BiasAlerts

On Thursday and Friday, NBC launched an all out assault on Mitt Romney, urging him to release more tax returns. Opening Thursday's NBC Nightly News , anchor Brian Williams scrambled to resurrect the worn-out line of attack: "Talking taxes. Under intense pressure, Mitt Romney talks about what he has paid." [ Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump ] Introducing the lead story moments later, Williams proclaimed: "It is a topic that won't go away. In the hands of the Democrats, it has dogged Mitt Romney from the start and may follow him all the way... continue reading
Good Morning America's Josh Elliott on Friday yet again hyped the issue of Mitt Romney's taxes. Guest anchor Elliott touted, " And Mitt Romney finally ready to address that question about his taxes ." Amy Robach thrilled, "Mitt Romney, for the first time revealing new information about his tax returns...But why now?" The candidate on Thursday asserted that he had "never" paid lower than a 13 percent tax rate. Reporter David Muir played up ABC's own role in this supposed new revelation: "Romney went back and checked after our sit down with him two weeks ago. At the time, we... continue reading
CNN's Piers Morgan is up in arms again over guns, and tried to use Wednesday's shooting at the Family Research Council to shill for more gun control. There's one problem – the shooter was not obeying Washington D.C.'s strict gun laws. "We've had only today the conservative Family Research Council, a shooting that may well have been politically motivated," Morgan said before asking Newark Mayor Corey Booker (D), "When you take all these things into consideration, you must be disappointed that the President isn't ordering some new form of gun control, aren't you?" [Video below the break. Audio here .]... continue reading
Less than a day after a shooting at the Family Research Council, CNN dug up a 13 year-old FRC quote to support the "hate group" label by the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center. Early Start anchor Zoraida Sambolin said the FRC was "hate spewing hate." "I want our viewers to actually see some of the things that this organization has put out there so that – we kind of understand why they were labeled a hate group," Sambolin insisted. Her guest Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage had denounced the SPLC's "hate group" rating, but it's no secret... continue reading
CNN's Brooke Baldwin couldn't find a motive behind the Family Research Council shooting, on Thursday afternoon – despite CNN having earlier reported that "politics" was involved in the shooting at the conservative organization. "You know, who knows what really was the motive behind this particular individual Floyd Lee Corkins?" Baldwin wondered at 3:10 p.m. EDT, even though anchor Suzanne Malveaux stated at 1:31 p.m. EDT, "Witnesses say that Floyd Lee Corkins walked into the conservative group's headquarters, told the security guard 'I don't like your politics,' and then shot him in the arm." Also, during Malveaux's report the CNN headline... continue reading
In what was billed as a profile of Ann Romney set to air on Thursday's NBC Rock Center , a portion of the interview played on Thursday's Today featured news anchor Natalie Morales grilling the Republican candidate's spouse on taxes: "...she fiercely defended the Romneys' decision not to release tax returns from before 2010. A lot of people still are asking why not be transparent and release more than the 2010 and the estimates for 2011." [ Listen to the audio ] Romney responded forcefully: "Have you seen how we're attacked? Have you seen what's happened?" Morales continued to press... continue reading
Maureen Dowd brings her brand of sour sarcasm to bear on Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick Paul Ryan in her Wednesday New York Times column " When Cruelty Is Cute ": "Who better to rain misery upon the heads of millions of Americans?" I’d been wondering how long it would take Republicans to realize that Paul Ryan is their guy. He’s the cutest package that cruelty ever came in. He has a winning air of sad cheerfulness. He’s affable, clean cut and really cut, with the Irish altar-boy widow’s peak and droopy, winsome blue eyes and unashamed sentimentality. Who better... continue reading
Over eight hours of broadcast time, Thursday, the network morning shows devoted a scant two minutes and 57 seconds to Wednesday's shooting at the conservative Family Research Council (FRC) . Good Morning America on ABC offered the most time, a still tiny two minutes and 22 seconds. But at least guest anchor Josh Elliott revealed key details about the alleged shooter's possible motive, such as the fact that Floyd Corkins "was a volunteer at a local LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] center." CBS This Morning totally skipped the story. ABC reporter Pierre Thomas added, "Sources say [Corkins] had items from... continue reading
Reporting for Wednesday's NBC Nightly News , White House correspondent Kristen Welker discussed the "remarkably ugly political week so far" in the presidential campaign following racially-charged comments by Joe Biden, but then touted him as "the ever-outspoken Vice President" who "today doubled down on being the President's other best weapon, attack-dog-in-chief." In a report for Thursday's NBC Today , Welker similarly proclaimed that Biden had "doubled down on being outspoken" while "still taking heat from Republicans for comments" on Tuesday in which he ranted to a crowd in Virginia that the GOP would "put y'all back in chains" if Mitt... continue reading
Chris Matthews on Wednesday went to embarrassing lengths as he struggled to explain away a gaffe by the Vice President, offering tortured, confusing logic to defend Joe Biden's "chains" comments. According to the Hardball host, Biden's remarks to a largely black audience that Republicans will "put y'all back in chains" were "historical" and not "negative" or racist like when the GOP does it. Matthews, who on Tuesday foamed that Paul Ryan could be "worse" than Dan Quayle and "more trouble" than Democratic debacle Thomas Eagleton, defended, "...Biden, maybe he is trying too hard to get the support of black people,... continue reading