On Sunday’s Meet the Press , Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director, one again played the role of Hillary Clinton apologist as he defended the former Secretary of State from suggestions that she doesn't understand the challenges facing the average American. Speaking to his panel, Todd argued that Hillary’s inability to connect with voters was “not necessarily her fault. I mean, she's had Secret Service protection for 22 years. That is tough.” Chuck Todd’s comments came in response to clips of former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) and Ms. Clinton speaking about the challenges of political life. The Meet the Press... continue reading
On Sunday, CNN’s Inside Politics spent several minutes hyping the supposed headache Tea Partiers could give GOP leadership despite the Republican Party winning their 54th Senate seat following Saturday’s runoff in Louisiana. During the discussion, Robert Costa of The Washington Post insisted that Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is trying “to govern responsibly and he wants to set the party up for major gains in '16. And that started in 2014 by pushing back the Tea Party and it starts now by making sure that all the passions and eagerness in the House don't overtake the party.” The segment began with... continue reading
When the now-retracted article by the Rolling Stone magazine was published on November 19 about a brutal gang rape of a first-year student at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house at the University of Virginia (UVA) , the major broadcast networks rushed to the story and devoted multiple segments to both the article and reaction on the school’s campus. In doing so, they failed ( unlike other outlets ) to point out its flaws that brought an apology from the liberal magazine on Friday afternoon after it came to realize that many of the key facts in the story were... continue reading
Back in January, when the Bridgegate scandal surfaced, CNN offered wall-to-wall coverage totaling just over eight hours and 35 minutes of coverage on its first full day and featured the Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, at the center of it all. So, when news surfaced on early Friday morning that a Democrat-led investigation cleared Christie of any wrongdoing, CNN chose to adopt a different approach and all but ignore this news. Through 5:30pm ET, the cable network had spent a scant 26 seconds on the report’s exoneration of Christie. [MP3 audio here ; Video below] The brief mention... continue reading
During an NBC News special report on President Obama nominating Pentagon official Ashton Carter be the next secretary of defense, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd advanced White House talking points that the President really wanted someone who would challenge the administration on foreign policy: "...they claim they want him to be more confrontational with the White House national security team....I have aides tell me they want Ashton Carter to be a bull in a china shop if necessary and be that person." Earlier on Today , White House correspondent Kristen Welker similarly declared: "White House officials say Carter was... continue reading
In January, the networks deluged Americans with coverage on Chris Christie's Bridgegate scandal, offering a staggering 88 minutes in less than 48 hours. Late on Thursday night, a Democrat-led investigation failed to find evidence conclusively linking the New Jersey governor to the 2013 traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge. On Friday morning, CBS and NBC allowed a scant 32 seconds to this important development. ABC's Good Morning America , despite a two-hour run time, completely ignored Christie's clearing. (Instead, the supposed news program devoted three minutes to the phenomenon of ugly Christmas sweaters.) A study by the Media Research... continue reading
In an interview with USA Today published on its website Tuesday, former Obama administration Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius tried to distance herself from the numerous comments by ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber, but still found a way to sound like Gruber when explaining why Americans oppose the health care law. Speaking with USA Today ’s Susan Page, Sebelius remarked that “[a] lot of Americans have no idea what insurance is about” and “the financial literacy of a lot of people” can be characterized as “very low.” Since Sebelius made these remarks, none of the major broadcast networks... continue reading
During an appearance on Thursday’s CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley , New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Bill Bratton was asked by anchor Scott Pelley if African-American men had any reason to be afraid of the NYPD and what he was going to change about policing in the aftermath of the Eric Garner case. After Batton told Pelley what was changing about the way officers in the NYPD go about their jobs, Pelley posed this question to him: “What does a black man in New York City have to fear from the NYPD?” [MP3 audio here ; Video... continue reading
A former top aide to Barack Obama appeared on CNBC, Thursday, and demolished the narrative, promoted by the administration and some in the media, that Jonathan Gruber is minor figure. Ex-presidential adviser Steven Rattner previously exposed the ObamaCare architect, who lashed out at "stupid" Americans, as an " important " individual. On Squawk Box , he expounded, "Jonathan Gruber was all over the health care situation as an adviser to the administration and as an expert and as the guy who designed the Massachusetts health plan." Co host Joe Kernen joked, "I guess you're not going to the White House... continue reading
In an article for The Washington Post on Thursday, congressional reporter Ed O'Keefe highlighted Democratic efforts to assemble an "Immigration Strike Team" to provide "a rapid response force to counter whatever Republicans do or say about immigration reform in the coming months." The "goal" of the PR effort, O'Keefe reported, "is to ensure that lawmakers and administration officials are more closely coordinating talking points and media appearances and using all outlets at their disposal to highlight incendiary comments or controversial legislation introduced by Republicans." In other words, to make sure that the media keep pushing liberal spin on the topic... continue reading