Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) visited Iowa on Wednesday to help raise money for Governor Terry Branstad (R-IA) and test the 2016 political waters, but the “big three” networks did their best to diminish his visit to the Hawkeye state. Starting with NBC Nightly News on Wednesday night, anchor Brian Williams introduced a story on Christie by playing up how “the New York Times calls the trip a delicate post lane closing political strategy for the governor who has been hurt by the G.W. Bridge scandal back home in New Jersey.” NBC reporter Kelly O’Donnell went on to proclaim that “despite... continue reading
Wednesday's CBS Evening News unsurprisingly spotlighted a recent study that asserted that turbulence will become more common due to climate change during a news brief about the injuries on an international flight that encountered such unsettled air. Anchor Scott Pelley played up how " one British study predicts that this kind of turbulence will increase significantly in the future because of climate change " [MP3 audio available here ; video below ]. By contrast, Brian Williams used his brief on Wednesday's NBC Nightly News to remind his viewers of the safety recommendation flight attendants regularly cite in order to prevent... continue reading
MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday followed up a story on four children who were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza by marveling, "How long can Israel withstand this kind of international pressure?" [MP3 audio here .] While talking to reporter Martin Fletcher, she noted that Hamas had rejected an Israeli cease fire and insisted, the militant group is "getting the emotional and political benefit, if you will, of the horror of the deaths of their population." Reporter Fletcher pushed back, wondering, "...Why didn't Hamas accept the cease-fire? Then there would be no shelling." On Tuesday , MSNBC correspondent... continue reading
After days of censoring any mention of the latest congressional hearings on the ongoing Veteran's Affairs scandal, Wednesday's NBC Today finally found time to report on the topic, providing two news briefs amounting to a paltry 27 seconds of airtime. 27 seconds out of a 4-hour broadcast. [ Listen to the audio ] By contrast, the network morning show devoted a full 3-minute story to Yankee captain Derek Jeter playing his final MLB Allstar Game Tuesday night. That's over six times the amount of coverage given to the VA developments. At least Today mentioned the continuing hearings on Wednesday, with... continue reading
On Wednesday’s New Day on CNN, co-host Chris Cuomo invited on Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu and proceeded to accuse him of misinformation, “blowing” the crisis of illegal immigration “out of proportion,” distracting his community “about the plan from Obama” and “villainizing these kids” by wondering if some were members of drug gangs. In the nearly 12-minute interview, Cuomo continued to stand against anyone who disagreed with his own personal agenda on immigration, which apparently includes anyone who raises questions to the federal government about the status of illegal immigrant children in the United States. Cuomo’s supposed evidence against... continue reading
On Wednesday, all three network morning shows eagerly promoted Hillary Clinton's friendly chat with Jon Stewart on Tuesday's Daily Show . On NBC's Today , co-host Savannah Guthrie praised Stewart for finding a "creative way" of pleading for Clinton to announce her 2016 presidential bid. Following a clip of the softball exchange, Guthrie declared: "Well played, Jon Stewart, well played." [ Listen to the audio ] On CBS This Morning , fill-in co-host Margaret Brennan teased the story by portraying Stewart's show as a hostile environment for Clinton: "Hillary Clinton enters the lion's den with Jon Stewart. Can a fake... continue reading
‘Big Three’ Continue to Champion Jose Antonio Vargas: ‘America’s Most Famous Undocumented Immigrant’
Jose Antonio Vargas, a 31-year-old illegal immigrant, was detained by border patrol agents while trying to board a plane from McAllen, Texas without proper documentation. Following his arrest, the “big three” networks did their best to promote his cause on their Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning broadcasts. ABC’s Good Morning America did the most to cheerlead for Vargas, with reporter Jim Avila declaring him “America’s most famous undocumented immigrant” without ever referring to him as an illegal immigrant. To their credit, both CBS This Morning and NBC’s Today correctly labeled Vargas as “illegally” living in the United States. All three... continue reading
Attorney General Eric Holder spoke with ABC’s Pierre Thomas over the weekend and made highly controversial comments in which he claimed that the lack of support for President Obama’s policies was a result of “racial animus.” Despite the highly charged nature of Holder’s statement, none of the “big three” networks have yet to pick up on the story. During the interview, Holder insisted that "there's a certain level of vehemence, it seems to me, that's directed at me [and] directed at the president,” Holder said. “You know, people talking about taking their country back. … There's a certain racial component... continue reading
On Monday night, the House Veterans Affairs Committee held a highly contentious hearing featuring Allison Hickey, chief of the VA’s benefits division and VA whistleblower Kristen Ruell. Despite the new details in the VA scandal, NBC has yet to acknowledge the hearings’ existence on any of its morning or evening news broadcasts. The evening of Tuesday, July 15 saw only the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley cover the VA scandal, with both ABC’s World News with Diane Sawye r and NBC Nightly News ignoring the congressional hearing. During their Tuesday morning newscasts , ABC’s Good Morning America gave the... continue reading
On Tuesday morning, NBC’s Today refused to cover the latest news in the Veterans Affairs scandal as the House Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony Monday night from additional whistle-blowers who faced punishment from superiors for identifying allegedly manipulated response times for veterans who filed benefit and disability claims. Coverage of the latest news saw only two minutes and 26 seconds of air time total with only 23 seconds of that from ABC’s Good Morning America . Meanwhile, CBS This Morning spent two minutes and three seconds on the story during the 7:00 a.m. hour. [MP3 audio here ] The move... continue reading