On Monday, NPR's health blog touted a pro-ObamaCare item from Kaiser Health News, which is a program of the left-leaning Kaiser Family Foundation (and a partner of the public radio network). Journalist Mary Agnes Carey offered a "quick checklist" for those who "shop for coverage on the health law's online exchanges," since the open enrollment period for the exchanges begins on November 15, 2014. Carey led her item, " 5 Tips To Get The Most Out Of Obamacare " on NPR.org, with a simple question: "The second open enrollment season for health insurance offered through marketplaces created by the Affordable... continue reading
Introducing what amounted to a White House press release on Saturday's NBC Nightly News , anchor Lester Holt opened the broadcast by parroting President Obama's praise for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch: "Historic choice. The woman who's taken down mobsters and terrorists now tapped to be the country's next attorney general." In the report that followed minutes later, a clip ran of Obama using nearly identical language to describe Lynch at a White House event that afternoon: "Loretta might be the only lawyer in America who battles mobsters and drug lords and terrorists and still has a reputation for being... continue reading
CNN's Chris Cuomo expressed his nagging doubt on Monday's New Day about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Cuomo, along with co-anchors Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira, devoted a segment to the controversy over the Navy SEAL who claims to have shot bin Laden. Camerota boasted, "I find it satisfying to hear about his last seconds – I got to say." Cuomo initially agreed with his co-anchor, but then reversed course: "Actually, I don't know that I do. I don't like the idea of anybody having to lose their life , but that gets into a different conversation." [MP3... continue reading
Worrying about President Obama's lame duck status following major Democratic Party losses in the midterm election, on Sunday's NBC Nightly News , White House correspondent Kristen Welker proclaimed: "...Republicans prepare to take over both houses of Congress, vowing to undo Mr. Obama's most treasured accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act." Welker made the declaration during a report on President Obama beginning his trip to Asia, something Welker framed as a chance for him to escape his political woes: President Obama left the White House overnight, heading to China, nearly 7,000 miles from Washington and last week's election day drubbing. On the... continue reading
The journalists at ABC News get very excited whenever a new book attempts to undermine Christianity. On Monday, the reporters at Good Morning America hyped "shocking new claims" that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had children. After playing a clip of the fictional Da Vinci Code movie, Dan Harris excitedly insisted that a "an explosive, new interpretation of ancient texts agrees" with the film. Co-host Lara Spencer promoted, "A lot of people will be talking about this. It's a new book making some shocking claims about the life of Jesus Christ." It wasn't until nearly the end of the... continue reading
On Monday, ABC’s Good Morning America provided First Lady Michelle Obama’s school lunch program, entitled the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act , with some free publicity. Co-host George Stephanopoulos touted how “new federal guidelines pushed by the First Lady have cafeterias serving up healthier foods. And a new study finds those lunches may be better than the ones parents pack for their kids.” The ABC co-host then turned to contributor Claire Shipman, wife of former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, to further promote the study’s findings: School cafeteria lunches. For years, they've been the butt of jokes. But this morning... continue reading
In his pre-recorded Face the Nation sit-down with President Barack Obama at the White House, CBS’s Bob Schieffer asked about putting more troops into Iraq, fighting ISIS, giving Congress a chance to act first on immigration and whether Democratic election losses were his fault, but he also devoted several questions to empathizing with Obama, as if Obama were a victim of circumstance and not responsible for failures or making situations worse. Schieffer: “Let me ask you this, you had a tough summer. We saw the rise of ISIS, the outbreak of Ebola, trouble in the Ukraine, illegal immigrants coming across... continue reading
On Sunday, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd continued to push the line that Washington is broken and despite the GOP now controlling both houses of Congress, gridlock will likely continue. Speaking to his political panel, Todd argued that both the Republicans and Democrats have “two nuclear bombs it sounds like to me. Is that a fair way to put it? That each side has potentially, and it could, gridlock comes back like that.” The segment began with former House Majority Eric Cantor (R-VA) arguing that “we've heard a lot about the president saying he's going to unilaterally act on... continue reading
On Sunday, Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press to discuss his reelection victory last week and was met with a barrage of questions from moderator Chuck Todd. During the interview, the Meet the Press moderator repeatedly pressed the Republican governor from the left over his economic record and wondered “is it possible that the idea of cutting taxes as a way to create jobs and stimulate the economy just isn't working in Wisconsin?” The segment began with NBC News Political Director asking Walker “about the Wisconsin economic record. Do you think it’s something that translates nationally?”... continue reading
Appearing on ABC’s This Week w/ George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Mark Halperin co-host of With All Due Respect on Bloomberg, pressed the GOP to take “take some risks” after winning control of the Senate during this year’s midterm elections. Speaking during a panel discussion, Halperin argued that the GOP runs the risk “standing up to the Tea Party caucus and talk radio” but that they must take risks “if they want to do what's good for their politics and good for the country.” The segment began with moderator George Stephanopoulos hyping how on immigration “one of the difficulties for Speaker... continue reading