public schools in Washington D.C., for instance, spend almost $30,000 per student. According to the Heritage Foundation : But spending $30,000 to cover the cost of a child’s education in... continue reading
Stephen Colbert boosted Jimmy Carter's new book on Tuesday's Colbert Report – a mere day after the former president blamed Catholicism , as well as the Southern Baptist Convention, for the abuse of women across the globe. Carter offered a toned-down version of this eyebrow-raising argument: " If you're a male religious leader, and you want to stay in unchallenged power and not have women challengers, then you can pick some of those things that...St. Paul said." The Democrat also claimed that he would consider joining the Catholic Church if they would ordain women: [MP3 audio available here ; video... continue reading
Introducing a story on Wednesday's NBC Today , co-host Matt Lauer touted the Washington Post publishing the resignation letter of Massachusetts kindergarten teacher Suzi Sluyter, who decided to quit her job after being "frustrated by what she says is too much emphasis on test scores and testing instead of the kids themselves." [ Listen to the audio ] In the report that followed – amid clips of Sluyter reciting her letter on camera – correspondent Ron Mott declared: "A sobering assessment about standardized tests, how children are damaged by what she calls a broken system more focused on scoring them."... continue reading
On Monday, The UK's Daily Telegraph spotlighted the scoop of another British media outlet, Channel 4, which discovered the beyond abhorrent practice of 10 NHS hospitals incinerating over 15,000 bodies of unborn babies from miscarriages and abortions. The investigation by the Channel 4 program Dispatches found that some of the infants' remains were even used to heat the medical facilities. This scandal, which got picked up by newspapers across much of the Anglosphere – including The Vancouver Sun and The Ottawa Citizen in Canada – has yet to receive wide coverage in the United States. So far, the only TV... continue reading
With all the important things going on in the world, MSNBC on Tuesday chose to devote 16 minutes of coverage over four shows to the "indefensible," "racist" "slur" that is the Washington Redskins logo. The fight to force team owner Dan Snyder to change the name came up on Morning Joe , The Reid Report , All In With Chris Hayes and The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell. Hayes began his coverage by sneering, "Dan Snyder is the owner of the NFL's Washington, D.C. football team, whose name might be the last racial slur you can get away with saying... continue reading
On Wednesday, all three network morning shows repeated the White House line that the reason for delaying the March 31 ObamaCare enrollment deadline was due to a last-minute "surge" of people signing up. In a 20-second news brief on NBC's Today , fill-in news reader Tamron Hall announced "a reprieve this morning for people who've been trying to sign up for ObamaCare," before noting that "the Health and Human Services Department says there has been a last-minute surge in demand." [ Listen to the audio ] During a 17-second news brief on ABC's Good Morning America , fill-in news reader... continue reading
While on Tuesday evening the networks hyped President Obama "talking tough" to Russia and "belittling" them, only ABC pressed him on whether he was wrong about Russia during the 2012 campaign. ABC's White House correspondent Jonathan Karl asked the President, "In the light of recent developments, do you think Mitt Romney had a point when he said that Russia is America's biggest geopolitical foe?" The World News aired the clip, as well as Obama's response that Russia is only a "regional power." Yet while ABC at least pressed Obama on his knowledge of foreign affairs, CBS and NBC gave him... continue reading