Before the hostage standoff with an Islamic gunman in Sydney had even ended on Monday, the media had already seized on a social media campaign that offered protection to Australian Muslims against imagined bigotry that had not occurred. On Good Morning America , co-host George Stephanopoulos touted: "The #IllRideWithYou trending worldwide on Twitter. It's a message of tolerance from Sydney residents offering solidarity with Muslims in the cities. Locals concerned people in religious attire could be harassed." In the same 7 a.m. ET hour on CNN's New Day , journalist Bobby Ghosh praised the effort as "a wonderful thing" and... continue reading
Chris Matthews resorted to school yard name calling on Monday night, lashing out at Ted Cruz as a "balloon head" "demagogue" for his actions opposing Barack Obama's executive order on amnesty. The MSNBC anchor also resorted to his tired cliche of referring to the Texas senator as the modern "Joe McCarthy." Matthews gleefully explained, "Well, Ted Cruz's failed legislative stunt over the weekend left his Republican Senate colleagues disparaging him on the record by name." He added, " What a balloon head ." Wondering aloud at what the Republican's strategy is, Matthews sneered, "Is his goal the presidency or is... continue reading
On Monday night, ABC and CBS covered the news that families of ten people who lost their lives in the deadly school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 were filing a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Bushmaster as it was maker of the rifle used by Adam Lanza in his horrific rampage. ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir mentioned it in a news brief while CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley had a full segment that, surprisingly, featured CBS News correspondent Don Dahler presenting a balanced report on the issue that included him pushing back multiple times against the... continue reading
On Monday’s NBC Nightly News , correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell felt that it was appropriate to skewer three possible GOP presidential contenders in 2016 who had each run previously to argue that their presence would make possible fellow candidates Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush “look positively new.” In addition, Mitchell reported that Bush is showing every sign of running for the office his father and brother once held by making it clear that he would “refuse to veer right in the primary to appeal to more voters in the fall” as well as giving speeches in key primary... continue reading
On CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday, University of Virginia student Alex Pinkleton revealed how Rolling Stone's Sabrina Rubin Erdely, who wrote the disputed Rolling Stone story on alleged rape at the college, acted more like an " advocate " than a reporter as she interviewed people for the article. Pinkleton, a friend of the woman who made the rape accusation, asserted that Erdely " did have an agenda, and part of that agenda was showing how monstrous fraternities themselves as an institution are, and blaming the administration for a lot of the sexual assaults ." The student later stated that... continue reading
On Monday's CBS This Morning , co-host Gayle King claimed that Americans were "divided" over the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques after September 11th. However, the latest CBS News poll she cited "shows that 49% of Americans feel aggressive interrogation techniques like waterboarding are sometimes justified. 36% say they are never justified." The remaining 14% said that it "depends" or "didn't know." Fellow co-host Norah O'Donnell followed up with another poll result: "Meanwhile 52% believe the release of that Senate report could pose a threat to U.S. security." The poll numbers were used to introduce a report on former... continue reading
The journalists at CBS This Morning on Monday compared the violent, bloody attacks on African Americans during civil rights marches in 1965 to voter ID laws passed by various states in the last few years. Co-anchor Norah O'Donnell talked to Oprah Winfrey, producer/star of the new film Selma. O'Donnell marveled, "...Given the Voting Rights Act, 1965, I went back and looked. Thirteen states have passed more restrictive voter ID laws in the last three years, that states are trying to make it harder to vote." [MP3 audio here .] Actor David Oyelowo, who plays Martin Luther King in the film,... continue reading
On Sunday night, ABC’s Barbara Walters hosted her annual 10 Most Fascinating People program which featured billionaire businessman and conservative donor David Koch as one of the “most fascinating people of 2014.” A preview of the interview aired during Sunday morning’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos portraying Koch as “one of the biggest Republican donors, a reclusive billionaire, David Koch. Democrats love to hate him.” During the full interview, Walters expanded on the liberal attacks against Koch but also detailed the hundreds of millions of dollars he has donated to philanthropic causes over the last several decades. The interview began... continue reading
On Sunday, ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos previewed Barbara Walters’ upcoming “Most Fascinating People” special set to air on Sunday night by playing a clip from Walters’ interview with conservative donor and businessman David Koch. Fill-in host Martha Raddatz introduced the clip of the interview by hyping “one of the more controversial parts of that legislation, provisions dramatically easing restrictions on the amount of cash individuals can donate to campaigns. One of the biggest Republican donors, reclusive billionaire, David Koch. Democrats love to hate him.” The video began with Walters obnoxiously asking Koch “do you think it's fair that... continue reading
CBS Evening News 's liberal bias was blatant on Friday, as their "young adults" panel discussing the issue of " the excessive use of force by police – especially against minorities " was made up entirely of people who have participated in the protests decrying the grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. Correspondent Elaine Quijano asked, " How many of you have been involved with the protests that have taken place in the wake of Ferguson? " All six panelists raised their hand or nodded their head. [ video below ] One participant – Charles... continue reading