Citing a poll showing that 51 percent of Americans have heard of the Wall Street protests, CNN's American Morning co-hosts lobbed some compliments toward the protesters on Tuesday. Co-host Christine Romans made sure to emphasize that "the movement is really resonating." This is the same network that has been following the protests for weeks and speculating if they will become the liberal version of the Tea Party. In contrast, CNN featured some controversial coverage of the original Tea Parties back in 2009, and anchor Anderson Cooper even employed an obscene term to describe them. Toward the end of Tuesday's 7... continue reading
CNN's new prime-time host Erin Burnett pressed Donald Trump about the Republican Party being a "smaller tent party" because of its conservatism on social issues. "Do you have any frustrations that the Republican Party still ends up defining itself by abortion stance or gay marriage?" she asked Trump. Burnett even quoted rising star Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, who said the GOP must return to a "big tent" party status, or one more inclusive of social moderates and liberals. Burnett's question is reflective of a larger trend in the mainstream media to criticize Republicans for not being... continue reading
New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter marked the 15th anniversary of Fox News on the front of Monday's Business section with a profile of host Sean Hannity, whose program has been a channel mainstay from the beginning: ' Victory Lap for Fox and Hannity .' Stelter wasn't hostile, but did use something a guest said on Hannity's show to accuse Hannity of instigating 'inflammatory rhetoric.' But another Stelter story in the same section failed to criticize a left-wing figure, Tavis Smiley, who engages in truly inflammatory rhetoric from a secure public perch at PBS. When the Fox News host... continue reading
On Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer interviewed Obama advisor David Plouffe and asked about the frustration of the left-wing Occupy Wall Street protesters: "These people are out there and they're angry at Wall Street, the so-called fat cats....They're also angry at Democrats and the administration for not taking them on and doing anything about it." Lauer then worried about the potential negative political impact: Do Democrats stand to take the biggest hit in the wake of these protests?...those young people out on the streets of New York and other places, David, they don't think enough has been done and... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday continued his streak of having a top Obama operative discuss a Republican presidential debate. Rather than talk to any of the contenders, Stephanopoulos turned to top White House strategist David Plouffe. Speaking of the Occupy Wall Street protest, Stephanopoulos indicated that the rallies seem to "be growing every day." He blandly speculated, " Is this the liberal version of the Tea Party? And is that a good thing for the White House? " This is in stark contrast to the hard-hitting, derisive questions the former Democratic operative turned journalist had for the Tea... continue reading
So enthused about promoting the far-left protests, ABC anchor Diane Sawyer on Monday night's World News championed 'the Occupy Wall Street movement' by ludicrously claiming that 'as of tonight, it has spread to more than 250 American cities, more than a thousand countries - every continent but Antarctica.' Protests against the wealthy in 'thousands of countries,' including Cuba, China and every country in Africa? Per the U.S. State Department , however, there are only 195 nation states in the world, so Sawyer imagined five times as many protests as could possibly have occurred. (Video below) She proceeded to advance the... continue reading
While morning and evening newscasts from all three broadcast networks in the last few days have focused on anti-Mormon sentiment within the Republican Party that may hinder Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency, FNC's Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday noted that self-identified Republican voters are substantially more willing to accept a Mormon President compared to Democrats. FNC correspondent Carl Cameron observed that Democrats are "least tolerant" compared to Republicans and independents as he recounted the findings of a Quinnipiac poll: But a Quinnipiac poll of voters taken this year says fully 68 percent of Republicans are comfortable with... continue reading
CBS sided with supporters of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests on Monday's Early Show, bringing on former Democratic Senator Russ Feingold to boost the left-leaning demonstrations, with no Republican and/or conservative critics appearing as guests during the program. Feingold slammed Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain as " un-American " for his critique of the protests. Near the end of her interview of the Wisconsin politician, anchor Erica Hill raised Cain's attack on the continuing anti-corporate rallies: " Republican candidate Herman Cain, weighing in over the weekend. He said that, basically, it's un-American to protest capitalism . Businesses have to make... continue reading
CBS's Bigad Shaban failed to disclose the far-left politics of an "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrator on Monday's Early Show. Jesse LaGreca, a Daily Kos contributor who wrote in August that " Hurricane Irene is like having Christmas early " for Republicans, was identified on-screen as simply a " Wall Street protester ." Shaban also barely devoted any time to critics of the nascent movement. Anchor Erica Hill trumpeted in her teaser for the correspondent's report that " the 'Occupy Wall Street movement' gains steam, as protests pop up in 25 cities across the country, calling for an end to corporate... continue reading
From the editorial page to the news pages to a page of graphic design, the spreading leftist protest known as Occupy Wall Street occupied major swathes of Sunday's New York Times, and the mood was celebratory – at last the left wing (or as the Times puts it, 'populist message') is off the mat and fighting back. In the paper's Sunday Review, journalism professor and veteran leftist Todd Gitlin gushed over the leftist revival down on Wall Street (while attacking the Tea Party) in ' The Left Declares Its Independence .' If some aspects of the Occupy Wall Street protest... continue reading