At the top of Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer warned: "Record flooding in the wake of Irene leading to new evacuations and dramatic rescues across the Northeast....As FEMA's disaster fund runs dangerously low." Moments later he announced the agency was "running into a serious money crunch because of Irene and in-fighting in Washington." In a later report, correspondent Tom Costello singled out those responsible for the "infighting": "You can blame politics and the new budget realities. The Republican-controlled House already voted to give FEMA another $1 billion this fiscal year, but that increase is tied to budget cuts elsewhere... continue reading
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough shifted into psychic mode on Wednesday, flat-out declaring, " Of course, [Rick Perry] can't get elected in the general election. He can't ." The Morning Joe host derided the GOP presidential candidate, even predicting what states Perry would lose and by how much. Scarborough totally dismissed the Texas governor's chances, ripping, "He can get elected in the Republican primary, but he can't get elected in the general election. The ex-Congressman turned cable host was very specific: "...He can't carry Ohio. He can't carry Pennsylvania." [MP3 audio here .] Despite Perry not even having won the nomination and... continue reading
On Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer began a hostile interview with Dick Cheney by running through various derisive labels for the former Vice President: 'You've been called 'controversial' and 'divisive.' Some people have called you the most divisive political figure in this country in a century.' Cheney quipped: 'You left out Darth Vader.' Later, Lauer interrogated Cheney on interrogation tactics used on terror suspects: 'If an American citizen were to be taken into captivity in Iran, for example, and the government of Iran....Would it be okay for the Iranian government to waterboard that American citizen?' When Cheney rejected such... continue reading
In a Thursday NPR interview, CNN's openly-gay anchor Don Lemon lumped discrimination against gays and lesbians in with atrocities committed in Libya. When asked why audiences should be interested in gay and lesbian issues, Lemon answered that "people are glued to what's happening in Libya, because it affects us. Any atrocity that's committed against one person affects us all and we are becoming more of one society, of a global society." Lemon was attending a four-day event by the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association, and was a keynote speaker there along with NBC's Ann Curry. He said of his... continue reading
In the days leading up to Hurricane Irene's march through the Northeast, journalists repeatedly suggested that the storm was yet more evidence of climate change. "The scale of Hurricane Irene, which could cause more extensive damage along the Eastern Seaboard than any storm in decades, is reviving an old question: are hurricanes getting worse because of human-induced climate change?" asked the New York Times' Justin Gillis in his August 28 piece . HLN guest host Don Lemon asked scientist Bill Nye on Wednesday if the storm was proof of climate change. Nye answered that it was "consistent with all the... continue reading
CNN anchor Kyra Phillips asked her "Political Buzz" panel Monday if GOP candidates Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann are "ready for the big office" given their unusual views. "Ron Paul saying that we should get rid of FEMA. Michele Bachmann says the storm and earthquake are signs from God," stated Phillips. "Okay guys, are these candidates ready for the big office?" [Video below.] Bachmann defended her comments, made over the weekend at a campaign appearance in Florida, that God was using the hurricane and earthquake to get the attention of politicians in Washington. The congresswoman's press secretary told TalkingPointsMemo that... continue reading
Never let a natural disaster go to waste. In August 2010, New York Times environmental reporter Justin Gillis reacted to that summer's heat waves and flooding with ' In Weather Chaos, a Case for Global Warming ' on the front page of the Times. So it was no surprise he took advantage of Hurricane Irene in Sunday's edition with ' Seeing Irene as Harbinger of a Change in Climate .' Gillis's latest story, admittedly written when Irene looked more dangerous than it turned out to be, was also guilty of disaster hype. The scale of Hurricane Irene, which could cause... continue reading
CBS's Bill Plante inserted the oft-repeated media spin about the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina into his report on Monday's Early Show on politicians' handling of hurricanes. Plante ignored the poor handling of Katrina at the state and local levels, spotlighting instead how " the stranded and homeless wandered the streets of New Orleans " as Bush flew overhead. But three days earlier, CBS brought on disgraced former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin as an " expert " on hurricane preparation. Fill-in anchor Jeff Glor stated in his introduction for the correspondent's report that "Irene was not as bad... continue reading
Newsweek journalist Dan Stone appeared on MSNBC's News Live, Monday, to offer a bizarre complaint about Dick Cheney's new memoir. He lamented, " This book is very focused on rehashing. It's very based on the past, from what I can tell ." Responding to a question about whether the book could cause problems for Obama, the White House correspondent added, "Not many people are taking it to look forward." Of course, it would be hard to write a memoir on one's life and not look backward. [MP3 audio here .] Stone parroted the anti-Cheney sentiments that have arisen from the... continue reading
On Monday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer introduced a panel discussion on whether media coverage of Hurricane Irene was overdone by proclaiming: "Was this storm over-hyped? In some ways, it's a one-sentence argument, this storm killed more than 20 people and 4 million people are without power, and clearly there's misery and destruction. How could it have been over-hyped?" Weatherman Al Roker completely dismissed the notion: "You look at the predictions, you look at the track, which was right on the money. And it is a Category 3 storm. There is no – there's no argument here....The preparations – everything... continue reading