Tuesday's Media Reality Check documenting the broadcast networks' incredible double standard on protests - how reporters zeroed in on inflammatory signs to try and discredit the Tea Party while ignoring similar or worse signs at the left-wing union protests in Wisconsin - garnered national media attention. On Tuesday evening, nationally-syndicated radio host Mark Levin cited the study as proving how the media " are a disgrace, absolute disgrace. You did everything you could to trash the Tea Party movement, and you do everything you can right now to protect the vulgarity and poison of the Left and the thugs in... continue reading
MSNBC anchors, such as Chris Matthews, often rail about a supposed failure by conservatives and Republicans to denounce birthers from their ranks. Yet, host Contessa Brewer interviewed 9/11 truther (and seller of birther merchandise) Alex Jones on Friday, allowing him to hype his conspiracy website three times. Jones appeared on MSNBC's News Live to recount his gossip-filled interview with actor and friend Charlie Sheen. So desperate for the latest news on the unpredictable celebrity, Brewer blandly introduced, "Sheen was speaking with Alex Jones. He's the host of his own nationally syndicated radio show." At no time did she hint that... continue reading
A couple of loaded ideological labels made it into Wednesday's New York Times. On the first page of the National section, Sabrina Tavernise and A.G. Sulzberger (son of Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.) collaborated on the latest news from Wisconsin: " Thousands March on Capitols as Union Turmoil Spreads ." But Republicans could also gain, said Gene Beaupre, a political science professor at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Taking a cost-cutting position against unions is part of the mantra for far-right groups like the Tea Party , and not necessarily unpopular. Four pages deeper was a hostile profile of Virginia's crusading... continue reading
ABC's The View on Thursday neglected one side of the abortion debate by bringing on two staunch supporters of Planned Parenthood in Congress without any other guests arguing the pro-life side. As the two championed giving tax money to the abortion provider, Barbara Walters herself defended the organization, while Whoopi Goldberg assisted in spreading a falsehood about "federal dollars" for abortion (audio clips available here ). The show's co-hosts brought on Representatives Gwen Moore and Jackie Speier, two of the current "pro-choice" heroes in Congress supporting Planned Parenthood funding, near the end of their 11 am Eastern hour program to... continue reading
According to Nightline anchors Terry Moran and Bill Weir, new Republican Senator Rand Paul is "radical," "controversial" and longs to take a chainsaw to the Department of Education. Using hyperbolic language, Weir profiled Paul for Wednesday's program. Co-anchor Moran previewed the segment by attempting to isolate the Kentucky politician: "Up next, even the most conservative Republicans balk at his proposals for slashing government." As a cartoon graphic of a crazed-looking Paul appeared onscreen wielding a chainsaw, Weir hyperventilated, "So, while the President argues for a budget scalpel, Rand Paul would use a chainsaw, shutting down the Departments of Energy and... continue reading
At the top of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge touted President Obama's statement on the violence in Libya: "...making his first public statements on the situation there with some very strong words." However, moments after Obama's Wednesday comments, liberal MSNBC host Chris Matthews admitted: "...that was pretty tame language given the horror that's going on in Tripoli." On Thursday, Early Show co-host Erica Hill spoke with correspondent Mandy Clark, who was reporting from Libya, and asked about the impact of Obama's words on the crisis: "...he was saying the suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and unacceptable. How much... continue reading
On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, correspondent Michael Isikoff claimed a prank phone call on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker "provided his critics with evidence that his real motivation is what they've been saying all along, to crush public unions." On Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Erica Hill declared the "embarrassing" call revealed Walker's "plan for putting pressure on the big unions." Isikoff suggested that Walker's private phone conversation with Ian Murphy of the left-wing Buffalo Beast website (who was pretending to be billionaire donor David Koch) ran counter to the Wisconsin Governor's public statements on his budget-cutting proposal: "Publicly, Governor Scott... continue reading
Wednesday's nightly newscasts and Thursday's morning shows completely ignored video of a Massachusetts congressman exhorting union protesters in Wisconsin to " get a little bloody " in the fight against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Today and CBS's Early Show all skipped the extreme rhetoric by Democratic Representative Michael Capuano . Fox News on Wednesday and Thursday did cover the remarks. [MP3 audio here .] Capuano eventually apologized for the remarks he made on Monday. His original statement: "I'm proud to be here with people who understand that it's more than just sending an email to... continue reading
Tuesday night's episode of The Good Wife on CBS gave prime time legitimacy to the presumption the Tea Party is racist as a lawyer in a courtroom tried to discredit an expert witness ( Gary Cole as Sarah Palin supporter "Kurt McVeigh") who testified against a since-exonerated black defendant, by demanding he admit he's "a member of the Tea Party." The lawyer asserts "it is our contention that my client's prosecution was racist," citing McVeigh's "membership in a racist organization," namely the Tea Party. To illustrate, the program created a photo taken at "a Tea Party rally in Milwaukee last... continue reading
Human Rights Watch released a hardly comprehensive report, one "based on interviews with 64 parents across the country," which complained: "Just three countries definitively offer no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave: Papua New Guinea, Swaziland - and the United States." Picking up on that, Diane Sawyer announced on Wednesday's World News: And now, family leave. A new report from Human Rights Watch found 178 nations guarantee paid leave for new mothers and many new fathers - as much as 16 months in Sweden. So where does America fall? At the bottom of the list with Swaziland and New Guinea... continue reading