BiasAlerts

Both NBC and CBS on Monday highlighted footage of Barack Obama at the Lincoln memorial on Saturday as they portrayed a President ready to cut the deficit. In the wake of an averted government shutdown, NBC's Chuck Todd on Today enthused, "Barely pausing to consider the $38.5 billion in budget cuts he and congressional leaders had just agreed to...Mr. Obama is already looking forward" with plans to lower the debt. The Today show then featured footage of the President at the Lincoln Memorial from the weekend. On CBS's Early Show, Nancy Cordes narrated, " The President bounded up the steps... continue reading

Appearing on Monday's NBC Today to discuss the debate over reducing the nation's debt, CNBC host Erin Burnett declared to co-host Matt Lauer: "The problem is our revenue, what the government takes in, in taxes. What you pay every month out of your paycheck is way smaller, in fact, it's only somewhere around $2 trillion a year." After Lauer asked about the relationship between government spending and the debt, Burnett acknowledged: "They are related, but really, to tackle this issue, we do have to tackle entitlements. When you look at Medicare and Social Security, it's 40% of our budget." However,... continue reading

A round-up from over the weekend of journalists denouncing Republican Congressman Paul Ryan for not including a big tax hike in his deficit-reduction plan and discrediting the Tea Party's pressure on House Speaker John Boehner as a "far right" impediment to good government. "He doesn't deal with the revenue side at all," despaired Newsweek veteran Evan Thomas on Inside Washington , arguing: "We cannot survive on 18, his goal is to do 18 percent of GDP as revenue. That's not enough. We're going to have to raise some taxes..." On HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night, Katty... continue reading

Appearing on Sunday's Good Morning America on ABC, This Week host Christiane Amanpour suggested that Republican House Speaker John Boehner's perceived victory in recent budget negotiations with President Obama could be harmful in the long run as it will "give Republicans a lot more wind in their sail" and make it more difficult for both sides to compromise on the larger portions of the budget. Co-anchor Bianna Golodryga set up the line of thinking as she posed the question: "Since both sides avoided the backlash that would have come with the government shut down that could have potentially taught them... continue reading

On Friday's Early Show, CBS's Betty Nguyen used the Statue of Liberty as a live backdrop to play up how " visitors would miss out on the Smithsonian and its 19 museums ... even the National Zoo " if the federal budget impasse leads to a government shutdown. Nguyen also highlighted that the "Cherry Blossom Festival...[is] set to wrap up this weekend, but the parade may not march on if the government shuts down ." Fill-in anchor Rebecca Jarvis introduced the correspondent's report, which ran 10 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour, by outlining that the cost of a... continue reading

Along with other institutions and people who will be impacted by a government shutdown, CNN spotlighted, throughout the day Thursday, the "grave" plight of museums and parks that may be forced to a "screeching halt" in the "height of tourism season." CNN devoted its entire 2 p.m. EDT news hour to the possible government shutdown and what its consequences would be. Anchor Randi Kaye began the 2:15 p.m. EDT segment casting the shutdown as a "grave" threat to the U.S. economy and tourism. "This couldn't come at a worse time," CNN's Kate Bolduan ominously declared during the 10 a.m. EDT... continue reading

In an interview with Democratic Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer on NBC's Today, Meet the Press host David Gregory, filling in for Matt Lauer, asked: "I wonder, as a Democratic leader, whether part of the strategy here is to cast Republicans as extremists and ultimately get a lot more of a winning political hand for the Democrats through this process." With that setup, Hoyer proclaimed: "David, I think the Republicans are doing that to themselves very frankly. I don't think we have to cast them in that light. They're casting themselves in that light with the Tea Party coming to town... continue reading

Good Morning America on Friday continued to demonstrate a fascination with the Kennedy family, highlighting Ted Kennedy and his "critical" role as a "politician and a leader." Co-host George Stephanopoulos introduced the piece by recycling, "They called Ted Kennedy the lion of the Senate." Correspondent Claire Shipman caught up with Vicki Kennedy and recapped the current status of the famous family. Speaking of the late senator, the reporter enthused, " He was obviously so critical as a politician and a leader in our country. He was also a leader of the Kennedy family for so many decades ." The stated... continue reading

Trashing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) as "Dr. Kevorkian," CNN political contributor Paul Begala condemned the congressman's bold proposal to revamp Medicare in his latest op-ed for CNN.com . If the GOP follows Ryan's plan, "like lemmings," Begala wrote that their agenda will end in disaster. He interpreted the plan as nothing less than an attempt "to deny ill and infirm seniors the health care they deserve - while giving oil companies billions in taxpayer subsidies." The "lives and health" of the elderly are now in the hands of the "tender mercies" of the insurance companies. Is this a hint at... continue reading

Prior to this week, President Obama had been so detached from the budget debate that some in his own party have openly criticized him. Obama, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin declared in early March , has "failed to lead this debate or offer a serious proposal for spending and cuts that he would be willing to fight for." Yet when the President chose to parachute into the budget talks earlier this week, most of the mainstream media neglected to remember his long absence, but instead acted like White House stenographers in praising his "adult" and "grown-up" approach - conveying the... continue reading