1. Couric Spends More Time on 'Alex the Parrot' Than Hsu's Money Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, as the New York Times revealed Tuesday, may be concerned about how much evening news program coverage fugitive donor/fundraiser Norman Hsu attracts, but they had nothing to worry about Tuesday night. ABC didn't utter a word about the campaign's decision to refund the largest amount ever, $850,000 solicited by Hsu, yet anchor Charles Gibson found time to note how the New England Patriots broke an NFL rule by videotaping New York Jets coaches giving signals, while CBS's Katie Couric gave Hsu barely 20 seconds... continue reading
1. As More Think 'Surge' Working, CBS's Interest in Its Poll Falls On the day of the long-anticipated report from General David Petraeus on the "surge," the CBS Evening News ignored how its latest poll discovered the third straight month of an increase in the percent of Americans who believe the surge has "made things better" in Iraq. As the percentage has gone up, CBS's interest in the result has gone down. In July, anchor Katie Couric led with how only 19 percent thought the surge was "making things better" and a month later, in August, when that number jumped... continue reading
1. Osama bin Laden Cites ABC Story in Denouncing U.S. Role in Iraq In an ABC News Special Report shortly before 3:30pm EDT on Friday, Brian Ross revealed that in a new video, Osama bin Laden "even refers to a broadcast on ABC News on an American soldier in Iraq complaining about the war." Anchor Elizabeth Vargas explained: "Seems to be referring to that particular story that was run on July 16th of this summer by our Nick Watt in Baghdad." On Friday's World News, Ross again noted how bin Laden cited the complaining soldier in ABC's story, and Ross... continue reading
1. NBC, ABC Champion Oprah's 'Magic' = Obama's 'Opportunity to Win' Two days before Oprah Winfrey is to host a celebrity-packed fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, NBC's Andrea Mitchell championed her potential ability to "turn her magic into votes for Barack Obama" and ABC's David Wright marveled: "Imagine the power of Oprah in an Obama campaign ad." In a soundbite, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile gushed that "O plus O equals opportunity for Barack Obama to win in 2008." On Thursday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams justified his show's story by asserting that Winfrey's "support for him [Obama]... continue reading
1. Keane Rebukes Zakaria Who Charged Army 'Presided Over' Cleansing Pillars of the news media and foreign policy establishment were scolded Wednesday night on ABC by Jack Keane, a retired four-star General and former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, who asserted both are living "in the past" in their pessimistic warnings about Iraq. Fareed Zakaria, Editor of Newsweek International, had asserted that "the American Army has presided over the largest ethnic cleansing in the world since the Balkans." For World News, anchor Charles Gibson gathered Zakaria, Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Keane to... continue reading
1. ABC: 'Everyone Is Concerned' About 'Getting the Hell Out of Iraq' The issues of interest to Iowa caucus-voters "tend to be the same issues that everyone is concerned about around the country," ABC's Kate Snow maintained Tuesday night, a contention she illustrated by citing "one voter" who recited to her a litany of liberal agenda topics: "She's worried about health care, Social Security and...'getting the Hell out of Iraq.'" Snow's conclusion from Des Moines followed a World News piece from Jake Tapper in New Hampshire where he similarly found getting out of Iraq is the most important issue, at... continue reading
1. ABC Recycles Story Blaming Global Warming for Hurricane Intensity History seemed to repeat itself on Monday's World News, as substitute ABC anchor Dan Harris introduced a story from John Berman that featured the same soundbites from a 2005 ABC story, both of which highlighted the view that global warming is responsible for an increase in the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes. Not only did the same Harris/Berman team file a similar story over two years ago on the July 9, 2005 World News Saturday, but Monday's report also recycled soundbites of two scientists from the earlier story... continue reading
1. To Lauer's Dismay, DeLay Condemns Media's Scandal Double Standard Thursday morning on NBC's Today show, Tom DeLay blasted Matt Lauer for the "amazing" double standard in pouncing on GOP scandals while ignoring Democratic ones and, two days after Today convicted conservatives of hypocrisy over Larry Craig, Ann Curry had the gall to fret about "a rush to judgment" on him. After Lauer recited a list of Republican scandals, the former House Majority Leader exclaimed: "The double standard in the media is amazing. The feeding frenzy, the sharks in the water that's going on right now because of a Republican... continue reading
1. On Hardball: Larry Craig a 'Moral Insult' to Katrina Victims On the Wednesday night edition of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews and David Shuster continued to use the Larry Craig matter to bury the GOP and while Matthews declared "the downfall of" Bush's "party" was "driven by every movement of the body politic" it was his colleague Shuster who outdid him when, after running down a litany of GOP troubles ranging from Craig to the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, charged: "It all adds moral insult to the injuries being suffered today by the victims of Hurricane Katrina." Shuster also managed... continue reading
1. NBC: Craig a 'Conservative Crisis,' Another 'Right Wing' Scandal The NBC and ABC morning shows on Tuesday opened by using the Senator Larry Craig matter to tar conservatives and Republicans as NBC's Today show put "Conservative Crisis" on screen as Matt Lauer opened by asking, "Can the right wing withstand yet another scandal involving one of its own?" and Ann Curry demanded: "How does this specter of hypocrisy affect the party?" With "Party Problems" on screen under video of Craig, Bill Weir, fill-in co-host of ABC's Good Morning America, asked: "Is the GOP losing its grip?" Interviewing Joe Scarborough,... continue reading