Occupy violence erupted in Los Angeles on Thursday with protesters using slogans such as "Kill the cops." NBC skipped the story on Friday's Today . CBS This Morning and ABC's Good Morning America offered a combined 31 seconds. GMA news reader Amy Robach explained that police had to break up a crowd of "200 angry protesters." She briefly added, " It started when Occupy L.A. activists joined a street art event and then taunted police by drawing chalk pigs and slogans like 'Kill the cops .'" One police officer was injured and a dozen people were arrested. CBS This Morning... continue reading
In an interview aired on Friday's NBC Today , former President Bill Clinton began by attacking Republicans: "I'm not sure both sides want the economy to get better....I know what Senator McConnell said, that his number one priority was winning the election." Co-host Savannah Guthrie helpfully added: "It sounds like you're saying the Republicans are basically rooting for the economy to fail." [ Listen to the audio ] That teed up Clinton perfectly to proclaim: "No, I didn't say that. Senator McConnell did. Senator McConnell said his number one goal was not to get the economy going again, it was... continue reading
CNN's Soledad O'Brien flirted with the absurd theory that Mitt Romney intended to be booed by the NAACP, asking on Thursday's Starting Point if it was part of his "strategy." After playing a clip of House Minority Leader Pelosi saying Romney getting booed was a "calculated move" on his part, O'Brien noted Romney expected to be booed and asked: "Is there some kind of strategy in this presentation to the NAACP?" "And in fact, the former governor himself said he expected to get booed, meaning he went in knowing he wasn't going to grab the hearts and minds of the... continue reading
While CNN initially panned Mitt Romney's Wed nesday reception by the NAACP as "very negative," anchor Kyra Phillips was quite jovial about Joe Biden quoting scripture to the audience the next day. A gleeful Phillips gushed that Biden "rolled out the scripture. He got spiritual on them, and they loved it! That is Joe Biden, we had to expect that." CNN's initial reaction to the two speeches is telling. After Romney's speech, CNN focused on the boos he received and reported the reception as "very negative," even though he received plenty of applause as well as a standing ovation from... continue reading
CNN's Jim Acosta bragged that his network does not call the Affordable Care Act "ObamaCare," a term he said Republicans prefer. However, CNN has repeatedly referred to the law as "ObamaCare" in its reporting. "He [Romney] used the term 'ObamaCare,' which by the way, that's fine in Republican circles, but there are a lot of Democrats who sort of bristle at using the term 'ObamaCare'," Acosta explained on Wednesday after Mitt Romney used the term when addressing the Democratic-friendly NAACP. "We at CNN use the term 'the President's health care law,' at least in our news reporting," Acosta boasted. That... continue reading
In her latest nytimes.com column, posted Wednesday night, " The Mystery of John Roberts ," Linda Greenhouse, former Supreme Court reporter for the Times , retraced previous conservatives losses at the Supreme Court from the pre-Internet days of the early '90s and the relatively muted response of conservative activists. That set the stage for Greenhouse to criticize the "torrent of right-wing leaks" and "invective" that poured over Roberts after his shock decision upholding Obama-Care. Greenhouse, whose strident liberal moralizing is obvious now that she is no longer a reporter, suggested Roberts may have "evolved" to his position partially due to... continue reading
During a panel discussion on Thursday's NBC Today about Mitt Romney's NAACP speech, advertising executive Donny Deutsch gave credit to the Republican presidential candidate for making the appearance , but proclaimed: "...this is going to be what I'll call the demographic election, women, Latinos and African-Americans are going to cost him the election." Co-host Savannah Guthrie began the discussion by noting audience reaction to Romney at the event: "...he, on a few different occasions, got sustained boos from the audience, but also later some applause....Did you guys think it was rude that they're were boos?" Deutsch chimed in: "No, I... continue reading
All three morning shows on Thursday ignored the House vote to repeal ObamaCare. Despite finding time for such important topics as women who are addicted to tanning, Good Morning America , as well as Today and CBS This Morning , skipped the latest on the President's unpopular legislation. In contrast, all three evening newscasts on Wednesday did cover the story. Both CBS and ABC whined about Republicans holding yet another vote on Obamacare. World News anchor Diane Sawyer complained, "As ever, the vote now goes to the Senate, where it will almost certainly, once again, be voted down if it... continue reading
In an interview with Romney campaign advisor Ed Gillespie on Thursday 's NBC Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie fretted over Republicans dismantling false Obama campaign attacks that Romney outsourced jobs as head of Bain Capital: "I want to get to a new ad that your campaign is putting out today.... are you calling the President a liar?" Gillespie didn't shy away from the charge: "What we're saying, Savannah, is that this ad that has been running saying that Governor Romney as CEO of Bain Capital moved American jobs overseas is a lie...independent fact-checking organizations. Just three yesterday came out and... continue reading
Good Morning America' s Jon Karl on Wednesday hyped the boos Mitt Romney received at Wednesday's NAACP conference as the " most hostile reception Mitt Romney has received from any group during this campaign ." [MP3 audio here .] Karl actively misled while comparing John McCain's 2008 reception at the NAACP to Romney's appearance. Karl huffed, "...[McCain] received a standing ovation." The only problem with this? Romney also got one . Garrett Haake of NBC News tweeted , Wednesday, "Standing ovation for Romney as he finishes his remarks to NAACP." So, what's the point? Karl focused only on the difficult... continue reading