CNN's media critic Howard Kurtz made the ludicrous assertion that reporters shouting loaded questions outside of a sacred site in Poland were still a "model of decorum" compared to Mitt Romney aide who cursed at them to "show some respect" for the place. "So, the press doesn't look so great there in Poland, but the reporters were a model of decorum compared to Rick Gorka, the Romney spokesman, who later apologized for the kiss crack," Kurtz began his segment on Sunday's Reliable Sources. Kurtz excused that it "was the last stop of the trip and reporters weren't going to have... continue reading
CNN associated a white supremacist neo-Nazi band with the political right-wing as it labeled the punk rock band of Wisconsin shooter Wade Michael Page as "far right." CNN had reported Page's band named "End Apathy" as "white supremacist," "neo-Nazi," and as a "hate group." Yet it also repeatedly labeled it "far right" on Sunday and Monday. A Sunday CNN.com piece reported "neighbors say" that Page "played in a far-right punk band." A couple of paragraphs down the label popped up again. On Monday morning during the 11 a.m. hour, anchor Kate Bolduan stated that Page played for "this far-right punk... continue reading
Liberal historian Douglas Brinkley sang the praises of the Kennedy family on Monday's CBS This Morning, spotlighting the apparently " very important public service work " of Robert F. Kennedy's children: " It's just remarkable to me how Bobby Kennedy's kids keep making public policy influences ." Brinkley also claimed that " the Kennedy name is still very popular , and.... we're endlessly fascinated by the family ." The author also played up the Democratic family's Catholic background, without mentioning how several prominent members have dissented from the Church's teachings on abortion and sexuality. The morning show brought on the... continue reading
CNN stoked fears that new voter ID laws might hark back to the days of Jim Crow. Monday marked the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and CNN's Zoraida Sambolin used that to discuss whether the new laws might "suppress the minority vote." "Do you think that having an African-American president is actually reigniting some of these old prejudices?" she asked former Ambassador Andrew Young who helped draft the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Sambolin interviewed Young and activist Martin Luther King III, who dodged her attempts to get them to talk about racial and political implications in the laws. "But... continue reading
The three networks have, thus far, ignored the revelation that American taxpayers will only recover a mere $24 million of the $527 million lost on Solyndra, a new report by the Dow Jones newswire revealed last week. The evening newscasts and morning shows have skipped the announcement. The Washington Examiner explained on Thursday, "In a little-noticed move, Solyndra LLC officially released it bankruptcy plan this week. The official word from it is that taxpayers will recover only $24 million of the about $527 million." The only utterance of Solyndra last week came when Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus brought... continue reading
In an unaired portion of an interview with British Prime Minister David Cameron meant to be featured on Friday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer pressed Cameron to compare the London Olympics with the winter games run by Mitt Romney: "Do you think that Mitt Romney, the challenges he faced in 2002 in Salt Lake City, compared at all to what you faced here in London?" [ View video after the jump ] After pushing Cameron to criticize Romney, moments later, Lauer went after Britain's head of Parliament for daring to modestly cut back on the nation's massive government spending: "You... continue reading
On Saturday's Good Morning America on ABC, co-host Bianna Golodryga seemed to admire Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for making an unsubstantiated charge that Mitt Romney had not paid taxes in 10 years, as she ended a short discussion of the smear by gushing: "Harry Reid, always one to speak his mind," inspiring a chuckle from correspondent David Kerley. The night before, on ABC's World News , correspondent Jonathan Karl had used more negative language to describe Reid's accusations, calling them "outrageous and apparently unfounded." Golodryga's apparent admiration for the Democratic leader came after correspondent Kerley observed that "Democrats love... continue reading
On Friday's World News on ABC, correspondent Jonathan Karl informed viewers of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's unsubstantiated charge that Mitt Romney has not paid taxes in 10 years, with the ABC correspondent dismissing the accusation as "outrageous and apparently unfounded." Karl went on to note that Reid "offered not one shred of evidence, drawing ridicule from late night comedian Jon Stewart." As he theorized that Reid was trying to bait the GOP presidential candidate into releasing more of his tax returns, Karl then revisited the subject of Romney's taxes and the GOP candidate's refusal to tell ABC's David Muir... continue reading
On Friday's Inside Washington on PBS, regular panel member Evan Thomas dismissed media claims that Mitt Romney's recent trip abroad suffered from gaffes as the Politico correspondent asserted that the GOP presidential candidate spoke the truth about the Olympics in London and the social problems of the Palestinians. He concluded that "This is a convective thing that the press gets all excited about, but I don't think voters give a damn." Thomas's rebuke of the media came after conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that Romney "did extremely well in Israel," in spite of media reports otherwise. Below is a transcript... continue reading
“Harry Reid is disgrace. But you expect this from Harry Reid,” The Weekly Standard ’s Stephen Hayes zinged on FNC’s Special Report Friday night before turning his ire on a certain Washington, DC-based anchor for CNN for advancing Reid’s baseless allegation that Mitt Romney didn’t pay any income tax for ten years. “The disappointing cohort in this, to me, is journalists,” Hayes contended as he recalled how “I saw another network anchor ask a Romney supporter about this accusation, saying Harry Reid is a really honorable man.” Hayes excoriated the unnamed journalist for telling the guest, as Hayes paraphrased, “there’s... continue reading