On Wednesday, August 20, CBS This Morning promoted a new ad campaign by the National Rifle Association “going after former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg” a major gun control advocate. During the news brief, CBS’s Ben Tracy played up how one ad is “getting personal. An NRA official called him an arrogant hypocrite who thinks knows what is best for people and their lives.” While the CBS reporter made sure to play up how the NRA was supposedly “getting personal”, he ignored his own network’s repeated promotion of Bloomberg’s liberal agenda. In the brief, Tracy highlighted how “the NRA... continue reading
After a long-running "bromance" between weatherman Al Roker and Vice President Joe Biden, the hosts of Wednesday's NBC Today arranged a surprise live appearance from Biden to wish Roker a happy 60th birthday. After Natalie Morales introduced the veep, sitting in a studio in Washington D.C., Roker gushed: "Oh, my gosh. Mr. Vice President!...Oh my gosh, this is such an honor." [ Listen to the audio ] Following the birthday wishes, Roker fawned over Biden: "Look, I have been with you on a couple of stories and you make the Ever-Ready Bunny [sic] seem like a slacker. You are constantly... continue reading
On Tuesday, former MSNBC host Cenk Uygur uttered some of the wackiest media analysis you’ll ever hear when, on his Youtube show , he declared: “In American media conservatives dominated almost exclusively before Keith Olbermann turned MSNBC a more progressive direction.” But then actor Russell Brand , determined not to be upstaged by The Young Turks host, upped the crazy ante as he proclaimed that MSNBC is “extremely conservative.” The following exchange was aired on the August 19 edition of The Young Turks : CENK UYGUR: In American media conservatives dominated almost exclusively before Keith Olbermann turned MSNBC in a... continue reading
According to the hosts of CBS This Morning , an angry, liberal heckler fits the definition of "a reporter." The journalists on Wednesday played footage of a protester sparring with Chris Christie over his use of Bruce Springsteen music at rallies. New Jersey resident Sandra Booket yelled, "I thought I heard that Bruce asked that none of his music was played at your events because he didn't believe in your politics." Christie retorted, "No, you're wrong in, fact, I saw Bruce just a week and a half ago." He added, "If you're going to be cute, we should get the... continue reading
On Tuesday, August 19, Governor Jay Nixon (D-Mo.) called for the “vigorous prosecution” of Darren Wilson, the Missouri police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown last week. Despite the highly charged rhetoric by the state’s Democratic governor, NBC’s Today was the only network morning show to acknowledge Nixon’s comments, giving it a mere 41 seconds on its Wednesday morning broadcast. ABC and CBS’s morning shows ignored the governor’s contentious comments. All three networks failed to cover Governor Nixon’s comments on their Tuesday evening newscasts. Today co-anchor Matt Lauer noted how “a little earlier this morning we spoke to sergeant... continue reading
On Tuesday night, both the CBS and NBC evening newscasts did their best to play up Texas Governor Rick Perry’s appearance at an Austin courthouse following his indictment on corruption charges. The Texas Republican was indicted after vetoing funding for the state’s Public Integrity Unit after its leader, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, refused to resign following her DWI arrest. The CBS and NBC’s evening news anchors highlighted Perry being photographed for his mugshot with NBC’s Brian Williams proclaiming that Perry was “fingerprinted, had his mugshot taken. A humiliating experience for a once and potentially future presidential candidate.” On... continue reading
On Tuesday's This Hour , Michaela Pereira endorsed guest L. Z. Granderson's take on the media's extensive coverage of the ongoing turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown. The liberal commentator pointed out that "this past weekend, we had over 30 people shot – seven of them died – in the neighborhoods in Chicago – many of them black and brown. None of that was covered ." [MP3 audio available here ; video below ] Pereira replied to Granderson by asserting that " because of Ferguson, Chicago is sort of taking a back... continue reading
After deluging Americans with two days of heavy coverage of Rick Perry's indictment, the network morning shows on Tuesday eased up. Only CBS This Morning offered a story on the Republican's vigorous defense. Reporter Jan Crawford noted that growing outrage against the indictment includes liberals: "Among those Democrats is President Obama's former adviser David Axelrod, who suggested the indictment was 'pretty sketchy' in a tweet over the weekend." [ MP3 audio here .] Crawford also made time for two clips of conservative Ben Ginsberg, a lawyer representing Perry. He railed, "This is an outlandish prosecution. I mean, it will never,... continue reading
One of the editorials in Tuesday’s New York Times took on the subject of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s indictment by a Travis County, Texas grand jury on charges for threatening to veto funding for a public integrity unit led by the Travis County district attorney who had been convicted of drunk driving. While the ultra-liberal newspaper used the opportunity to excoriate Perry (R) for being “one of the least thoughtful and most damaging state leaders in America,” it sided with Perry on this particular matter against what “appears to be the product of an overzealous prosecution.” The editorial began on... continue reading
Filling in as host of NBC's August 17 Meet the Press , Andrea Mitchell looked back at departing moderator David Gregory's years anchoring the broadcast. The tribute followed Thursday's announcement that Gregory was being replaced by political director Chuck Todd and leaving the network. The switch marked the end of a tenure in which Gregory behaved more like a Democratic Party spokesman than an objective news anchor. Perhaps that contributed to the faltering ratings of the Sunday talk show on his watch. Unlike his predecessor, the late Tim Russert, Gregory failed to be the tough-but-fair newsman who grilled all guests... continue reading