BiasAlerts

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on all three morning shows, Wednesday, but only Meredith Vieira on the Today show seemed to assume a second term for Clinton's boss, Barack Obama. After questioning how long she'd stay in the job, the NBC co-anchor wondered, "Do we expect any time soon that you are planning to retire like defense Secretary Gates?... How about the second term?" On CBS's Early Show, Erica Hill also asked Clinton about her future plans, but simply noted that the Secretary of State planned on staying "at least through this first term." Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos,... continue reading

On Saturday, both ABC and NBC ran stories fretting over the Crossroads of the West Gun Show that was held over the weekend in Tucson, Arizona. On ABC, at one point, correspondent David Wright seemed surprised that the large number of people showing up at the event were customers instead of protesters. After relaying that some members of Congress want more gun control laws and cautioning viewers that they should not "hold your breath for them to pass," he continued: "If you wonder why, just check out the crowd at today's gun show. These aren't protesters, they're customers." Over on... continue reading

Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday used ominous Democratic talking points and pressed Newt Gingrich as to whether Republicans are willing to put uninsured Americans at "risk" by repealing ObamaCare. The former Democratic operative turned journalist also offered this complaint about GOP efforts to overturn the 2010 health care law: "This repeal is likely to pass the House tomorrow. But it's not going anywhere in the Senate. So, what's gained?" Citing a new study by the Department of Health and Human Services, Stephanopoulos warned, " If President Obama's reform is repealed, they say that's going to put these people... continue reading

On Tuesday's CBS Early Show, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on Sarah Palin's first interview since the Tucson shooting: "She accused the Left and the news media of trying to destroy her message, trying to destroy her, said she was being accused of being an accessory to murder." Cordes forgot to mention her role in furthering those accusations against the former Alaska governor. After playing a clip of Palin's Monday interview on Fox News' Hannity, Cordes mentioned: "The early response I'm hearing from some on the Left about this interview is, 'Look we never said she was an accessory to... continue reading

Over a span of five days and three programs, ABC donated 24 minutes of coverage to Ron Reagan's new book and the allegations that his father had symptoms of Alzheimer's while being President. On Tuesday, he appeared on Good Morning America for almost eight minutes of promotional coverage. Guest co-host Elizabeth Vargas teased the segment by proclaiming, "Coming up in just a moment, new revelations about President Reagan and when he developed Alzheimer's ." Wouldn't "allegations" have been the fair way to describe the claims of Ronald Reagan's liberal son? In addition to appearing on Tuesday's GMA, the book was... continue reading

Former dean of the White House press corps Helen Thomas delivered some candid remarks Monday on CNN's Situation Room. Thomas, who last year retired from Hearst for telling Israelis to "get the hell out of Palestine" and go back to their former lands, railed against what she viewed as America unequivocally protecting Israel. On Friday the Society of Professional Journalists announced that, in light of that controversy, it would "retire" the lifetime achievement award that bears her name. "I could call President Obama anything in the book, and no one would say anything. You touch one thing about Israel and... continue reading

"The country is pretty unified behind the idea that President Obama found the right words, the right tone at the right time," ABC's George Stephanopoulos announced Monday night in touting how a new ABC News/Washington Post poll found "78 percent approve of how he handled" the Tucson shooting, in contrast to Sarah Palin, "not so much, only 30 percent approve of her response." When Stephanopoulos noted "the support for stricter gun control has dropped over the last few years," anchor Diane Sawyer expressed astonishment: "Stricter has dropped?" Instead of detailing that trend, Stephanopoulos concentrated on some specific policies with overwhelming... continue reading

MSNBC's Chris Matthews honored Martin Luther King Jr. Day by accusing white Republicans of being afraid of black people. During a Monday night Hardball special called "Obama's America," Matthews insultingly asked former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele if, at GOP conventions, black-Americans at those events were told not to "bunch up" because "you'll scare these people" and added: "Did you fear that if you got together with some other African-Americans these white guys might get scared of you?" Steele, who was the only Republican on the panel, seemed shocked by the question as he responded to Matthews: "No! What... continue reading

The front page of Sunday's New York Times featured a very long profile of Tucson shooter Jared Loughner reported by Jo Becker, Serge Kovaleski, Michael Luo, and Dan Barry, and written by Barry, " Looking Behind the Mug-Shot Grin ." Even a week later, with Loughner's apolitical insanity long made clear, the Times can't shake the false assumption that Loughner was motivated by extreme "right-wing" politics. Mr. Loughner's spellbinding mug shot - that bald head, that bright-eyed gaze, that smile - yields no answer to why, why, why, why, the aching question cried out in a subdued Tucson synagogue last... continue reading

Appearing on MSNBC, Monday, to promote his new special on Barack Obama, Chris Matthews attacked "older white people" for still holding bigoted feelings against the first African American President. Lavishing praise on younger Americans, he added, "And I think that's a generalization and I'll stick with it. I think younger people do not see race as an obstacle." He then touted the "non-judgmental" attitude of Obama voters, fawning, "In fact, they say [race is] irrelevant and don't even notice it, whereas older people notice it all the time." If "older white people" are focused on race, Matthews could certainly be... continue reading