1. NBC's Today Finds Hillary's 'Evil' Men: Starr, Gingrich and W Monday's Today show pondered if Hillary Clinton was referring to Bill as one of the "evil men" she had much experience with -- when to audience jitters at an Iowa event over the weekend she repeated a question from an audience member: "And what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?" -- but never got around to fully answering the question. Well, NBC's Andrea Mitchell, on Tuesday's Today, attempted to answer the question and found, via a Clinton surrogate, the "evil men" Hillary was... continue reading
1. Schieffer Touts 'Hundreds of Thousands' of Anti-War Protesters Though all other major news outlets, including his own network's Saturday evening newscast, pegged the number of people who attended Saturday's anti-Iraq war protest rally in Washington, DC as in the "tens of thousands," CBS's Bob Schieffer led Sunday's Face the Nation by endorsing the exaggerated attendance claims of self-interested organizers as he reminisced about the good old days of Vietnam protests. "Yesterday in Washington," he recalled, "was like a day from yesteryear -- the war that to many seems long ago and far away: the war in Vietnam. Yesterday, hundreds... continue reading
1. CNN's Lou Dobbs Refuses to Reject Idea of Impeaching Bush CNN anchor Lou Dobbs appeared with the ladies on ABC's The View on Thursday to deliver some rather liberal opinions. He stumped for a minimum wage increase, railed against the influence big corporations have on politics, and pushed for universal health care. But the ABC co-hosts did not even touch illegal immigration, the one issue where Lou Dobbs is famously conservative. Rosie O'Donnell asked the question she has been obsessing on lately: "Mr Dobbs, do you think that some Senator for principle, if not for follow through, should call... continue reading
1. Bush's 'Omission' of Katrina/Gulf Coast Treated as Scandalous A night after CNN anchors fretted about how Katrina and the recovering Gulf region were "thunderously missing" from President Bush's State of the Union address, CBS and NBC picked up the cause. CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric regretted on Wednesday night how "there was not one mention of Katrina, though the suffering and hardship continue." Noting that "there are still 13,000 people living in FEMA trailers," Couric asserted: "Some who lost everything are asking, 'What about us?'" Reporter Armen Keteyian, a veteran of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, featured... continue reading
1. ABC: Bush Full of 'Sad Echoes' of What He's Said 'So Many Times' A few minutes after President George W. Bush finished his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, ABC News White House reporter Martha Raddatz scolded him for repeating "sad echoes" of things he's said "so many times in the past." As if that makes Bush's warnings, about the threat from Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda or how terrorists could come to the U.S. if we lose in Iraq, any less of a realistic threat. Raddatz lectured: "I thought tonight there was some sad echoes... continue reading
1. Network Anchors Supply Warm Welcome for Candidate Hillary Clinton Senator Hillary Clinton sat for interviews aired Monday night on all three broadcast network evening newscasts to promote her presidential candidacy, though only ABC's World News got her live. CBS's Katie Couric first pushed her from the left: "You're against sending additional troops to Iraq, and according to our latest poll, 66 percent of Americans agree with you. So why not vote to cut off funding so the President can't carry out this policy?" The "Couric & Co." blog features a picture of Senator Clinton and Katie Couric, both smiling,... continue reading
1. With Another Candidate, Stephanopoulos Calls for Gas Tax Hike Another Democratic presidential candidate, another chance for ABC's George Stephanopoulos to push for higher taxes on energy. On Sunday's This Week, when just-announced candidate Bill Richardson outlined how his energy policy would be based on conservation and improved technology, listing how "it's going to take more efficient air conditioning, it's going to take green buildings, it's going to take fuel-efficient vehicles," Stephanopoulos jumped in: "Higher gas taxes?" The Governor of New Mexico rejected the plea from Stephanopoulos: "No, you don't have to do it with taxes. You need a conservation... continue reading
1. Gibson Toasts House Democrats for Finishing 100 Hour Agenda in 42 Exactly two weeks after ABC anchor Charles Gibson trumpeted how video of Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the House floor holding a baby while she talked to colleagues demonstrated "the ultimate in multitasking: Taking care of the children and the country," he celebrated how House Democrats "completed their scheduled hundred hours of work in just about 42 hours, so they can put the other 58 in the bank." In stark contrast to how ABC's evening newscast scrutinized the Republican agenda in 1995, on Thursday's World News Gibson triumphantly listed... continue reading
1. Networks Distort Terrorist Surveillance Into 'Domestic Spying' The announcement Wednesday from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) would now approve of surveillance actions under the "Terrorist Surveillance Program," prompted a return to the bad network habit of describing as "domestic spying" and "domestic eavesdropping" the effort to monitor communication between people inside the United States and suspected terrorists abroad. With "Domestic Spying" on screen, ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson cited "a major reversal today by the Bush administration in the war on terrorism. Two years ago, you may recall, the administration maintained it... continue reading
1. Nets Swoon for Obama, Tout 'Big Step' Toward Presidential Bid Just as when Democratic Senator Barack Obama said he was considering a presidential campaign last October, his announcement Monday -- via a Web video that he has set up an exploratory committee -- unleashed media excitement. The CBS Evening News treated it as one of the two big stories of the day: "I'm Katie Couric. Two major stories tonight: A vicious attack in Baghdad....And Senator Barack Obama takes a big step toward running for President." After that tease, Couric announced: "He's generated a lot of excitement. And now it... continue reading