On Monday's Early Show, CBS took advantage of Americans' love of coffee to hype climate change, bizarrely claiming that " your morning cup might be heading toward extinction ." Contributor Taryn Winter Brill turned to a left-leaning organization to reinforce the claim that climate change " could have a devastating effect on future coffee production " [audio available here ]. Fill-in anchor Jeff Glor teased Winter Brill's report by stating that "the top scientist at Starbucks says climate change threatens to severely limit coffee production around the world for decades." As he introduced the segment, he went even further by... continue reading
The national media have certainly NOT been giving Barack Obama a rougher ride than the GOP candidates, but a new study by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism is fueling the myth that, as Politico's Keach Hagey put it Monday morning, 'Obama has received the most unremittingly negative press of any of the presidential candidates.' To be sure, Hagey is repeating exactly what Pew is claiming, but there are at least three major problems with using their study to conclude that the media have an anti-Obama bias. First, they didn't study what most people would consider 'the media.' Second,... continue reading
The network newscasts over the weekend proved that no occasion is too small to fawn over "rock star" Bill Clinton. Over the course of three days, the morning shows and evening newscasts donated six segments to hyping Clinton's birthday celebration and the "sultry" serenade he received from Lady Gaga. On Sunday's Today, reporter Richard Liu could barely restrain himself, lauding, " It was Bill Clinton's 65th and this diplomatic rock star celebrated with rock and roll royalty ." He included a clip of comedienne Ellen Degeneres enthusing, "In a world where people look for heroes who make a difference, none... continue reading
Appearing on Sunday's NBC Today, Meet the Press host David Gregory proclaimed that the Occupy Wall Street protests would "...dovetail nicely into a big message that the President's selling, which is that the wealthy should pay more.... that banner of going after Wall Street and the banks, talking about unfairness that a lot of protesters that are complaining about." [ Audio available here ] Gregory's observation was prompted by co-host Lester Holt wondering: "...the protesters are calling for the wealthy to pay for more taxes. Should we look for the Obama campaign to embrace that message as it – as... continue reading
The broadcast networks continued their enthusiastic coverage Friday night on behalf of the far-left Wall Street protesters, with NBC's Brian Williams, again, the most excited while CBS anchor Scott Pelley, who has until now refrained from the hype delivered by ABC and NBC, jumped in by promising 'a series of reports on the growing protests around the country.' Williams led by touting how the protesters 'are claiming victory tonight' by not getting removed from the Manhattan park. He then hailed their impact which he has helped fuel: 'This protest movement is showing strength. It's still growing, changing and spreading...' Pelley... continue reading
Left-wing actor Sean Penn slimed the Tea Party as motivated by racism, charging on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight on Friday evening that an impediment to President Obama's success is 'what I call the 'Get the N-word out of the White House party,' the Tea Party.' At a time when Herman Cain tops polls of Republican primary voters, Penn proceeded to allege, without citing any evidence, that 'there's a big bubble coming out of their heads saying, you know, 'can we just lynch him?'' (video below) In between Penn's two jabs intended to discredit the Tea Party, Piers Morgan helpfully boasted... continue reading
On Saturday's NBC Nightly News, correspondent Michael Isikoff filed a report recounting criticisms of GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, as Isikoff asserted that "critics see more pain, not gain, for struggling families." His report continued: MICHAEL ISIKOFF: A family of four with an income of $50,000 could face a tax hike of more than $5,000, says one tax analyst. PROFESSOR EDWARD KLEINBARD, USC SCHOOL OF LAW: Anybody who works for a living and has an income below six figures a year is going to find him or herself very sorry that they live in a 9-9-9 tax environment... continue reading
On Friday's Inside Washington on PBS, NPR's Nina Totenberg incorrectly claimed that the "top tenth of one percent" of income earners in America "controls something like 20 or 30 percent" of the nation's income, and characterized the economic situation as worse than it has been in centuries, as she suggested income gaps were at a level that "people came to this country to avoid." In reality , it is the top one percent - not the top "tenth of one percent" - that earns about a quarter of the nation's income. As the group discussed the Occupy Wall Street protests,... continue reading
During the monologue of Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, host Maher referred to GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain as a "token black guy" as he asserted that establishment Republicans are "freaking out" because they never expected him to be competitive. Alluding to the tendency of guest characters in Star Trek television episodes to be killed off, he cracked: The Republican establishment is freaking out because their token black guy is in the league now. They never expec-, it's like an episode of Star Trek where the black guy beams down to the planet and lives. Maher later... continue reading
The Big Three networks' seeming desperation to report on "Occupy Wall Street" reached a new level on Friday, after they led their morning shows with New York City's decision to not clear the park where the protesters are camped. NBC touted how the demonstrators were " proclaiming victory " in response to the move. ABC highlighted the " celebratory " atmosphere, while CBS played up the " mood of jubilation " there. Today show anchor Ann Curry noted that a "showdown [was] averted at the site of the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement here in New York." She then turned to... continue reading