BiasAlerts

A secretly recorded video of Mitt Romney speaking at a fundraiser about the "47 percent of the country who are dependent on government," put out last night by the liberal magazine Mother Jones , calls into question whether Romney is "at base, an empathetic and caring man." That's according to the New York Times , which rushed the Monday night breaking news onto Tuesday morning's front page in a story by Michael Shear and Michael Barbaro, " In Video Clip, Romney Calls 47% ‘Dependent’ and Feeling Entitled ." During a private reception with wealthy donors this year, Mitt Romney described... continue reading

Norah O'Donnell played up the possible negative impact of the hidden camera video of Mitt Romney on Tuesday's CBS This Morning . Regarding the elderly vote, O'Donnell asked 2008 McCain presidential campaign manager Rick Davis, " Did Mitt Romney just insult many of the people who end up voting Republican? " Co-anchor Charlie Rose led the interview of Davis with a question on the impact of the remarks, and threw in the reported splits in the presidential nominee's campaign: " So, how damaging is this, and all these reports of dissension within the Romney camp? " O'Donnell followed up with... continue reading

Wrapping up a report for Tuesday's NBC Today about the hidden camera video of Mitt Romney speaking at a fundraiser, national investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff laughably proclaimed: "The source who made the secret video insisted to NBC News that the original motivation was not political but simple curiosity, to see what Romney would say in this unscripted setting." [ Listen to the audio ] After promoting that assertion, Isikoff added: "But after watching the tape, the source decided the public should hear what Romney said and was encouraged to release it after talks with an Atlanta political researcher names James... continue reading

On Tuesday's CBS This Morning , Jan Crawford stood out as the only Big Three network journalist to play a clip of Barack Obama's infamous "cling to guns and religion" barb at conservatives, as she covered the recently-released secret recordings of Mitt Romney remarking about the "47 percent of the country who are dependent on government." Crawford remarked that Obama " spurred similar controversy " with the 2008 comment, but neither ABC's Good Morning America nor NBC's Today mentioned it in their coverage of the Romney video recordings, which were released by the left-wing magazine Mother Jones . [audio of... continue reading

Appearing on Tuesday's NBC Today , MSNBC Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough made one hyperbolic doomsday declaration after another about Mitt Romney's campaign: "This is one of the worst weeks for any presidential candidate in a general election that any of us can remember ....Unemployment is still 8% plus, the economy is still in tatters, and Mitt Romney is blowing this race." [ Listen to the audio ] Scarborough frantically asserted: "[Republicans] are so depressed this morning, they just can't believe that Mitt Romney is blowing a race against a president who they believe has mismanaged the economy terribly over... continue reading

The hosts and reporters of ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday launched a hyperbolic attack on Mitt Romney's "secret tapes," trumpeting the "bombshell" that is sending "shock waves" through the campaign. The ABC program devoted three segments to the release of tapes of the presidential candidate talking at a fund-raiser about the "47 percent of the country who are dependent on government." Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos breathlessly began the show: " Breaking now, Mitt Romney caught on tape at a private fund-raiser. His candid comments causing shock waves ." The host intoned that "the campaign [is] rushing... continue reading

MRC has been showcasing the most egregious bias we've over the years — four quotes for each of the 25 years of the MRC, 100 quotes total — all leading up to our big 25th Anniversary Gala next week. Click here for articles recounting the worst of 1988 through 2003 . Today, the worst bias of 2004 : CBS’s Morley Safer eulogizes Ronald Reagan by saying “I don’t think history has any reason to be kind to him;” the New York Times asks George W. Bush if he feels “personal responsibility” for 9/11; and Dan Rather finds “exclusive” documents regarding... continue reading

As the broadcast network evening newscasts on Monday recounted protests in Beirut, Lebanon, organized by Hezbollah, only the CBS Evening News noted that the U.S. government considers Hezbollah to be a "terrorist group," while ABC called it a "militant group" and NBC gave the organization no label. As he listed Muslim countries where protests against the United States had occurred, CBS anchor Scott Pelley noted: And thousands turned out in Beirut, Lebanon, where the leader of Hezbollah urged them to continue the protests. The U.S. government calls Hezbollah a terrorist group. On ABC World News , correspondent Alex Marquardt relayed... continue reading

Once again serving as the broadcast arm of MSNBC, Monday’s NBC Nightly News devoted a full segment to the supposed outrage over what Mitt Romney said in a surreptitiously-recorded video promoted by the left wing Mother Jones magazine, remarks which Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow put at the top of their MSNBC shows. And CNN soon joined in the hysteria with Anderson Cooper 360 treating it as “Breaking News.” Of course, Romney had simply provided an obvious assessment of the state of the electorate where many have an “entitlement” mentality and nearly half avoid the income tax. In... continue reading

CNN's Soledad O'Brien went so far to defend President Obama's diplomacy that she argued GOP criticisms of his "apology tour" were null simply because the speeches didn't include the words "apology" or "I'm sorry." "Never once in that speech, as you know, which I have the speech right here. So that was back – he never once used the word apology. He never once said I'm sorry," a snarky O'Brien talked down to Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.). "Any common sense interpretation of those speeches, the President is apologizing for the American position," King responded to the liberal CNN anchor. "If... continue reading