Catching up on an item from last Thursday's CBS Evening News, after recounting for the second time the case of Philadelphia abortion Dr. Kermit Gosnell's horrific practice, anchor Katie Couric introduced a piece devoted to upcoming political fights over abortion. During the report, opponents of abortion were twice labeled as "conservatives," while the word "liberals" was never used to refer to advocates of abortion rights. The report also finally mentioned - briefly - the March for Life pro-life rally from earlier in the week in the nation's capital. As the report reiterated the case of Dr. Gosnell, the argument on... continue reading
After ABC's World News ignored the March for Life pro-life event last week, the January 30 World News Sunday ran a report highlighting complaints by gay rights activists over Chick-fil-A - a family-owned restaurant known for its Christian-based social advocacy - supplying food to a socially conservative group in Pennsylvania that promoted a ban on same-sex marriage in the state that was enacted in 1996. The piece, by correspondent Steve Osunsami, featured soundbites from four different people who had words of disapproval for Chick-fil-A - including a member of the liberal Human Rights Campaign - but Osunsami did not include... continue reading
On Friday's World News, and again on Saturday morning's Good Morning America, ABC ran reports highlighting hedge fund manager John Paulson's "jaw-dropping" 2010 income from capital gains, fretting that he will not pay as high a tax rate as many regular income earners, referring to Paulson's lower tax rate as a "loophole" or a "tax break." GMA co-anchor Dan Harris even referred to complaints of "extreme unfairness." Both reports ignored the historical evidence - recounted below - that raising the capital gains tax leads to revenue losses for the government, and instead concentrated on the complaints of those who want... continue reading
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos and Jake Tapper on Friday addressed the fact that Barack Obama's New press secretary, Jay Carney, is the husband of ABC reporter Claire Shipman. Stephanopoulos, discussing the couple, declared, "He and Claire actually appeared many times on This Week when I was the anchor. And, of course, Claire will now not be covering the White House . Stephanopoulos, it should be noted, underwent the reverse career course of Carney. The GMA co-anchor began as a Democratic operative and then became a journalist. (Carney wrote for Time magazine before going to work for Vice President Joe... continue reading
Reporting on the creation of a Senate Tea Party Caucus on Thursday's CBS Evening News, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes declared that while "Conservative crusader Jim Demint, and the freshmen Senators he worked to elect, planted their Tea Party flag," the movement's "assertiveness has caused some heartburn for GOP leaders." As evidence of the supposed indigestion, Cordes cited favorite media targets, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: "Bachmann insisted on delivering a separate Tea Party response to the State of the Union....Tea Party enthusiast Sarah Palin invoked a vulgar acronym to describe the President's speech." Cordes was... continue reading
NBC's Today show never covered Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen comparing Republicans to Nazis, but on Friday co-anchor Meredith Vieira determined Sarah Palin's mocking of Barack Obama's Winning the Future slogan as the precise moment when the new era of "civility" in Washington, came to an end. After Vieira opened this morning's show announcing: "End of civility? Sarah Palin takes a shot at President Obama's call for winning the future...is the new tone of togetherness in Washington already over?" she brought on MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell to chastise Palin and Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann: "[Palin] really struggles with that sounding presidential thing... continue reading
In picking Mark Whitaker, Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News, as its new Executive Vice President and Managing Editor ( TVNewser post ), CNN has selected someone with a liberal outlook who presumes not raising taxes can be blamed for an increase in the deficit. On election night last year, Whitaker channeled a liberal argument in favor of hiking taxes, declaring during live NBC News coverage: "The fact is right now the Republican numbers do not add up" since House Republicans want to roll back "spending to 2008 levels, which gets you about a $100 billion, but extending all the... continue reading
Good Morning America's Robin Roberts conducted yet another fawning interview with Michelle Obama on Friday, offering 11 minutes and two segments to such important topics as whether the First Lady will attend Prince William's wedding. Not exactly grilling Mrs. Obama, the co-anchor mused, " We understand that Prince William and Kate, they sent out the save the date kind of notifications. Have you received yours? ...Would you like to attend the wedding?" In comparison, when Roberts interviewed Laura Bush on October 22, 2007 , she quoted Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "Desmond Tutu went even farther, saying the generosity of Americans, that's... continue reading
At the top of Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge cheered President Obama's recent Q & A on YouTube: "Obama opens up. The President answers YouTube questions on everything from the war in Afghanistan to the Super Bowl. We'll go live to the White House for the latest on his version of the 'Fireside Chat.'" While Frankin Roosevelt used his famous radio 'Fireside Chats' to keep the American people informed on public policy during the Great Depression, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante touted how with Obama, "the questions were less political and more personal. Like, what's he giving... continue reading
The White House on Thursday named Jay Carney, the husband of ABC News reporter Claire Shipman, to be the new White House Press secretary. Carney is also an ex-journalist, formerly Washington Bureau Chief for Time magazine before joining Vice President Joe Biden's staff at the start of the new administration. ( Revolving Door list.) Will this appointment prove to be a conflict of interest for Shipman? Will she continue to report on the Obama administration? Shipman whose title is senior national correspondent, often covers political stories and has a reputation as an activist liberal. In 2008, she hailed Barack Obama,... continue reading