http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/archive.aspx America's Media Watchdog http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 20091106053908.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091106053908.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-06-MSNBC-DN-Cressy.jpg Appearing on the Dr. Nancy program on MSNBC Friday, NBC News terrorism analyst Roger Cressy warned against labeling the mass shooting at Ft. Hood as terrorism, despite the apparent radical views of the shooter: “We've heard some family references that he was being criticized for his Muslim faith, that's all we know right now....It's still premature to draw the terrorism conclusion.” Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:36:00 -0400 20091106023926.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091106023926.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-06-ABC-GMA-shooter[1].jpg All three morning shows on Friday identified the man who killed 12 at an Army base in Texas as a Muslim. However, Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer repeated a concern from Thursday's World News: "...We heard Martha Raddatz say last night that the wife of a soldier said 'I wish his name had been Smith,' so no one would have a reflexive question about [a religious motive]." Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0400 20091106094441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091106094441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-05-NBC-NN-AARP.jpg The ABC, CBS and NBC newscasts Thursday night squeezed in full stories pegged to a "kill the bill" anti-Pelosi/ObamaCare rally outside the U.S. Capitol attended by "angry protesters" as all the stories also stressed how President Obama got a "boost" from "big," "powerful" "key" and "major" endorsements from the AARP and AMA. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:45:00 -0400 20091105085345.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105085345.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-05-NBC-NN-Hasan.jpg Neither CBS nor NBC, in their East coast feeds Thursday night, noted the Muslim religious beliefs of the mass killer at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, but ABC anchor Charles Gibson wasn't cowed by political correctness. ABC's Martha Raddatz concluded a story on reaction at Fort Hood: "As for the suspect, Nadal Hasan, as one officer's wife told me, 'I wish his name was Smith.'" Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:48:00 -0400 20091105062120.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105062120.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/V.jpg Scott Wolf, the star of a new show about evil aliens who use superficial journalists to take over the planet, appeared on Monday's Good Morning America and compared his "morally compromised" character to real-life CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. The V star asserted that "Chad Decker" doesn't have much "gravitas" and added, "He's more of Anderson Cooper-y." Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:16:00 -0400 20091105054415.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105054415.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-05-CBS-TES-Murrow.jpg Thursday's CBS Early Show looked back at 1954 as part of its 'Time Machine' series, with co-host Harry Smith praising former CBS anchor Edward R. Murrow for taking on Senator Joseph McCarthy: “McCarthy was on a kind of a witch hunt. Ed Murrow boldly recognized that and took him on....It was very gutsy and very risky on Murrow's part....McCarthy was a bully. Ed Murrow said 'I'm not going to stand for it.'” Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:40:00 -0400 20091105042000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105042000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg Reporter David Herszenhorn posted early Thursday afternoon on the paper's health care blog from an anti-Obama-care rally taking place on Capitol Hill. His unsympathetic description of the protest, organized by conservative Rep. Michele Bachmann, started with the meant-to-be-menacing image painted by his lyrical headline: "On the Hill, Protesters Chant 'Kill the Bill.'" Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:14:00 -0400 20091105023443.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105023443.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/1989-11-09-ABCReagan.jpg Just a few hours after word that the Berlin Wall would be opened, ABC's PrimeTime Live hosted former President Ronald Reagan to celebrate what would turn out to be the death blow against communism in Eastern Europe. Co-anchor Sam Donaldson told the former President he would "get a lot of credit for helping bring this moment about." Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:00 -0400 20091105010157.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105010157.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg During the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election, the Washington Post waged a relentless campaign to defeat Republican Bob McDonnell. Starting on Wednesday, after the GOP nominee received almost 59 percent of the vote, the newspaper began dispensing advice: Raise taxes. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:58:00 -0400 20091105090301.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105090301.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-04-CBS-EN-Schieffer.jpg CBS's Bob Schieffer on Wednesday night offered the hindsight that everyone knew the Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey would lose, they did lose and so the losses mean nothing. "I think what we saw last night were snap shots. I don't think we saw predictors," Schieffer declared in absolving President Obama of any culpability. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:57:00 -0400 20091105085150.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091105085150.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Nagourney2.jpg The New York Times' Election Day 2009 coverage emphasized three liberal themes: The Republicans won by appearing moderate, the congressional race in upstate New York revealed deep divisions within the G.O.P., these off-year elections don't mean much anyway (except when Democrats win). Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:45:00 -0400 20091104061118.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091104061118.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg How much is a Washington Post endorsement worth? Not a lot, apparently. The Post endorsed 26 candidates in Virginia's November 4 elections. Only 12 of them won. The liberal newspaper's picks for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, all Democrats, lost, averaging only 42.4 percent of the vote. Almost 239,000 Virginians voted against the wishes of this establishment news outlet. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:59:00 -0400 20091104053914.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091104053914.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-02-20-CBS-TES-Glor.jpg Maine's successful referendum to repeal a newly-imposed "same-sex marriage" law would have been a huge national story if the gay left had won. But since they narrowly lost, the broadcast network morning shows on Wednesday barely acknowledged it. CBS offered 20 words, ABC 44. NBC said nothing in four hours. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:37:00 -0400 20091104010020.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091104010020.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-04-ABC-GMA-Stephano[1].jpg Former Democratic aide turned journalist George Stephanopoulos appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning America to spin the loss of a Conservative Party congressional candidate in New York as a "big loss for Sarah Palin." He enthused, "A big win for the Democrats who poured it on in the final days especially Vice President Biden who came in the final day." Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:56:00 -0400 20091104115945.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091104115945.aspx http://media.eyeblast.org/newsbusters/static/2009/11/2009-11-04-FNC-SB-Garrett.jpg At 10:15AM ET during America's Newsroom on Fox News Channel, co-host Martha MacCallum reported that in a gaggle with reporters Wednesday morning White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claimed that President Obama did not watch election results Tuesday night but rather watched an HBO special about his 2008 campaign. That report was incorrect, Gibbs made no such statement. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:10:00 -0400 20091104103754.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091104103754.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-04-NBC-Gregory.jpg NBC's David Gregory, on Wednesday's Today show, downplayed the huge GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia as merely reflecting the "anti-incumbency mood," and "the change message that Obama" started last year. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:28:00 -0400 20091104094432.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091104094432.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-05-CNN-LKL-12am-King.jpg During a live midnight EST hour Larry King Live Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, CNN's Larry King repeatedly employed the "far right" pejorative to describe those who backed the unsuccessful New York congressional bid of the Conservative Party's Doug Hoffman. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:38:00 -0400 20091103074922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103074922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-03-CBS-EN-Schieffer.jpg Shortly before the polls closed, CBS's Bob Schieffer rejected any effort to tie President Barack Obama to two the Democratic gubernatorial candidates for whom Obama campaigned, insisting on Tuesday's CBS Evening News the contests were more about local issues and so "I don't think they had much to do with anything but New Jersey and Virginia." Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:33:00 -0400 20091103073430.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103073430.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-02-CNN-AC-Cooper.jpg On Monday's AC360, CNN's Anderson Cooper forwarded the media's new talking point about the New York congressional race, that "tea Party protesters and other conservative voices are...driving moderates out of the GOP." Tom Foreman asserted that "angry conservatives...[are] forcing the party to choose between...its base and attracting more moderate Americans." Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:05:00 -0400 20091103064305.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103064305.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-03-MSNBC-Whitman.jpg If you're a skeptic of climate change or want to educate your child at home Chris Matthews probably thinks you're an oddball. On Tuesday's Hardball, the MSNBC host egged on the former liberal Republican New Jersey governor and former EPA head Christine Todd Whitman to turn to the camera to scold all the global warming non-believers in the GOP as he urged: "Would you tell your Republican colleagues right now – look in the camera and say, 'There is climate change and we have to do something about it?'" And later on in the show Matthews stereotyped all homeschoolers as some sort of anti-social shut-ins that don't want their children to "go to public school 'cause you don't want to mix with other people." Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:40:00 -0400 20091103050540.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103050540.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ABC-V-promo.jpg ABC's 'V' mini-series, which will debut tonight (Tuesday) in the first hour of prime time, is "nominally a rousing sci-fi space opera about alien invaders bent on the conquest (and digestion) of all humanity," but "it's also a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will infuriate the President's supporters and delight his detractors," Miami Herald TV critic Glenn Garvin asserted. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:05:00 -0400 20091103034539.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103034539.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/USAToday-banner-forMRC.jpg "President Obama may not have delivered on all the policy changes he promised since his election a year ago, but he and his family have brought dramatic social change to the nation's capital and to the country's collective image of its first family," USA Today's Mimi Hall and Maria Puente gushed in a front page story on Tuesday. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:45:00 -0400 20091103123650.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103123650.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-03-CBS-TES-Smith.jpg While analyzing the off-year elections across the country on Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith asked Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer about the New York 23rd congressional race: “...this notion that an insurgent conservative, orthodox conservative, would come in and really unseat the party's choice for nominee there...is this a precursor of what might be happening a year from now?” Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:33:00 -0400 20091103122603.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103122603.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Beck.jpg Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer conducted a surprisingly tough interview with Al Gore on Tuesday, pressing him on profiting from global warming and whether or not climate change legislation is pointless in light of pollution-spewing countries such as China. She also forced the ex-Vice President to respond to a challenge from Glenn Beck. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:11:00 -0400 20091103091527.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091103091527.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Couric-Gore-video-MRChome.jpg Earning a chuckle even from Al Gore himself for the over the top glorification, CBS's Katie Couric opened her "@katiecouric" CBSNews.com Web show interview with Al Gore by extolling: "I'm honored to be joined today by the Godfather of Green, the King of Conservation: Former Vice President Al Gore." (with video) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:10:00 -0400 20091102090813.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102090813.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-02-ABC-WNCG-Gibson.jpg ABC's Charles Gibson delivered the usual liberal media upset over the GOP's inadequate “big tent,” asking: "A liberal Republican gets forced out of the race by a more conservative guy who was actually not a Republican, was running on the Conservative ticket. What happened to the big tent in the Republican Party?" Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:05:00 -0400 20091102065008.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102065008.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-02-MSNBC-MatthewsFin.jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, claimed the GOP is purging moderates from the party like it was 1930s Russia, and Newsweek's Howard Fineman said the dumping of RINOs like Dede Scozzafava in New York was leading to "the crack cocaine of reduced Republicanism." Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:47:00 -0400 20091102061312.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102061312.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-31-ABC-GMA-Weir[1].jpg Good Morning America's Bill Weir on Saturday interviewed Nancy Pelosi and wistfully responded to the House Speaker's reminiscing about the "stillness" and "silence" of Barack Obama's inauguration. He cooed, "What happened to that sense? That was such a day of, of unity. You think it's still there?" Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:07:00 -0400 20091102054354.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102054354.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-09-07-CBS-LSDL-Rich.jpg Though he's predicting Democrats will prevail in the end, former theatre critic turned New York Times over-dramatic liberal columnist Frank Rich sounded even more skittish than usual in his pre-election column in the Sunday Week in Review, "The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York." Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:40:00 -0400 20091102045529.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102045529.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-02-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg Interviewing Mitt Romney on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith alluded to the special election in New York's 23rd congressional district and the success of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman: “There's a battle going on right now for the soul of the Republican Party. Conservatives say there's no room for moderates there. Will this tactic save or kill the Republican Party?” Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0400 20091102025258.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102025258.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-02-ABC-GMA-Stephano[1].jpg Former top Democratic aide turned journalist George Stephanopoulos on Monday spun the upcoming November 3 congressional election in New York as a Republican "civil war." Recounting the battle between the Conservative Party nominee, a Democrat and a liberal Republican, he claimed, "But, what's most interesting here is civil war inside the Republican Party." Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:47:00 -0400 20091102113533.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102113533.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-01-NBC-Fineman.jpg When a despondent Matthews worried that Barack Obama wasn't more aggressive in pushing health care reform, Fineman calmed Matthews down by assuring him that "one of his great qualities...is patience" which prompted Matthews to ponder: "Howard is he smarter than us?" to which Fineman affirmed: "Of course he is! Much smarter!" Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:32:00 -0400 20091102024534.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102024534.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Rosie-MRCfront.jpg Rosie O'Donnell returns to the media today, but in quite a step down the media ladder from national TV prominence -- with a daily two-hour show on XM and Sirius satellite radio. "Rosie Radio is a radio show that is compelling, intriguing, unpredictable, and thought-provoking," the radio service proclaims. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:38:00 -0400 20091102023616.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102023616.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Schieffer-Axelrod-MRC.jpg Rush Limbaugh's tough criticisms of President Barack Obama on Fox News Sunday "broke" the White House's truce with Fox News, Bob Schieffer suggested during an interview with Obama's Senior Adviser, David Axelrod, on Face the Nation. (with video) Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:28:00 -0400 20091102022217.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091102022217.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-11-01-ABC-TW-Brownstein.jpg In the wake of liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava suspending her congressional campaign, Los Angeles Times veteran Ron Brownstein fretted over how it's "a sign that the leash that the base is holding on the party is tightening and that the Palins, the talk radio, Rush Limbaughs, the Fox, the definition of what is acceptable as a Republican I think is narrowing." Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:16:00 -0400 20091030042145.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091030042145.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-30-NBC-Today-Starwa[1].jpg All three network morning shows on Friday skipped a Washington Post report revealing that powerful congressional Democrats such as John Murtha, James Moran and others on a defense panel are the subject of an ethics investigation for a relationship with a lobbying firm. Instead, Today show hosts found time to dress up as Star Wars characters. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:19:00 -0400 20091029064715.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029064715.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-29-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, in discussing Dick Cheney's endorsement of Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas governor's race compared the former Vice President to the sons of Saddam Hussein as he sneered: "You might think an endorsement from Dick Cheney would be like a dinner invite from Uday and Qusay Hussein, but not in Texas." Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:45:00 -0400 20091029055328.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029055328.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-29-PBS-Rose-Tanenhaus.jpg Did Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush "probably" commit "impeachable offenses"? That's what influential New York Times editor Sam Tanenhaus thinks. On Wednesday night, the influential editor of both the "New York Times Book Review" and the "Weekend Review" sections again appeared on Charlie Rose's late night PBS chat show to discuss his no-longer-new book "The Death of Conservatism." Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:43:00 -0400 20091029054532.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029054532.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-28-CBS-TES-Rodrigue.jpg For the third time in six months, the CBS Early Show provided a soap box for Levi Johnston to continue his vicious personal attacks against Sarah Palin, as co-host Maggie Rodriguez proclaimed: “He is back on the offensive in this he-said-she-said battle that began shortly after the presidential election....he says he's trying to show the world the real Levi.” Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:37:00 -0400 20091029035610.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029035610.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-29-NBC-Harris.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer, on Thursday's Today show, handed San Francisco Democrat District Attorney Kamala Harris a virtual campaign contribution in the form of a full interview segment in the 8:30am half-hour as he billed her as the "Female Barack Obama." Harris, who was on to plug her new book, received the full star-treament as Lauer pressed if she had "ambitions for national office." Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:51:00 -0400 20091029034502.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029034502.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-29-NBC-Today-Sykes.jpg Comedian Wanda Sykes, invited on Thursday's Today show to plug her HBO comedy special and new late night talk show, was pressed by co-host Meredith Vieira to comment about her crass remark at the White House Correspondent's Dinner that she hoped Rush Limbaugh's kidneys would fail. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:39:00 -0400 20091029014120.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029014120.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Newsweek-YesHeCan-forMRC.jpg Penning the lead for "Yes He Can (But He Sure Hasn't Yet)" Newsweek cover, "A Liberal's Survival Guide," Anna Quindlen defended Obama from complaints he's not enacting liberal policies fast enough. He's "saddled" by the "incremental" constitutional structure, but she fretted: "Universal health care is the area in which the gap between what's needed and what's likely is most glaring." Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:36:00 -0400 20091029122726.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029122726.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg The Washington Post on Thursday continued its quest to defeat Virginia's Republican gubernatorial candidate, bizarrely citing a "non-partisan" group that, in reality, has endorsed Bob McDonnell's Democratic opponent. The article by Anita Kumar contained this loaded headline: "McDonnell critics question ideology: Some saw agenda in legal opinions." Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:19:00 -0400 20091029094334.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029094334.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-28-ABC-WNCG-GibsonBrooke.jpg ABC anchor Charles Gibson on Wednesday night had time to convey President Barack Obama's praise of Edward Brooke for "breaking barriers" as the first popularly-elected black U.S. Senator, but not to inform viewers he broke that barrier as a Republican. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:37:00 -0400 20091029093341.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091029093341.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/CouricNotebook.jpg "There's growing concern among some GOP leaders that controversial commentators and far-right conservatives have hijacked the message," CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric declared in her Tuesday “Katie Couric's Notebook” for CBSNews.com. Specifically, "people like Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin." Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:28:00 -0400 20091027072200.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091027072200.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-27-MSNBC-Harrelson.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, invited on former Cheers star Woody Harrelson to promote his new movie, The Messenger, and also talk Afghanistan war policy. The Zombieland actor announced that he was opposed not only to the war in Iraq, but also to the fight in Afghanistan as he compared it to Vietnam and advised that Barack Obama should "pull those troops out." Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:18:00 -0400 20091027071227.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091027071227.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-27-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, mocked former President George W. Bush making his debut as a motivational speaker as he laughed it off as a "Halloween prank, you know like toilet-papering somebody's house." Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:08:00 -0400 20091027051654.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091027051654.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-27-ABC-GMA-Sawyer[1].jpg Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer on Tuesday helped promote an upcoming HBO documentary on Barack Obama and allowed producer Ed Norton to gush over the "zen" presidential campaign of the Democratic candidate. Sawyer breathlessly teased the program as "the Obamas behind closed doors. The grandmother who raised him and the man you've never seen." Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:09:00 -0400 20091027015758.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091027015758.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-26-CBS-EN-vaccine.jpg Coverage Monday night made no mention of Obama or his administration in identifying a culprit for the flu vaccine shortage, as journalists instead cited "federal officials" and "the government." Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:12:00 -0400 20091027014817.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091027014817.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-09-07-CBS-LSDL-Rich.jpg New York Times columnist Frank Rich: "The Colorado balloon may have led to the rerouting of flights and the wasteful deployment of law enforcement resources. But at least it didn't lead the country into fiasco the way George W. Bush's flyboy spectacle on an aircraft carrier helped beguile most of the Beltway press and too much of the public into believing that the mission had been accomplished in Iraq." Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:39:00 -0400 20091026042844.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091026042844.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/Bidenweek.jpg It's bad enough that the new design of Newsweek came with blatant cover-story campaigning for Joe Biden. Then in the next edition, when it was time for Letters to the Editor, Newsweek reported half the letters were negative. Was an anti-Biden letter published? No. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:56:00 -0400 20091026041514.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091026041514.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-12-17-CNN-GarrettGraff.jpg From liberal Democrat Howard Dean to top editor of the magazine which proclaims it has "The Website Washington Lives By." The “preppy-looking 28-year-old” Garrett Graff "has eased his way up the ladder -- from presidential campaign speechwriter to media blogger, from Washingtonian freelancer to top dog -- with remarkable fluidity," Washington Post's Howard Kurtz marveled. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:10:00 -0400 20091026033803.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091026033803.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-25-CBS-FTN-Schieffe.jpg Showing that the media sees every act by the Obamas as an historic achievement, at the end of Sunday's Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer was amazed by the romping of First Lady Michelle Obama: “Michelle Obama took it to another level as she set records as the first First Lady to run barefoot across the White House lawn. She also became the first to jump rope there.” Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:31:00 -0400 20091026032725.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091026032725.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/cuomo-steph.jpg In the midst of all the elite upset over FNC's supposedly over-the-top opposition to President Obama, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz pointed out that the apparent two finalists to replace Diane Sawyer (who is moving to World News in January) on Good Morning America "have politics, but little else, in common." Liberal Democratic politics, that is, since the two names in play are George Stephanopoulos and Chris Cuomo. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:23:00 -0400 20091026010736.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091026010736.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-25-CBS-EN-Dickerson.jpg On Sunday's CBS Evening News, political analyst John Dickerson brushed aside criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney that the Obama administration was “dithering” on Afghanistan: “...it puts Cheney out there as a kind of boogie man the administration can point to. He's not terribly popular outside of conservative circles...in some ways, Dick Cheney is a gift for the White House.” Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:01:00 -0400 20091026010254.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091026010254.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg The Washington Post, which touts the motto "An independent newspaper," endorsed Democratic candidates in 22 of 26 races for the November 3 elections in Virginia. In addition to supporting the Democrats running for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, the paper on Friday, Saturday and Sunday weighed in on the state's House of Delegates races and picked 19 Democrats. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:54:00 -0400 20091025101847.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091025101847.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-23-PBSIW-Totenberg.jpg Discussing the Obama White House's quest to discredit FNC, NPR's Nina Totenberg recalled how, in contrast, the Bush White House "just cut people dead, it froze them out, you know it froze whole institutions out, didn't talk about it." Putting it in the most-nefarious light, she charged: "It was much more like the Mob." Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:12:00 -0400 20091023084147.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091023084147.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-23-CBS-EN-ObamavFNC.jpg "They report and the White House decides it's not fair. The President's feud with the Fox News Channel," Katie Couric teased at the top of Friday's CBS Evening News in the first broadcast network newscast foray into the subject. Jeff Greenfield saw "irony" as he suggested FNC, by charging the rest of the media are on the left, enabled the Obama White House's line of attack. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:42:00 -0400 20091023053119.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091023053119.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-23-ABC-GMA-Coulter[1].jpg Conservative columnist Ann Coulter debated no less than two former Clinton operatives on Friday's Good Morning America, guest host George Stephanopoulos and former State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin. On the show, she decried President Obama's handling of Afghanistan as a "Hamlet routine." Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20091022093339.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091022093339.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-22-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg NBC's Brian Williams noted a Pew poll found Americans who "believe there's solid evidence of global warming...has dropped off significantly." But instead of crediting people for recognizing media-fueled global warming hysteria has been undermined by reality since temperatures have not risen since 1998, he attributed the change to "in a down economy, people are less sensitive to the environment." Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:24:00 -0400 20091022055924.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091022055924.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-22-MSNBC-NL-Shuster[1].jpg MSNBC anchors David Shuster and Tamron Hall on Thursday lashed out at a speech Dick Cheney gave that was critical of Barack Obama, speculating on whether the Vice President is of a "rational, healthy mind." Attempting to attack the Bush administration's handling of Afghanistan for eight years, News Live co-host Tamron Hall dismissed, "Is it selective amnesia?" Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:54:00 -0400 20091022051552.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091022051552.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-22-CBS-TES-Smith.jpg Discussing Obama administration efforts to limit executive pay in companies that took TARP funds, on Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith asked Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren: “Chuck Schumer, some others, have said...why wouldn't we...make this law across the board and put a governor on compensation for everybody in private enterprise?'” Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:03:00 -0400 20091022125915.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091022125915.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg The Washington Post, which for months has been running a seemingly endless series of attack pieces on Virginia's Republican gubernatorial pick, appears to have moved on to the GOP's choice for Attorney General. On Thursday, the Post featured a column by Robert McCartney on nominee Ken Cuccinelli and included this ominous headline: "Cuccinelli: In your heart, you know he's to the right of right." Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:53:00 -0400 20091021091728.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091021091728.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-21-NBC-NN-ObamaGuthrie.jpg Tied to NBC's promotion of Maria Shriver's "A Woman's Nation" report, Wednesday's NBC Nightly News showcased Savannah Guthrie's interview with President Barack Obama in which she trumpeted how he "says he gives a lot of thought to whether the women who work here in the White House feel they're being heard, whether there are those persistent subtle biases still around." Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:15:00 -0400 20091021091000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091021091000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-21-CNN-AM-Costello.jpg CNN's Carol Costello again omitted the liberal source of a statistic she touted during a report on Wednesday's American Morning, that 91% of talk radio is apparently conservative. Costello also pushed the left-wing aim of localism in radio, playing three soundbites in favor of the proposal, versus two against it. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:03:00 -0400 20091021063821.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091021063821.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-21-MSNBC-Brewer.jpg Showing that Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have become interchangeable, in the 2:00PM ET hour on MSNBC, anchor Contessa Brewer mistakenly introduced Jackson as Sharpton: “Joining me now to talk about this and the nation's real problem of joblessness, the Reverend Al Sharpton....I'm so sorry, the – the script in front of me said Reverend Al Sharpton...I know who you are, Reverend Jackson.” Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:35:00 -0400 20091021052145.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091021052145.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg A Washington Post staff writer on Wednesday swore that it wasn't the "goal" of the newspaper to elect Virginia's Democratic candidate for governor, despite the paper's wave of attack coverage against the Republican nominee. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:15:00 -0400 20091021125533.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091021125533.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Toddvid.jpg ABC, CBS and NBC on Tuesday night all aired stories on President Barack Obama hobnobbing with the wealthy during a recession, at Manhattan fundraisers to be attended by the very Wall Street players he's condemned. But only NBC's Chuck Todd served as a mouthpiece for self-serving rationale which painted Obama as a victim of an image of perfection susceptible to "any speck of mud." Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:50:00 -0400 20091020062759.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091020062759.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-20-MSNBC-Shuster[1].jpg At the top of the 4:00PM ET hour of MSNBC Live, co-anchor David Shuster claimed the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll “numbers appear to back up the concerns of mainstream Republicans worried about the impact of birthers, tenthers, and town hall screamers....moderates have been frightened away and party identification has dropped to the lowest level in nearly three decades, since Nixon and Watergate.” Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:25:00 -0400 20091020095528.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091020095528.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-18-NBC-MatthewsPanel.jpg Well the verdict is in and it looks like the GOP has been severely damaged by its opposition to Obamacare, well at least that was the conclusion of all the liberal members of The Chris Matthews Show panel over the weekend. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:52:00 -0400 20091019085512.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091019085512.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-19-ABC-WNCG-57Obama.jpg ABC led Monday night with a poll timed to the nine-month mark of the Obama presidency -- as if that's an important date, and spent as much time on record low affinity for Republicans. Charles Gibson announced Obama "has a 57% approval rating, his rating rising for the first time since April. And only 20% of the country now consider themselves Republican....lowest level of support in 26 years." Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:55:00 -0400 20091019073230.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091019073230.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-19-CNN-AM-Costello.jpg CNN's Carol Costello on American Morning brought on a psychiatrist to find out why conservatives dominate talk radio (they like bullies) and asserted that the industry "Talkers magazine" claimed liberals were relegated to just 9 percent of talk radio. But that study came from the left-wing Center for American Progress, and Talkers publisher Michael Harrison criticized the study "flawed and narrow." Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:21:00 -0400 20091019014826.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091019014826.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2006-05-29-PBS-NH-Downie.jpg A report from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism calls for taxpayer spending on the news media, advocating that public radio and television be "substantially reoriented" to "provide significant local news reporting" and for the creation of a "a national Fund for Local News" paid by "fees the Federal Communications Commission collects from or could impose..." Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:42:00 -0400 20091019010353.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091019010353.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg In what could be described as the biggest non-surprise of the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election, the Washington Post on Sunday endorsed Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate that its news section has been touting for months. Beginning in late August, the Post ran numerous hit pieces, 12 in the first 11 days, against Republican Bob McDonnell for a 20 year-old college thesis. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:05:00 -0400 20091019115313.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091019115313.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-19-CBS-TES-Reynolds[1].jpg Monday's CBS Early Show took time to highlight the selling power of the Obama family as correspondent Dean Reynolds reported: “Bill Grimshaw thinks he has the perfect sales pitch for the house he's trying to sell on Chicago's south side....he lives right next door to the Obamas....because of this...special location, the sky could well be the limit.” Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:50:00 -0400 20091019094310.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091019094310.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Rush - Sept 15 2009 - 200.jpg The Wall Street Journal featured an op-ed from Rush Limbaugh in which he outlined how "this spectacle is bigger" than left-wingers trying to keep him out of the NFL: "There is a contempt in the news business, including the sportswriter community, for conservatives that reflects...blind hatred..." Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:33:00 -0400 20091018011615.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091018011615.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-16-CBS-EN-defictnumb.jpg Back on October 7, when the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit had ballooned to a massive $1.4 trillion during President Obama's first year on the job, Katie Couric's CBS Evening News did not tell viewers. But Couric finally caught up to the bad news after the Obama White House put out its final numbers on Friday afternoon. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:10:00 -0400 20091016044340.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091016044340.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-16-MSNBC-Shuster.jpg On Friday, MSNBC News Live anchor David Shuster admitted that his cable network had been "unable to verify" the false quotes he and others attributed to Rush Limbaugh. However, he did not apologize or retract the fake comments. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:37:00 -0400 20091016124758.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091016124758.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-16-NBC-Guthrie.jpg Last night ABC News, as the MRC's Brent Baker noted, showcased the "Why People Hate You Obama?" kid and on Friday's Today show it was NBC's turn to be charmed by the Obama-adoring child. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:42:00 -0400 20091016101956.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091016101956.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-15-ABC-WNCG-whyhate.jpg ABC's Charles Gibson on Thursday night showcased what he described as "an interesting" question President Barack Obama got from "a fourth grader" during a friendly town hall session in New Orleans: "Why people hate you, and why? They're supposed to love you." Viewers were treated to a lengthy soundbite of Obama's appreciative response. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:15:00 -0400 20091015090147.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091015090147.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/HuffPoLogoMRC.jpg In 2006, Huffington Post writer Jack Huberman disseminated quotes allegedly from Rush Limbaugh declaring sympathy for slavery and Martin Luther King's assassin. The quotes were widely cited as real by several sports writers and on CNN and MSNBC in the past week. The Huffington Post now says Huberman has failed to substantiate them, and the quotes have been pulled from their site. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:53:00 -0400 20091015063701.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091015063701.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-15-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg In an intro dripping with sarcasm, Chris Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, opened his show by declaring Rush Limbaugh's "racially inflammatory words," have "knocked him out as a potential NFL owner." Matthews went on to mock the radio talk show host as the "master of righteous indignation," and rhymed "that it takes large forces indeed, to bring down so grand a man as he." Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:33:00 -0400 20091015122011.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091015122011.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-15-ABC-GMA-Rush[1].jpg NBC and CBS's morning shows on Thursday completely skipped any reference to the false quotes that forced Rush Limbaugh to be dropped from a group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams. Only Good Morning America had any coverage at all. News anchor Chris Cuomo simply recapped the development and added, "[Limbaugh] had been criticized for past statements about black players." Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:14:00 -0400 20091014063035.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091014063035.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-03-MSNBC-Maddow.jpg On the June 3, 2009 Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, host Rachel Maddow cited a false quote attributed to Rush Limbaugh in which the radio host supposedly said he wanted to award Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin the Medal of Honor. Since Limbaugh expressed interest in becoming part owner of the St. Louis Rams in October, several MSNBC hosts have repeated that and other false quotes. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:27:00 -0400 20091014053115.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091014053115.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-MSNBC-CWO-Malkinworse.jpg On Tuesday's Countdown show, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann spewed bile at conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, accusing her of possessing "fascistic hatred," and comparing her to a "mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it." Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:27:00 -0400 20091014022227.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091014022227.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/BryanBurwell.jpg Back on October 7, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer Bryan Burwell was the first to impugn Rush Limbaugh with a quote claiming the radio host saw "merits" in slavery. In his latest column, Burwell suggested it didn't really matter if the quote was a "fabrication." Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:15:00 -0400 20091014122857.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091014122857.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Toure.jpg MSNBC contributor Touré on Wednesday continued the network's vitriolic, slanderous attacks on Rush Limbaugh. Discussing the radio host's bid to buy the St. Louis Rams, the cable commentator smeared, "Several NFL players have already said they would not play for Rush because they know he would love to say he owns a plantation full of black men." Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:19:00 -0400 20091013081218.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013081218.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-ABC-WNCG-Gibson.jpg "In 1912, almost a hundred years ago," ABC's Charles Gibson trumpeted, "Teddy Roosevelt called for universal health care. It now may be closer than at any time since then." Katie Couric championed "a major victory for President Obama" and how “health care reform cleared a major hurdle” so "health care reform is closer than it's ever been," but, she warned, "the battle is still far from over." Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:12:00 -0400 20091013071046.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013071046.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, went all blue when discussing Rush Limbaugh's interview with his NBC News colleague Jamie Gangel. After showing a clip of Limbaugh playing word association, in which the talk show host bashed Matthews' old boss Jimmy Carter as "An utter disgrace and embarrassment," the Hardball host fired back with this odd rejoinder: "You say Rush Limbaugh, I say phone sex for the traveling salesman. Think about it." Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:58:00 -0400 20091013061953.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013061953.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-CNN-Sanchez.jpg On Monday, CNN's Rick Sanchez claimed radio host Rush Limbaugh once said of slavery: "It had its merits," but offered no documentation. On Tuesday, Sanchez relayed Limbaugh's strong denial, but the CNN anchor did not retract his inflammatory charge - yet he still offered zero evidence that it is true. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:06:00 -0400 20091013051004.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013051004.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-12-CNN-AC-Sharpton.jpg CNN's Anderson Cooper brought on Rev. Al Sharpton- a person with an actual racially-divisive past- on his program on Monday to expound on his argument that Rush Limbaugh is "divisive" and even "anti-NFL." Sharpton went so far as to claim that the issue of the talk show host's involvement in the purchase of the St. Louis Rams is "whether or not the NFL is going to have standards." Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:21:00 -0400 20091013031041.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013031041.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-ABC-GMA-Roberts[1].jpg ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday devoted two stories to whether the "controversial" Rush Limbaugh would be able to buy an NFL team, but skipped any discussion of the false quotes that have been circulating about the radio host. Co-host Robin Roberts instead fretted, "Opponents say Limbaugh has a history of making racially offensive comments, some directed squarely at NFL players." Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:01:00 -0400 20091013122435.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013122435.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-ABC-GMA-Williams.jpg Legendary singer Andy Williams has backed off the sharp edge of his criticism of President Obama. About three weeks after he told a British magazine Obama "wants the country to fail," Williams, prompted by ABC's Chris Cuomo on Tuesday's Good Morning America to agree he was "taken out of context," concurred. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:17:00 -0400 20091013113108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091013113108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-13-NBC-Limbaugh.jpg In the second part of her interview with Rush Limbaugh, on Tuesday's Today show, NBC's Jamie Gangel attempted to broker a beer summit between the radio talk show host and the President. Gangel, during the mostly friendly interview with Limbaugh, suggested a meeting between the two to promote "more unity," Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:25:00 -0400 20091012062200.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012062200.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-12-MSNBC-NL-Graphic[1].jpg For the second time on Monday, MSNBC cited a dubious "quote" from Rush Limbaugh in which the conservative radio host supposedly said that "slavery had its merits." The source? A linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. David Shuster asserted that "James Farrior says Limbaugh should be denied the privilege of owning an NFL franchise for comments like 'slavery had its merits.'" Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:10:00 -0400 20091012062146.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012062146.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-11-NBC-Viqueira.jpg NBC's Today show on Sunday devoted a three-minute report to President Obama's speech to "gay rights" proponents, where he promised a repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The report had several sound bites from homosexual critics of the President, and none from proponents of keeping the policy. On the other hand, ABC's GMA on Sunday had only one 23-second news brief on Obama's speech. Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:52:00 -0400 20091012050944.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012050944.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/USATodaySportsforMRCfront.jpg Add USA Today to the list of media outlets smearing Rush Limbaugh as a racist to support their opposition to Limbaugh becoming an NFL team owner. In a column featured in Monday's Sports section, Drew Sharp argued the league can't be "left with no alternative but embracing someone whose occupational practice is making people feel more comfortable within their own prejudices." Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:05:00 -0400 20091012042927.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012042927.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-12-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg Speaking with political analyst John Dickerson on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith asked about the latest Obama administration attack on Fox News: “Anita Dunn, the communications director for the White House, pushed back against Fox. This is the first time that we've seen somebody really come out, out loud and say what she had to say....Now there seems to be a full frontal assault.” Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:23:00 -0400 20091012024058.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012024058.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Zirin.jpg MSNBC on Monday featured the Nation magazine's sports editor to rant against Rush Limbaugh as a "unreconstructed racist," a "swine" and also lobby that the conservative host shouldn't be allowed to purchase the St. Louis Rams football team. Morning Meeting guest host Contessa Brewer completely ignored the left-wing affiliation of Dave Zirin and identified him only as "sports writer." Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:25:00 -0400 20091012023016.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012023016.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-12-CBS-TES-Plante[1].jpg On Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: “Washington's largest gay rights rally in a decade puts pressure on President Obama.” Co-host Harry Smith later introduced the story: “An issue that was on the back burner for President Obama suddenly got turned up to high over the weekend. Thanks to a group that is normally supportive of the President, gay rights activists.” Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:45:00 -0400 20091012125615.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012125615.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-05-11-ABC-TW-Marcus.jpg Long-time Washington Post reporter and editor Ruth Marcus, in a Saturday column, called Obama's Nobel "ridiculous." Then she offered up what gives her the credibility to make such a judgment: "I admire President Obama. I like President Obama. I voted for President Obama." Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:51:00 -0400 20091012124908.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091012124908.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2005-01-19-CNNEdsall[1].jpg Veteran reporter Thomas Edsall is again sounding the alarm on the political imbalance of today's news media, though his proposed solution, illustrated by the headline to his Thursday post at Columbia Journalism Review, might not satisfy critics: "Journalism Should Own Its Liberalism." Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:45:00 -0400 20091010014515.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091010014515.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-ABC-WNCG-Nobel.jpg ABC, CBS and NBC all led Friday night with the "surprise" pick of President Barack Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize and acknowledged the choice was meant as a slap at former President George W. Bush, but that didn't prevent them from touting the honor. NBC's Brian Williams championed how it's "one of the last remaining towering honors on Earth." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:35:00 -0400 20091010013351.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091010013351.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-MSNBC-Alter.jpg Rush Limbaugh for attack, on Friday's MSNBC Live. While acknowledging that "everybody agrees it was premature" to award the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama, Alter singled out the two groups that, in his view, were actually voicing criticism: "You've got the mullahs in the Taliban, and then you've got Mullah Rush." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:28:00 -0400 20091010011458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091010011458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-CNN-Lothian.jpg CNN's Dan Lothian, on Friday morning, saw nothing but pluses for President Obama's reception of the Nobel Peace Prize. Lothian guessed Obama "obviously is getting an 'A' for effort here," and even went so far to speculate about whether the reward could help "push through on...health care as well...so this could help him." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:07:00 -0400 20091009055810.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009055810.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Shuster.jpg MSNBC's David Shuster on Friday slammed Rush Limbaugh as "un-American" and "extreme" for criticizing Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize win. The liberal co-host of News Live applauded the President's speech on the award and asserted, "...It makes the harsh comments from Michael Steele, from Rush Limbaugh, the rest, seem even more extreme and, as some would argue, un-American." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:51:00 -0400 20091009042738.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009042738.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-CBS-TES-Schieffe[1].jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer wondered about negative political fallout from President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize win: “one European commentator who said 'will this become a poison chalice?' In other words, is this going to hurt the President rather than help him?...is this going to widen the part of partisan divide rather than bring people together?” Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:24:00 -0400 20091009025941.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009025941.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Gibson.jpg Anchoring live coverage on Friday of Barack Obama's speech about receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, ABC's Charles Gibson enthused that the President won the award because he inspires. The World News host extolled, "The Nobel Committee feeling that he has inspired a new sense in the world." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20091009010234.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009010234.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-CBS-EN-Obamashotblock.jpg Hours before the Nobel committee awarded its "Peace Prize" to Barack Obama, the CBS Evening News found another "achievement" to tout: A White House-released photo of Obama blocking a basketball shot. Fill-in anchor Maggie Rodriquez explained how it shows Obama impressively "blocking a shot by his aide, Reggie Love, who is younger, taller, and by the way, a former ball player at Duke." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:04:00 -0400 20091009114647.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009114647.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-ABC-GMASawyer[1].jpg Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer on Friday used an odd expression to fawn over Barack Obama's Nobel Prize win. She cooed that the award is "the Olympic gold of international diplomacy." (Was this Sawyer's way of saying the prize makes up for the Chicago Olympic failure?) Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:42:00 -0400 20091009104100.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009104100.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-09-NBC-Today-Lauer.jpg Even Barack Obama's fan club on NBC's Today were stunned at the President's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize. Co-host Matt Lauer found it baffling: "We're less than a year into the first term of this president and there are no - I'm not trying to be, you know, rude here - no major foreign policy achievements, to date." Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:37:00 -0400 20091009102109.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091009102109.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-08-CBS-EN-81b.jpg The Senate Finance Committee's ObamaCare bill will spend $829 billion, but CBS Evening News Maggie Rodriquez trumpeted how "according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the plan costs less than expected and would actually reduce the deficit. So why do Republicans still oppose it?" Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:15:00 -0400 20091008040516.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091008040516.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-08-ABCGMAgraph[1].jpg Wednesday's CBS Evening News With Katie Couric and Thursday's Early show completely ignored any mention of the fact that the deficit has risen to a staggering $1.4 trillion, triple what it was a year ago. The Early Show, however, did find time to report the incredibly important news that Levi Johnston will be posing for Playgirl. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:30:00 -0400 20091008010551.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091008010551.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-08-CBS-TES-Cordes[1].jpg Following the talking points of the Democratic Party, at the top of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared a win for health care legislation being pushed by Montana Senator Max Baucus: “President Obama's health care plan gets a green light from the Congressional Budget Office, as a key bill not only pays for itself, but actually saves billions.” Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20091008022052.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091008022052.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/NewsweekRussiaMRChomepage.jpg The October 12 issue of Newsweek asked: "Was Russia Better Off Red?" The "Back Story" page of the magazine featured a graphic comparing life under communism to now: "Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has seen an increase in oligarchs and Louis Vuitton outlets. But by many other measures, Russians are worse off." Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:45:00 -0400 20091007034305.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091007034305.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/WashingtonPost-Logo.jpg Hard-left "anti-war" protesters topped the front of The Washington Post on Wednesday and drew most of an inside page. It wasn't until paragraph 25 that the Post admitted they only counted 176 protesters. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:04:00 -0400 20091007021208.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091007021208.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Brewer.jpg MSNBC's Contessa Brewer on Wednesday angrily agreed with Democratic claims that the National Republican Congressional Committee made a sexist slam against Nancy Pelosi. Appearing on Morning Meeting, Brewer attacked the critique of the House Speaker as "not good" and a "poor move." Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:06:00 -0400 20091007095114.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091007095114.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/SmithsonianArt.jpg "You can't see it, but there's a quiet cultural revolution under way at the White House," gushed the AP's Nancy Benac in the lead to her Tuesday night dispatch headlined: "Modern art hits 1600 Pa. Ave." Benac heralded: "The Obamas are decorating their private spaces with....Bold colors, odd shapes, squiggly lines have arrived." Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:45:00 -0400 20091006093410.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091006093410.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-06-CBS-EN-Logan.jpg For the second night, CBS devoted time in its “Afghanistan: The Road Ahead” series to stressing how the decision to go into Iraq undermined success in Afghanistan. Lara Logan: "What many here see as the gravest error of all: Afghans were wary as the U.S. turned its attention to invading Iraq. And they were right." Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:34:00 -0400 20091006092500.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091006092500.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Paul Begala.jpg Democratic strategist Paul Begala can be relied upon to use the "drug card" against Rush Limbaugh and he was true to form on Tuesday's Situation Room. When CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked what it would mean if Limbaugh bought the St. Louis Rams, Begala snarked: "Just don't put him in charge of the team's drug policy....Don't give him access to that medicine cabinet." Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:19:00 -0400 20091006062236.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091006062236.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-06-NBC-CurryThom.jpg NBC's Ann Curry, on Tuesday's Today show, called longtime liberal White House correspondent Helen Thomas her "inspiration." As part of an ongoing series "Today's Mentors and Inspirations," Curry visited the former UPI reporter and current Hearst columnist in Washington and offered a bouquet of a profile to her hero as, over video of Thomas challenging former presidents Curry gushed: "Affectionately called the First Lady of the White House press corps, Helen Thomas has made 10 presidents sweat, stammer, and answer to the people. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:18:00 -0400 20091006033537.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091006033537.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-11-12-ABC-GMAShipman[1].jpg According to ABC correspondent Claire Shipman, the botched Olympic bid by Barack Obama is actually a "good" thing for the President. Writing an online column for True/Slant, Shipman bizarrely spun, "It would have been great had he come home a winner. Great for all of us. But maybe not so much for him. Why? Because then he would have then [sic] really irked his critics." Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:29:00 -0400 20091006020249.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091006020249.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/obama_doctors_healthcare1.jpg The New York Times played up "White Coats in Rose Garden," a photo-op of doctors shipped in to support Obama's health care overhaul, but reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg managed to miss the embarrassing image of White House staffers passing out coats to doctors who didn't have one. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:02:00 -0400 20091005090018.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005090018.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-05-CBS-EN-CouricMap.jpg On Monday's CBS Evening News, Katie Couric delivered a "How We Got Here" review of Afghanistan after eight years of U.S. troops on the ground, culminating with Couric conveying as fact -- based on the view of Clinton administration Secretary of State Madeleine Albright -- the relatively simplistic liberal critique of how Iraq distracted the U.S. from the more important battle in Afghanistan. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:55:00 -0400 20091005085454.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005085454.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-05-CNN-AM-Toobin.jpg CNN'st Jeffrey Toobin again turned to his usual labeling of the ideological split on the Supreme Court on Monday's American Morning. Toobin tagged Justices Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts "very conservative" three times, as opposed to the mere "liberal" justices on the Court. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:49:00 -0400 20091005065129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005065129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-05-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, accused the right wing of achieving an "orgiastic level" of excitement in its rooting against Barack Obama to deliver the Olympics to Chicago. Matthews, joined by the Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page and CNSNews.com's very own Terry Jeffrey, opened his show by declaring that the "Right roots against America." Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:46:00 -0400 20091005040814.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005040814.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-05-CBS-FTN-Schieffe[1].jpg n a display of the ever lowering standards by which the media judge Barack Obama's presidency, on Sunday's CBS Face the Nation, host Bob Schieffer downplayed the President's failed Olympic bid: “this is going to come as a surprise to some but the world did not end Friday....a lot of people thought it might if the President flew to Copenhagen and failed to bring home the Olympics.” Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:01:00 -0400 20091005031149.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005031149.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Ratigan.jpg Morning Meeting host Dylan Ratigan on Monday smeared conservatives, saying that the right doesn't care if "half the country dies" in order to "take down Obama" on health care. Ratigan made his vitriolic remark while discussing glee over the President's botched handling of the Chicago Olympic bid. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:20:00 -0400 20091005025345.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005025345.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NoTrust.jpg A Gallup poll released October 1 confirms that few Americans trust the media and about three times as many see the press as "too liberal" (45%) as opposed to "too conservative" (15%). Far more Democrats express confidence in the media than Republicans, but even a slight plurality of Democrats describe the press as "too liberal" (21%) rather than "too conservative" (20%). Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:48:00 -0400 20091005085735.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005085735.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/GarofaloVideo.jpg Janeane Garofalo used another media appearance to smear anti-Obama protesters as racists, this time, Friday night on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, insisting "it's obvious to anybody who has eyes in this country that tea-baggers, the 9-12ers" are "clearly white power movements" led “by the Glenn Becks, the Michelle Bachmans, the Rush Limbaughs." Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:48:00 -0400 20091005084526.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091005084526.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-02-ABC-WNCG-StephGibson.jpg The broadcast evening networks all led Friday night not with the jump in the unemployment rate to 9.8%, but with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) rejection of Chicago's bid, stories which reflected the premise Chicago lost "despite" or "in spite" of the "star-studded U.S. appeal from Oprah to the Obamas." Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:37:00 -0400 20091002060441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002060441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-02-ABC-GMAdeNies[1].jpg On Friday, just hours before the International Olympic Committee rejected Barack Obama's appeal for Chicago to be awarded the 2016 Olympic games, ABC's Yunji de Nies swore that Michelle Obama and her husband thrilled the crowd. She enthused, "Their work here is done. They are on their way home. The presentation was everything they promised, emotional, heartfelt, energetic." Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:58:00 -0400 20091002043916.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002043916.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-02-MSNBC-O'Donnell.jpg A week after aggressively defending school children in New Jersey literally singing Barack Obama's praises, on MSNBC on Friday, anchor Norah O'Donnell once again expressed her support of the song and went after critics: “I think this is sort of a silly issue, I do, I'll just say that, you know, and I'm not an ideologue. And I got hammered in the blogs for making that comment.” Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:34:00 -0400 20091002041146.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002041146.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-01-MSNBC-Tanenhaus.jpg New York Times Week in Review and Book Review editor Sam Tanenhaus, on Slate, useed a well-known lefty vulgarism: "Even today the right insists it is driven by ideas, even if the leading thinkers are now Limbaugh and Beck, and the shock troops are tea-baggers and anti-tax demonstrators." Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:07:00 -0400 20091002032634.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002032634.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Charlie-Gibson.jpg World News host Charlie Gibson appeared bewildered on Friday as ABC broke into regular coverage to report the "stunning," crushing" news that Barack Obama had lost his bid to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago. The anchor reported live from the disappointed city and fretted over how this failure was a "kick in the pants for the President." Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:10:00 -0400 20091002124824.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002124824.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-02-CBS-TES-Obama[1].jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez speculated on the impact of President Obama's personal appeal for the 2016 Olympics to be held in Chicago: “President Obama arrives in Copenhagen, carrying the torch for Chicago as the best candidate for the 2016 summer Olympics...Will he bring home the gold?” When the announcement came, Chicago was immediately eliminated from contention. Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:44:00 -0400 20091002032625.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002032625.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-01-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg Just over two weeks after NBC's Brian Williams pushed former President Jimmy Carter's racism charge, Williams devoted more than two minutes of Thursday's NBC Nightly News to marking Carter's 85th birthday by cuing him up to put in his own words how he "stands out" from other ex-Presidents, "what has set you apart from other chief executives – in mind set and your wiring?" Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:15:00 -0400 20091002030516.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091002030516.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/MatthewsVideoimage.jpg It would be "absurd" for Florida Rep. Alan Grayson (D) to apologize for insisting recently that Republicans stand behind a health care "holocaust," MSNBC's Chris Matthews argued on Thursday's Hardball. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:56:00 -0400 20091001045429.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091001045429.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-01-ABC-GMA-Shipman[1].jpg ABC's Claire Shipman on Thursday fawned over Jimmy Carter, celebrated his 85th birthday and the "incredible" presidential library bearing his name. Offering few tough questions, the Good Morning America correspondent instead thrilled, "This is really incredible. I mean, the center looks amazing." Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:48:00 -0400 20091001025354.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091001025354.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-30-NBC-NN-diequickly.jpg The NY Times moralized over Rep. Joe Wilson's "disrespectful" outburst ("You lie!") during Obama's health care address to Congress. But when a Democrat said the GOP's health care plan was for Americans to "die quickly" and compared the current health care system to the Holocaust, it's not worthy of a mention. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:46:00 -0400 20091001125309.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091001125309.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/De-Nies.jpg Good Morning America correspondent Yunji de Nies on Thursday touted White House talking points when she highlighted Michelle Obama's pitch for the 2016 Olympics to be in Chicago. De Nies parroted, "We're told there won't be a dry eye in the house by the time she's done." She was "told" this? Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:44:00 -0400 20091001123620.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091001123620.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-30-NBC-NN-Wil.jpg Uniquely among the broadcast network evening newscasts on Wednesday, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams gave attention to "incendiary" comments made by Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida, who charged that the Republican plan for health care is that people should "die quickly" if they get sick. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:32:00 -0400 20091001122900.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20091001122900.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-10-01-NBC-Morales.jpg NBC's Natalie Morales, on Wednesday's Today, was bowled over by the First Couple's "tag-teaming" effort to lure the Olympics to their home city of Chicago. Reporting live from Copenhagen, Morales cheered that "it doesn't get any better in terms of PR blitzes than this," and effused the First Lady was "turning on the charm, as only she can." Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:24:00 -0400 20090930092941.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090930092941.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-30-CBS-EN-CouricOlympic.jpg With First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey now in Copenhagen, CBS anchor Katie Couric on Wednesday night declared "the 'Dream Team' pushing Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic summer games is nearly complete" and is now just awaiting "the team captain" -- that would be President Barack Obama, who "arrives Friday ahead of the final vote." (with video) Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:22:00 -0400 20090930092000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090930092000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-30-CNN-TSR-Cafferty.jpg CNN's Jack Cafferty and Wolf Blitzer endorsed Thomas Friedman's "scary and sobering column" in the New York Times where the liberal writer compared the American political climate to Israel in 1995 prior to Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. After Cafferty remarked that "Friedman's right," Blitzer labeled the column "powerful." Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:11:00 -0400 20090930062550.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090930062550.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-11-20-CC-TCR-Fried.jpg Making a truly odious comparison, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman claimed parallels between the behavior of anti-Obama protestors (who have been quite peaceful) to that of "extreme right-wing settlers" in Israel before the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:19:00 -0400 20090930123447.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090930123447.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-30-ABC-GMAJohnson[1].jpg On Wednesday's Good Morning America, co-host Diane Sawyer and Dr. Tim Johnson touted the treatment members of Congress get as an example of the unfairness of the health care system. Sawyer speculated, "The question is continually raised, in this land of equal opportunity, should all Americans have, do all Americans deserve the same access to health care that members of Congress have?" Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:29:00 -0400 20090929083423.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090929083423.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-29-ABC-WNCG-JohnsonGibson.jpg In the wake of a Senate committee's rejection of the "public option," ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson argued we must follow Switzerland and Germany which have "very heavy government regulation" on health insurance. "One way or another, public option or regulation, the government has to play a role," Johnson, who in March declared it a "national shame" that the U.S. lacks universal coverage, maintained. Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:28:00 -0400 20090929044906.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090929044906.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg A reader could assume the Sept. 12 conservative protest in DC and the anarchist protest in Pittsburgh were of the same magnitude, as both described the crowd as in "thousands." Headline from the conservative rally, where the low end of crowd estimates was 70,000: "Thousands Attend Broad Protest of Government." Headline for the 4,000 left-winger: "In Pittsburgh, Thousands Stage a Peaceful March for Multiple Causes." Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:43:00 -0400 20090929030404.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090929030404.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-29-ABC-GMASawyer[1].jpg ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday America continued to raise questions about the arrest of Roman Polanski in Europe, spinning the case as a "31-year-old prosecutorial obsession." According to reporter Nick Watt, the film director has "been hunted since 1978." Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:15:00 -0400 20090929021525.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090929021525.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/AndyWilliamsatBranson.jpg President Obama "wants the country to fail," legendary singer Andy Williams declared in flipping Rush Limbaugh's hope Obama "fails" in his quest to enact left-wing policies. Williams: "I think he wants to create a socialist country. The people he associates with are very left-wing....Obama is following Marxist theory. He's taken over the banks and the car industry. He wants the country to fail." Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:07:00 -0400 20090928085011.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090928085011.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-28-CBS-EN-SmithOlympics.jpg President Barack Obama's last-minute decision to fly Thursday to Copenhagen to pitch Chicago's bid for the 2016 summer Olympic games excited broadcast network journalists Monday night. "The Olympic motto is 'swifter, higher, stronger,'" fill-in CBS Evening News anchor Harry Smith reminded viewers before trumpeting: "Apparently, President Obama is taking that to heart." Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:45:00 -0400 20090928084433.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090928084433.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-27-CNN-Zakaria.jpg CNN's Fareed Zakaria gave President Obama's diplomacy-first foreign policy a ringing endorsement on his program on Sunday, lauding it as a breath of fresh air: "Obama is betting that America has matured, and that we recognize that...without the cooperation of other countries, America cannot be secure at home or prosperous. It's a bold gambit. Here's hoping it pays off." Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:38:00 -0400 20090928044948.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090928044948.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-28-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg Monday's CBS Early Show touted a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll about American cultural attitudes, with CBSNews.com's Cali Carlin asking co-host Maggie Rodriguez one of the survey questions: "Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie or Beyonce...Who would you want to swap lives with for a week?" Rodriguez immediately responded: "Hands down, Michelle Obama." Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:44:00 -0400 20090928034852.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090928034852.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-28-ABC-GMA-Watt[1].jpg Hosts and reporters on Monday's Good Morning America hyperventilated about the arrest of fugitive Roman Polanski. Co-anchor Diane Sawyer worried that the detention of the director accused of child rape has created a "true international incident." Co-host Robin Roberts played up the supposed complexity of situation, referring to the event as an "international chess game." Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:42:00 -0400 20090928011913.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090928011913.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ClarkHoyt.jpg New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt's latest column tackles the ACORN scandal - or as Times readers know it: "What ACORN scandal?" In "Tuning In Too Late," Hoyt criticized the Times for its lack of coverage of the juicy ACORN imbroglio, an omission that has prodded the paper into creating a new semi-position. It's assigned an editor to monitor opinion media and catch stories like this earlier. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:11:00 -0400 20090927112852.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090927112852.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-27-NBC-MTP-ClintonGregory.jpg Imagining a "vast right wing conspiracy" to discredit info about her husband's activities with an intern was ludicrous when Hillary Clinton made up the foil, but David Gregory treated it as reality, cuing up Bill Clinton on Meet the Press: "Your wife famously talked about the vast right wing conspiracy targeting you. As you look at this opposition on the right to Obama, is it still there?" Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:22:00 -0400 20090927111815.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090927111815.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/rajunarisetti.jpg A few weeks ago Washington Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti rued in this tweet via his Twitter account: "We can incur all sorts of federal deficits for wars and what not. But we have to promise not to increase it by $1 for healthcare reform? Sad." New Post guidelines on the use of social network sites forced Narisetti to close his Twitter account. Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:55:00 -0400 20090926114435.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090926114435.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NBC-LO-JackMcCoy.jpg Playing out a liberal dream, the season premiere of NBC's Law and Order delivered a plot in which the local district attorney prosecuted a former Justice Dept lawyer for "depraved indifference murder" based on the fact an Abu Ghraib prisoner died in the custody of soldiers who were following the lawyer's memo on the techniques which could be used on suspected terrorists. (with video) Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:37:00 -0400 20090925125436.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090925125436.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg The Washington Post on Friday buried the announcement by Douglas Wilder, a popular Democratic ex-governor of Virginia, to not endorse his party’s current nominee for that office, Creigh Deeds. The Post placed the story, with the bland headline, "Wilder Declines to Endorse Anyone for Governor," below the fold in the Metro section. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:50:00 -0400 20090925015837.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090925015837.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-24-Leno-LimbaughVideo.jpg Taking the "Green Car Challenge" on Thursday night's Jay Leno Show, a svelte Rush Limbaugh - declining to don a helmet - hopped into the electric Ford Focus on Leno's track behind his NBC studio in Burbank, but instead of driving around the hanging cut outs of Al Gore and Ed Begley Jr., Limbaugh ran right into them. Then, to Leno's cries of "Oh, c'mon!", a delighted Limbaugh accepted the penalty against his time score and stopped, backed up and smashed into them again. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:59:00 -0400 20090924061737.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090924061737.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-23-CNN-LKL-Moore.jpg CNN's Larry King fawned over Michael Moore during an hour-long interview on his program on Wednesday, calling the leftist's latest feature "a brilliant documentary," and went on to label the director "our number one propagandist." King encouraged all of his viewers to see Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story," which was released in New York City and L.A. earlier that day. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:11:00 -0400 20090924060922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090924060922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Odonnell.jpg MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell on Thursday appeared mystified as to why anyone would have a problem with New Jersey school children being led in a song praising Barack Obama. The February 2009 video contained these lyrics: "He said we must be fair today! Equal work means equal pay! Barack Hussein Obama! He said, red yellow, black or white, all are equal in his sight! Barack Hussein Obama!" Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:06:00 -0400 20090924043405.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090924043405.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-23-MSNBC-ES-Shultz.jpg Enraged over Republican opposition to ObamaCare, on The Ed Show on MSNBC Wednesday, host Ed Schultz screamed at viewers: "The Republicans lie! They want to see you dead! They'd rather make money off your dead corpse! They kind of like it when that woman has cancer and they don't have anything for her." Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:30:00 -0400 20090924031458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090924031458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/PollShort.jpg More bad news for the media: A new poll on from Sacred Heart University's Polling Institute finds five out of six Americans (83.6%) see the national news media as "very or somewhat biased," and nearly nine out of ten (89.3%) say the media were a strong factor in electing Barack Obama as President last year. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:08:00 -0400 20090924100608.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090924100608.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-23-NBC-Leno.jpg Jay Leno delivered a monologue joke, with MSNBC's Chris Matthews as the punch line, on Wednesday night's prime time Jay Leno Show on NBC: "Michelle Obama was very upset by all these drooling blondes who would push up to her husband... Finally, Michelle said, 'Look, Chris Matthews, get away from my husband.'" Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:01:00 -0400 20090923111008.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090923111008.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-23-CBS-EN-Couricpivotal.jpg ABC, CBS and NBC all led Wednesday night with President Barack Obama's address at the United Nations, but Katie Couric was the most effusive in trumpeting how Obama marked the end of the Bush era as she teased the CBS Evening News: "Tonight, the President tells the world America's 'go it alone' policy is over." Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:55:00 -0400 20090923041646.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090923041646.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/FunnyOrDiePSA.jpg The New York Times' health care priorities revealed: A parody ad by liberal comedian Will Farrell and left-wing MoveOn.org is considered newsworthy; suppression of free speech by the Obama administration isn't. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:16:00 -0400 20090923034419.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090923034419.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Michael-Moore.jpg In less than 24 hours, ABC devoted 13 minutes to rhapsodizing over liberal Michael Moore's new, "deeply Christian" film, Capitalism: A Love Story. Featuring the director first on Tuesday's Nightline, co-anchor Terry Moran took his socialistic agenda seriously and opened the show by teasing, "Is capitalism evil?" Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:50:00 -0400 20090923090136.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090923090136.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-22-ABC-WNCG-HHSorder.jpg Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to go to the Senate floor on Tuesday to call out the Obama administration for using the full power of a federal regulatory agency to suppress free speech -- to silence Humana's predictions about the impact of proposed ObamaCare cuts in Medicare -- led ABC, but not CBS or NBC, to air a story on the "gag order." Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:56:00 -0400 20090923023128.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090923023128.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-22-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg President Obama disappointed NBC by failing, at the UN's "Summit on Climate Change," to go far enough on global warming. "President Obama's being accused of falling short on the environment today with the whole world watching," Brian Williams teased. Williams framed his lead story through the prism of the left as he fretted that, "in the eyes of a lot of environmentalists," Obama "fell short." Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:35:00 -0400 20090922063841.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090922063841.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-22-Hardball-Matthew.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, ominously warned that the "activists on the radio," are "gonna pay," if "we have violence in this country against our president of any form," for having "encouraged the craziness." Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:35:00 -0400 20090922050730.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090922050730.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/NewsweekCheney-croppedforMRC.jpg Famed news photographer David Hume Kennerly took to the New York Times' "Lens" blog last week, with an update on Monday in which he denounced Newsweek's "skewed imagery to advance its editorial agenda," to excoriate the magazine for "photo fakery" in how it cropped a picture he took of Dick Cheney to imply "something sinister, macabre, or even evil was going on." Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:05:00 -0400 20090922010155.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090922010155.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-22-NBC-Today-Lauer.jpg During a wide-ranging interview with Bill Clinton, on Tuesday's Today show, about his Clinton Initiative summit, NBC's Matt Lauer wanted to get the former President's advice on whether current New York Governor David Paterson should run again. Lauer, seemingly concerned about the GOP capturing the governorship in New York state, asked Clinton if the unpopular Democrat's reelection bid might "hurt the Democratic Party." Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:59:00 -0400 20090922093227.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090922093227.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-21-CBS-LSDL-ObamaLetterman.jpg David Letterman, who still regularly ridicules former President George W. Bush, didn't hide his affinity for Barack Obama during his Monday night Late Show interview of the President. "I can't tell you how satisfying it is to watch you work," a beaming Letterman gushed to Obama at the conclusion of the program. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:26:00 -0400 20090921030449.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090921030449.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-20-CBS-SM-Greenfiel.jpg Reporting for CBS's Sunday Morning, political analyst Jeff Greenfield wondered about the impact of nationwide ant-Obama protests: "Does this new militancy on the Right pose an opportunity for the Republican Party or create a dilemma?" He fretted over the tone: "Some of it is aimed specifically and virulently at Obama....At his background, at his race, at his agenda." Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0400 20090921030150.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090921030150.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-21-MSNBC-MM-Ratigan.jpg On Monday's Morning Meeting, MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan and his journalist guests expressed frustration that the ACORN scandal hasn't gone away. Politico correspondent Mike Allen lobbied, "...It's time to move on." Ratigan highlighted other groups and offered moral equivalence: "And are all of these organizers ultimately guilty of some sort of shady activity or another?" Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:30:00 -0400 20090921093930.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090921093930.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-20-CBS-FN-montage.jpg In the series of network interviews recorded Friday at the White House for airing on the ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC Sunday morning interview shows, all highlighted Jimmy Carter's charge that racism is fueling the anti-Obamacare protests – with CNN's John King and NBC's David Gregory following up with Nancy Pelosi's claim the heated rhetoric may incite violence – and CBS's Bob Schieffer asserted the "meanness that has settled over our political dialogue" had "started this summer at these town hall meetings." Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:32:00 -0400 20090918092939.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918092939.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-18-CBS-EN-ObamaMediaBlitz.jpg TV network journalists Friday night marveled at President Obama's "media blitz" on health even as they reveled in it as they made the very "blitz" and clips from the interviews (conducted Friday for Sunday morning) their top story of the day. Based on those excerpts, the Sunday hosts were most interested in getting Obama's take on the "tone" of the debate and whether opposition is driven by racism. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:28:00 -0400 20090918061012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918061012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-18-MSNBC-HB-Matthew.jpg While concluding a segment on racism involved in anti-Obama protests, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews promoted the book of one of his guests, liberal historian Douglas Brinkley, and proceeded to rant: "There's so much right-wing crap on the best seller list these days. It's great to see a book that you might want to put on your shelf and let your respected friends see you actually reading." Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:06:00 -0400 20090918025249.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918025249.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/murtha.jpg ABC's Jonathan Karl on Friday attacked wasteful government spending of stimulus money, even going to the John Murtha Airport in Western Pennsylvania, which he derided as a "ghost town." Providing some refreshing journalistic skepticism about the Obama legislation, Karl described the airport as a "monument to powerful Democratic Congressman John Murtha." Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0400 20090918023756.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918023756.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-19-CNN-RS-Schorr.jpg On Wednesday, NPR "senior news analyst" Daniel Schorr insisted nationalized health care "would save many lives," and all those rumbles from the right about providing taxpayer-subsidized abortions and health care for illegal aliens are tiresome "distractions" from the urgent need for more government. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:31:00 -0400 20090918122633.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918122633.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-18-CBS-TES-Obama[1].jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, White House correspondent Bill Plante highlighted President Obama's latest media blitz on health care reform and touted a new piece of the PR arsenal: "The President does have a new partner in his nonstop effort to sell health care, it's the First Lady....Michelle Obama will be more like a stealth weapon in the battle for health care, giving it a softer touch." Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:21:00 -0400 20090918102149.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918102149.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-17-CBS-EN-45000.jpg Trying to boost the rationale for ObamaCare, Thursday's CBS Evening News ran two stories from far-left sources, but disguised the agenda behind both. Katie Couric announced that "while the debate goes on over the cost of insuring everyone, a new study reveals the cost of not doing it. The Harvard study says nearly 45,000 American deaths every year are linked to a lack of insurance." The report was really produced by Physicians for a National Health Program. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:16:00 -0400 20090918094158.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090918094158.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-15-NBC-NN-Carter.jpg On Wednesday night, NBC Nightly News led with ex-president Jimmy Carter's racism charge against conservative opponents of Obama's agenda. On Thursday morning, the New York Times put Carter's slur on its front page, in a "Political Memo" that played the President of the United States as a victim. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:34:00 -0400 20090916100245.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090916100245.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-16-NBC-NN-WilliamsCarter.jpg An evening after trumpeting President Jimmy Carter's racism charge, NBC led Wednesday night with the "fallout" as Andrea Mitchell proposed that though "many thought" the "racial divisions" were "healed by the election of the first African-American President," Carter's "blunt comments" have "prompted us to re-examine our assumptions about race." Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:55:00 -0400 20090916051118.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090916051118.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/IBDPollHP.jpg A new poll of more than 1,300 physicians finds that nearly two-thirds (65%) oppose ObamaCare and nearly half would consider quitting if the liberal health care plan passes. The poll deflates media suggestions that the American Medical Association (AMA)'s backing indicates widespread doctor support for ObamaCare. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:05:00 -0400 20090916044619.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090916044619.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/MontanaStandardforMRC.jpg Butte's Montana Standard announced it would carry Byron York's column and introduced York by explaining how he's not a typical conservative: "York, a staunch conservative, presents his arguments in a thoughtful, measured fashion, rather than resorting to cheap personal attacks on President Obama and others in the Democratic Party that seem to be the hallmark of the GOP these days, said Standard Editor Gerry O'Brien." Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:46:00 -0400 20090916044604.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090916044604.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-16-MSNBC-MJ-Allen[1].jpg The Politico's Mike Allen appeared on Wednesday's Morning Joe to both defend the mainstream media's decision to ignore the ACORN controversy. Commenting on a piece he wrote about the subject, Allen spun, "And what we heard was news executives saying that there's so much out there. Two wars, health care, a President who's struggling, that they didn't have time to focus on this." Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:32:00 -0400 20090916025733.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090916025733.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-15-CBS-EN-Bowers[1].jpg CBS and NBC finally covered the ACORN scandal, but depicted the left-wing group as a victim. Evening News anchor Katie Couric lamented: “ACORN helps low-income Americans find affordable housing.... that may be coming to an end after a scandal caught on tape.” Today correspondent Lisa Myers declared: “ACORN has long been a target of conservatives.” Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20090915094312.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090915094312.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-15-ABC-WNCG-GibsonOutofLine.jpg Tuesday night ABC and NBC joined efforts to undermine the tea parties by smearing them as racists. ABC framed a story around "Obama supporters are now saying" the opposition to him is "driven, in part, by a refusal to accept a black President," while NBC's Brian Williams touted how "former President Carter spoke up" about the racism. Williams alleged the tea parties "have featured...violent themes." Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:42:00 -0400 20090915073119.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090915073119.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-15-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, insinuated racism may have been behind Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst against President Obama, at last week's health care speech, as he repeatedly asked his guests if they thought Wilson's exclamation was "A race thing," that represented "the old black/white attitude of the South." Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:28:00 -0400 20090915060234.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090915060234.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-13-CBS-SM-Giles[1].jpg Appearing on CBS's Sunday Morning, commentator Nancy Giles shared her thoughts on Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst: "Some sign waving and you probably heard about it, heckling. At a joint session of Congress....That's the voice of Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, not some drunk at open mic night, calling the President a liar." Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:58:00 -0400 20090915043238.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090915043238.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-15-ABC-Champion-GMA[1].jpg Weatherman/global warming alarmist Sam Champion on Tuesday again promoted the cause of toilet paper-avoiding environmentalist Colin Beavan. In his brief "Just One Thing" segment, Champion touted books made on recycled paper and cheered that the tome No Impact Man is made on 100 percent recycled paper. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:20:00 -0400 20090915025315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090915025315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-15-ABC-GMA-Sawyer[1].jpg Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer on Tuesday conducted a surprisingly tough interview with Tim Geithner, grilling the Treasury Secretary on tax increases, spending and highlighting the 9/12 rally in Washington D.C. Speaking of the American people, she asserted, "They don't see a possible way out without tax raises." Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:15:00 -0400 20090914095259.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914095259.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-14-CNN-TSR-witchdoctor.jpg CNN's efforts to smear Obama critics as racist gained visibility on Monday's Situation Room when the usually more sensible Wolf Blitzer, with "RACIAL TINGE TO TEA MOVEMENT" as the on-screen heading, set up a story on how, "most disturbing," within the tea party crowds there's "a very small but vocal minority, they're targeting President Obama's race." Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:46:00 -0400 20090914075012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914075012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-13-NBC-Klein.jpg NBC's Norah O'Donnell, guest hosting for Chris Matthews over the weekend, repeatedly questioned her Chris Matthews Show panelists why there was "So much hate," and "venom," directed at Barack Obama at town hall events and Time's Joe Klein claimed it was all Rush Limbaugh's fault as he depicted opponents of Obama as racists that are "being egged on by the demagogues in, in the Republican Party, by Boss Rush Limbaugh. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:45:00 -0400 20090914074740.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914074740.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-12-CNN-NR-Spellman.jpg CNN's Jim Spellman did his best to paint the participants of the Tea Party Express's rallies across the nation as a bunch of extremists on Saturday's Newsroom. Spellman played clips which zeroed-in on the protesters who called President Obama a Nazi, carried guns, or forwarded "outlandish conspiracy theories," and labeled all of them "a dark undercurrent." Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:41:00 -0400 20090914063126.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914063126.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-12-ABC-GMA[1].jpg Over the weekend, ABC provided hyperbolic reporting on the 9/12 protest in Washington D.C. Good Morning America co-host Bill Weir opened the program on Saturday by fretting, "This morning, outrage. Protesters descend on Washington to rally against the President's health care plan. As civility gives way to shouting, what's fueling all this anger?" Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:26:00 -0400 20090914051137.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914051137.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg A conservative protest at the Capitol numbering in the tens of thousands was worth an unfavorable story on page 37 of Sunday's New York Times while a much smaller Obama rally got better placement, and so had a previous ACORN-led left-wing protest numbering...40 people. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:00:00 -0400 20090914010327.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914010327.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-13-CBS-FTN-Schieffe.jpg At the end of Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS, host Bob Schieffer denounced South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson: "The irony of a congressman trying to heckle a President in the midst of a speech that was, among other things, about the need for civility, is just one ugly sign of the mindless meanness that has settled over our politics." Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:53:00 -0400 20090914093420.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090914093420.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/PewTrustinmedia-Sept09.jpg "The public's assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys," a new poll from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press discovered. The percent who perceive the media as liberal versus conservative remains very lopsided - from 40 percent vs. 19 percent in 1985 to 50 percent vs. 22 percent now, a 28 point split. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:28:00 -0400 20090913100624.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090913100624.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-13-CBS-60M-Kroftboard.jpg 60 Minutes gave President Obama at least his fourth platform since his election, and while Steve Kroft framed the segment around how Obama "seemed confident that he had succeeded" in his Wednesday night speech and asked him, in the context of how the health care debate "has brought out the worst in us," if "Congressman Wilson should be rebuked?," he also gently challenged Obama from the right. Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:03:00 -0400 20090913095303.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090913095303.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-12-CNN-7P-Lemon.jpg Bill Maher is setting the news agenda for CNN. Literally. CNN anchor Don Lemon rued "town hallers yelling at lawmakers" and those "refusing to let kids hear the commander in chief. And on and on and on. What's behind it? Is it racial?" Lemon revealed his motivation was Maher: "I was watching Real Talk, Real Time with Bill Maher and I was like 'finally someone's talking about this.'" Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:45:00 -0400 20090912041210.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090912041210.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-11-ABC-Gibson.jpg Despite having extensively covered in June the killing of abortionist George Tiller, Katie Couric's CBS Evening News on Friday skipped the killing of a pro-life activist. ABC's Chris Bury described the murder of Jim Pouillon as "the flip side of the troubling violence surrounding the abortion debate." Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:06:00 -0400 20090912032321.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090912032321.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/HBODrudgevideo.jpg Friday night on HBO, Bill Maher tried to discredit critics of President Obama, including those concerned about his talk to school children, by smearing them as racists – before he pointed to a Drudge Report headline, "POLL HELL: OBAMA NEGS RISE," as somehow an example of the ways "some of the right-wingers are always dropping subliminally racist messages." (with video) Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:39:00 -0400 20090912124301.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090912124301.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-11-CBS-EN-poll1.jpg President Obama's speech "to rescue health care reform" caused "a 12-point improvement from last week" so "52 percent now approve of the way he's handling health care," Katie Couric announced Friday night in touting how a new CBS News poll discovered that "among those who say they watched the speech support is even greater, 58 percent." Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:32:00 -0400 20090911061526.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090911061526.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/video-pic.jpg Former Clinton operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos appeared on Thursday's O'Reilly Factor and received a declaration from Bill O'Reilly that, while obvious, probably wasn't very welcome: "...You're a Democrat. I'm an Independent." This assertion resulted in no audible or visual protestations from Stephanopoulos. Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:44:00 -0400 20090911011842.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090911011842.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-11-ABC-GMA-Tapper.jpg For the second day in a row, ABC's Jake Tapper inserted a snarky, left-leaning attack into a report on Good Morning America. Highlighting Joe Wilson's "You Lie!" outburst during Barack Obama's address to Congress, the reporter chided, "But although Wilson apologized to the White House for his lack of civility, he quickly took to the limelight of conservative media...like a moth to a flame." Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:05:00 -0400 20090910095923.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910095923.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-10-CBS-EN-shout.jpg Media minds think alike. ABC: "It was the shout heard 'round the world." CBS: “It was the shout heard 'round the world." NBC, slightly creative: "The outburst heard 'round the world" and the "heckle heard 'round the world." Congressman Joe Wilson's "you lie" shout during President Obama's Wednesday address to Congress on health care animated the Thursday evening newscasts. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:52:00 -0400 20090910071028.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910071028.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-10-MSNBC-Barnicle.jpg You know Cindy Sheehan's star has really fallen with the liberal media when the likes of Mike Barnicle, compare her to GOP Congressman Joe "You lie!" Wilson. On Thursday's Hardball, Barnicle, substitute hosting for Chris Matthews, declared, "Democrats hope to turn Wilson into the Cindy Sheehan of the anti-health care reform movement. A clownish figure of ridicule who hurts his own side, more than he helps." Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:06:00 -0400 20090910062902.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910062902.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-10-MSNBC-Shuster.jpg During the 4PM ET hour of live coverage on MSNBC Thursday, co-host David Shuster denounced the behavior of Republicans at President Obama's address to Congress, declaring: “You look at the image of the Republican Party, all white males with short haircuts. They look sort of angry. No women, no minorities, and it looks like they've sort of become unhinged.” Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:24:00 -0400 20090910055702.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910055702.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-09-ABC-NL-Moran[1].jpg ABC's Terry Moran on Wednesday hyperbolically spun Barack Obama's congressional speech as a "bold call to action" and theatrically visualized, "There was another ghost in the chamber tonight, the spirit of Senator Ted Kennedy, who fought for decades for universal care." Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:25:00 -0400 20090910032749.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910032749.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-10-CNN-AM-Poll.jpg CNN on Wednesday night and Thursday morning trumpeted the results of a poll of the mainly Democratic audience that watched President Obama's health care speech as "a great showing" for the President and "a reason to celebrate." But because the poll only included those who watched the speech, it over-sampled Democrats (and under-sampled Republicans and independents) by a substantial margin. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:20:00 -0400 20090910030456.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910030456.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-10-ABC-GMA-Tapper[1].jpg ABC correspondent Jake Tapper on Thursday condescendingly described Barack Obama's address to Congress this way: "At times, it was almost like the President were a principal and Congress a bunch of unruly school kids." The usually restrained reporter announced, "He [Obama] made outreach to his conservative opponents, while also refuting many of their ideas." Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20090910024043.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910024043.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ObamaSpeech.jpg In his health care speech Wednesday night, President Obama cast himself as a truth-teller combating "bogus claims" and "misinformation" about his plan. "If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out," Obama warned his critics. But within hours, the Associated Press found the Fact-Checker-in-Chief guilty of misrepresenting a few facts himself. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:30:00 -0400 20090910021537.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910021537.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-11-20-CC-TCR-Fried.jpg New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman again showed a disturbing affection for China's dictatorship in his Wednesday column attacking Republican stubbornness on health care and climate change legislation. Friedman pleaded for "enlightened" autocrats, able to get things accomplished against the will of the people, for their own good. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:11:00 -0400 20090910102954.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910102954.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-09-MSNBC-Olb.jpg Keith Olbermann tried to discredit Congressman Charles Boustany immediately after the Louisiana Republican finished giving the GOP response, charging he had been "sued for malpractice three times," allegedly subscribes to the "Birther" conspiracy theory raising questions about Obama's citizenship, and was even supposedly taken in by a scam as he tried to purchase the British title of "Lord." Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:52:00 -0400 20090910123629.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090910123629.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-09-ABC-PSP-Stephano.jpg Favorable assessments of President Obama's speech: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann heard "a touch of greatness," on ABC, George Stephanopoulos saw "a pretty remarkable speech," NBC's Chuck Todd insisted the address was "about re-branding the President himself as a centrist" and Newsweek's Jonathan Alter celebrated: "The great news tonight is this bill is on track for passage. Historic change is coming." Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:22:00 -0400 20090909114142.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090909114142.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-09-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg "The new President has been bruised along the way as poll numbers are falling and he has seen his message hijacked as town meetings have exploded with wild and false rumors of 'death panels' deciding when a human life should end," Brian Williams declared before Obama's speech in adopting liberal presumptions. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:37:00 -0400 20090909031415.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090909031415.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2006-08-08-CR-JillAbramson.jpg In an online QA, New York Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson admitted the paper's coverage of the Van Jones controversy was "a beat behind" and put the blame on Labor Day, not pro-Obama bias. It's not the first Democratic scandal the paper has arrived late to. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:15:00 -0400 20090909022129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090909022129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Clinton1993.jpg With President Obama pitching his version of health reform before a joint session of Congress, it recalls Bill Clinton's 1993 speech to Congress on the same topic. The media spin back then sounds eerily familiar: "reform" would end the "shame" of America being the only industrialized nation without universal coverage; a bigger role for government would cost nothing or even save money in the long run; and government bureaucrats are preferable to insurance companies. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:05:00 -0400 20090909013139.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090909013139.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-09-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg While arguing with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele about health care reform on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith proclaimed: "...if the public option is socialism, then what is Medicare?....That people overwhelmingly think works pretty well for them." Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:27:00 -0400 20090909122538.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090909122538.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-08-ABC-WNCG-RobertsObama[1].jpg ABC's Robin Roberts conducted a fawning interview with Barack Obama on Wednesday's Good Morning America, downplaying controversy and instead offering fawning softballs such as "How difficult is it to stay on message?" The GMA host previewed Obama's big health care speech to Congress and only gently broached the difficulties that the President has had with the legislation. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:18:00 -0400 20090909093547.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090909093547.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-06-FNC-FF-York.jpg In his column in Tuesday's Washington Examiner, Byron York asked: "Why did the press ignore the Van Jones scandal?" The chief political correspondent for the paper answered: "The question may not be so much who they are, as who they hate, or at least who they intensely dislike." Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400 20090908091542.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090908091542.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-08-ABC-WNCG-Gibson.jpg ABC's World News on Tuesday night bemoaned the impact of conservatives and citizen journalists in derailing President Barack Obama's agenda. Pivoting from the reaction to Obama's address to students, anchor Charles Gibson observed "today's speech was really the latest target of some conservative groups taking on the President" and "their tactics are having an impact." Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0400 20090908043444.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090908043444.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-05-ABC-NL[1].jpg Nightline correspondent Vicki Mabrey profiled self-described "financial terrorist" Bruce Marks on Friday, painting his actions in a religious light as a "revival of spirits" and "hopes." Co-host Cynthia McFadden began the show by rhapsodizing, "The financial terrorist. He's on the front lines of the foreclosure front using guerrilla tactics on a crusade to restore the American dream." Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:30:00 -0400 20090908020935.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090908020935.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-07-CNN-AC360-Gergen.jpg "It's a sad day to see a man of good work get so little credit," CNN senior political analyst David Gergen regretted about Van Jones on Monday's Anderson Cooper 360, complaining about the coverage of the Obama "green jobs" czar who resigned late Saturday night after his radical views were exposed: "I mean, there's no balance to understanding just how many good things he's done." Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:04:00 -0400 20090907090449.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090907090449.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-07-FNC-SRBB-GrapeJonesmum.jpg "The resignation of President Obama's green jobs 'czar,' Van Jones, might have come as a shock if you do not watch cable news," FNC's Bret Baier observed at the top of his Monday night "Grapevine" segment. Of course, it would have been a surprise too if you rely on MSNBC. Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:05:00 -0400 20090907062513.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090907062513.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-01-MSNBC-Tanenhaus.jpg Catching up with a great catch in last week's Weekly Standard, the September 7 issue highlighted an example of how it takes a worldview that sees liberals like Barack Obama as "consensus"-oriented and "explicitly nonideological" centrists -- and Republicans as "ideologically committed" conservatives -- to work at the New York Times. Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:25:00 -0400 20090906091427.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906091427.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-06-ABC-WNSUN-Harris.jpg Instead of focusing on how the Obama administration hired a man who added his name to a petition asserting the Bush administration deliberately allowed the 9/11 attacks to occur, ABC and NBC on Sunday night painted Van Jones as a victim, "a target for conservatives," while "the Republican Right” claimed “its first scalp in this administration." Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:12:00 -0400 20090906053446.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906053446.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-06-ABC-GMA-Jones.jpg It took Van Jones' resignation, around midnight Saturday night on a holiday weekend, for ABC and NBC to mention him for the first time in Sunday morning news shows which broached, but failed to quote, the insidious “911truth” petition he signed, while ABC's George Stephanopoulos came aboard GMA to dismiss the matter as "a summer squall." Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:46:00 -0400 20090906051844.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906051844.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg Van Jones, Obama environmental adviser and "green jobs" czar, resigned late Saturday night, the culmination of days of controversy (ignored by the mainstream media) after the revelation he signed a "911 Truther" petition. And the New York Times ran its first story - the day after Jones resigned. Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:10:00 -0400 20090906015245.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906015245.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-04-MSNBC-Maddow-CoxKennedyshirt.jpg Ana Marie Cox, until the end of last year the Washington editor for Time magazine's Web site, concluded her Friday night fill-in gig as host of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show by pulling open her jacket to display how underneath she was wearing a vintage "I'm Ready for Teddy Kennedy '76" T-shirt. Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:48:00 -0400 20090906012606.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906012606.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-04-CBS-EN-911truth.jpg ABC and NBC Friday night continued blacking out the radical views of "green jobs" czar Van Jones. Instead of taking up how he signed the 911truth.org petition, George Stephanopoulos trumpeted White House "transparency" in the "unprecedented" decision to release visitor logs while Brian Williams bemoaned: "A back to school speech by the President. How did it get branded as an attempt to brainwash America's children?" Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:55:00 -0400 20090906010344.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906010344.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-31-NBC-NN-Todd.jpg MSNBC Political Director Chuck Todd and his First Read co-writers on Friday whined both about complaints against the "knee-jerk liberal media bias" and conservatives who are uncomfortable with Barack Obama's address to school children next week. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:57:00 -0400 20090906125151.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090906125151.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-CNN-CB-Martin.jpg On Thursday's Campbell Brown program, CNN's Roland Martin berated the critics of the accompanying lesson plan for President Obama's upcoming speech to school kids, calling them "insane parents." Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:53:00 -0400 20090904041231.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090904041231.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-FNC-SRBB-911trut.jpg On Thursday's Special Report with Bret Baier, FNC host Baier ran a report by correspondent James Rosen describing a "troubling pattern of behavior" by President Obama's Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones. University of Virginia's Larry Sabato: "If a Bush official had made anything comparable to what Mr. Jones has said and done, no doubt there would have been a national hurrah of magnificent proportions." Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:07:00 -0400 20090904011129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090904011129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-FNC-SRBB-VanJone.jpg All three morning shows on Friday skipped any reference to the developing controversy over Obama administration Green Jobs Czar Van Jones and his connection to the 9/11 Truther movement. CBS's Early Show, NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America totally ignored the story, although ABC's Jake Tapper did file an online report over the subject. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:08:00 -0400 20090903090518.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903090518.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-NBC-NN-school.jpg The ABC and NBC anchors on Thursday night framed stories, on the controversy over President Obama's upcoming Tuesday address to the nations' schoolchildren accompanied by a Department of Education recommendation that teachers have their students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President," through the prism of Obama as a victim of unfair presumptions. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:05:00 -0400 20090903055848.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903055848.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-ABC-Steph[1].jpg Former Democratic strategist turned journalist George Stephanopoulos appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to declare that President Obama's address to Congress on September 9 must "intimidate Republicans a little bit." Stephanopoulos, who was a top aide to Bill Clinton, added that the White House should force the GOP to "make sure they understand the consequences of failure." Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:55:00 -0400 20090903041914.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903041914.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-CBS-TES-Rodrigue[1].jpg Teasing an upcoming segment on Thursday's CBS Early Show about new attacks on Sarah Palin by the father of her grandson, Levi Johnston, co-host Maggie Rodriguez exclaimed: "And shocking allegations that could shatter former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's conservative family image. If she chooses to believe what Levi Johnston is saying." Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:50:00 -0400 20090903033807.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903033807.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg The Washington Post continued to attack Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell on Thursday, highlighting the Republican's 1989 thesis three times and bringing the paper's grand total to nine articles in five days. The Post, which recycled George Allen's "macaca" moment 112 times in the 2006, featured this headline in the Metro section: "McDonnell's Thesis Is Relevant, Deeds Says." Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:29:00 -0400 20090903122030.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903122030.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-ABC-GMA-Champion[1].jpg On Thursday's Good Morning America, for the third time in two years, Sam Champion interviewed an extreme environmentalist who shunned toilet paper for a year as part of a project to be carbon neutral. Colin Beavan, also known as "No Impact Man," appeared on the show to promote a new documentary on his experience. This time, however, Champion downplayed the bizarre elements of Beavan's life. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0400 20090903121330.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903121330.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-02-NBC-NN-WillBulb.jpg There must have been a twitch in the universe on Wednesday as NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams – who has a history of highlighting concerns of interest to the environmentalist left – actually ran a story on complaints by Europeans that the "going green" movement is going too far with a ban of old-fashioned lightbulbs in favor of CFLs. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:06:00 -0400 20090903105412.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090903105412.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-03-NBC-Morales.jpg Move over Al Gore, NBC's Meredith Vieira and Natalie Morales have discovered the new face of global warming and it's a glacier. In the latest bit of goofy global warming nonsense Morales reported, on Thursday's Today, that a photographer in Norway caught a picture of "what appears to be a face crying a river of tears as a glacier melts into the sea." Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:47:00 -0400 20090902091448.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090902091448.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-02-MSNBC-DNCad.jpg MSNBC's David Shuster and Chris Matthews made clear their agreement with the message of a new ad from the Democratic Party which ridicules former Vice President Dick Cheney's past judgments and thus proclaims him "WRONG" on the value of enhanced interrogation techniques, with Shuster declaring "he deserves" the "brutal ad" which makes, Matthews decided, an "obvious" and "undeniable" point. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0400 20090902051148.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090902051148.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg New York Times reporter Katharine Seelye insisted that many valid criticisms of Obama-care (that abortion would be covered, that illegal immigrants would get taxpayer-funded care, and that private insurance would be eliminated) are simply "myths" believed by Republicans. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:10:00 -0400 20090902044414.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090902044414.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/1989-07-18-NBC-tedcar.jpg NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard reported NPR offered 53 stories on Ted Kennedy's death in the first five days. "But on that first day, in the 23 on-air stories, only one mentioned the name Mary Jo Kopechne and 5 mentioned Chappaquiddick." Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:43:00 -0400 20090902042808.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090902042808.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-02-ABC-GMA-Chart[1].jpg Of the three morning shows, only ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday highlighted just how quickly and severely Barack Obama's approval ratings have fallen. In a report on the subject, correspondent Jake Tapper bluntly explained, "Since taking office, President Obama's approval ratings have fallen more steeply than any other newly-elected president in modern history." Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:10:00 -0400 20090902010309.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090902010309.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-02-16-ABC-WNCG-StephSa.jpg When Diane Sawyer filled in as World News anchor in February, she admired a "scrapbook, if you will, of the President's journey on the road to the stimulus package." She effused: "I want to show everybody at home, because there is the President, it's Super Bowl night, and he's serving cookies to congressional leadership in the White House screening room." Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:05:00 -0400 20090902122509.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090902122509.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/washingtonpostlogo[1].jpg The Washington Post on Wednesday increased its frenzied attack on Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, featuring two stories in the paper's Metro section, an op-ed and a cartoon. Including opinion pieces, the Post has delivered six articles in four days on the Republican's 1989 master's thesis about families and government policy. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:20:00 -0400 20090901083353.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090901083353.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-09-01-ABC-WNCG-Rooney.jpg ABC's World News, which has twice in the past few months rued how it's too hard to raise taxes in California, on Tuesday night used one homeowner's appreciation, for the firefighters battling the wild fires threatening his house near Los Angeles, to tout how "he would gladly pay more taxes. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:28:00 -0400 20090901060503.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090901060503.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-29-ABC-GMA-Weir[1].jpg On Saturday's Good Morning America, ABC touted a German city that has rid itself of all cars. Complimenting the citizens of Vauban, reporter Jim Sciutto cheered, "And residents don't mind one bit." GMA weekend co-host Bill Weir wistfully introduced the segment by musing, "What if you could start everything over? Making over, not just your home, but your entire town?" Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:55:00 -0400 20090901122255.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090901122255.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-30-ABC-GMA-Weir[1].jpg On Sunday's "Good Morning America," weekend host Bill Weir highlighted the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and insisted that the storm "really tainted the Bush legacy." The GMA anchor talked to liberal author Jason Berry and asked if there was an intentional effort to not rebuild poor neighborhoods in New Orleans. "Is that a deliberate political move," he asked. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:15:00 -0400 20090901122315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090901122315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-08-31-NBC-NN-void.jpg With "Filling the VOID" as the on-screen heading, Monday's NBC Nightly News, without any consideration for how Massachusetts Democrats blocked the Governor's interim appointment power, fretted over the loss to Democrats of Ted Kennedy's Senate seat as a health care vote approaches. Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:25:00 -0400 20090901120915.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090901120915.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-30-FNC-Wal1.jpg On the August 30 Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace seemed to pick up on Clay Waters' NewsBusters item, earlier posted at TimesWatch, pointing out the blatant double standard between the New York Times obituary for conservative Republican Senator Jesse Helms and that of liberal Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy. Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:02:00 -0400 20090831084117.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831084117.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-07-20-SYN-CMS-Rather.jpg Former CBS anchor Dan Rather will speak at a $200-a-person fundraising event for the hard-left Nation magazine in New York on September 23. The Nation's website advertises: "Meet Dan Rather, Jane Mayer, Marcy Wheeler, and Katrina Vanden Heuvel and Help Save The Nation." Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:38:00 -0400 20090831064946.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831064946.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-31-MSNBC-MATTHEWS.jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, threw out a couple of crazy comparisons as he likened the socially conservative Sarah Palin to shock jock Howard Stern and the rakish Bill Clinton to God. Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:46:00 -0400 20090831040733.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831040733.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-30-ABC-GMA-Karl[1].jpg ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl on Sunday hyperbolically declared that the Kennedys are "America's family." Reporting on the funeral of Ted Kennedy for Good Morning America, the reporter read a letter from the Senator about his Catholic faith. Karl opined, "...Kennedy did a better job summing up his own life than any of the other hundreds of eulogies we have heard over the last days." Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:45:00 -0400 20090831031340.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831031340.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-30-CBS-FTN-Schieffe.jpg At the end of Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS, host Bob Schieffer fondly remembered Ted Kennedy, exclaiming: "In a sense he was the classic American hero, the imperfect man who was sorely tested and yet in that testing found a way to overcome personal flaws and go on to accomplish great things." Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:06:00 -0400 20090831123324.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831123324.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-31-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg Speaking with Ted Kennedy's niece, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith wondered: "Does a Kennedy belong in your uncle's old Senate seat?" Townsend replied: "I think if my brother, Joe, wanted to run, I think he'd put up a great race and be a great Senator, but there are a lot of people who can carry on Senator Kennedy's legacy." Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:28:00 -0400 20090831111745.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831111745.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-30-NBC-NN-Obamas.jpg On a Sunday evening four summers ago the NBC Nightly News explored how Cindy Sheehan was "single-handedly bringing the Iraq debate to Mr. Bush's doorstep." But Sunday night this year, after Sheehan departed Martha's Vineyard without earning any network media coverage, NBC began a story: "Hours before President Obama's vacation ended, he treated his girls to ice cream and candy." Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:15:00 -0400 20090831103828.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090831103828.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-28-PBSIW-Totenberg.jpg In full swoon for the late Senator Ted Kennedy, NPR's Nina Totenberg fondly recalled his "greatness" in doing "enormous things" for "millions and millions." Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:33:00 -0400 20090828074707.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090828074707.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Kopechne.jpg Writing at the Huffington Post, Discover magazine deputy web editor Melissa Lafsky, who formerly worked on the New York Times's Freakonomics blog, wondered about the drowned Mary Jo Kopechne's reaction to Ted Kennedy's life and career: "Who knows - maybe she'd feel it was worth it." Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:41:00 -0400 20090828063642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090828063642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-28-MSNBC-Alter[1].jpg Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter appeared on Friday's Hardball and slammed Rush Limbaugh as the "great blowhard of our time." Host Chris Matthews prompted the quote when he discussed how Limbaugh had criticized him on his radio show for calling Barack Obama the "last brother" of the Kennedy clan. Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:33:00 -0400 20090828060404.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090828060404.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-28-MSNBC-Tanenhaus.jpg Appearing on MSNBC's New York Times Edition on Friday, the paper's 'Week in Review' editor, Sam Tanenhaus, lamented one of Ted Kennedy's flaws: "There's a further paradox to this, which is we sometimes forget, I mean, all of the wonderful things being said about this extraordinary figure Edward Kennedy, that he was partly accountable for Ronald Reagan's ascendency." Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:57:00 -0400 20090828041617.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090828041617.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-28-MSNBC-MItchell.jpg MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Friday used an interview with Dan Quayle to gratuitously highlight Lloyd Bentsen's famous 1988 slam, "You're no Jack Kennedy." Although Quayle appeared on the network to share his reflections on the passing of Ted Kennedy, the cable anchor sniped, "One of your toughest moments was during the debate with Lloyd Benson when you compared yourself to John F. Kennedy..." Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:05:00 -0400 20090828023409.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090828023409.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-28-CNN-Romans.jpg Amid all of the tributes to Ted Kennedy's lengthy career of expanding the scope of government and its cost to taxpayers, CNN's American Morning on Friday dug up a six-week old op-ed from the Tax Policy Center's Len Burman warning that massive trillion-dollar deficits are a catastrophe that could lead to the end of the U.S. as a great power "or even a mediocre one." Burman predicted: "Taxes would rise to levels that would make a Scandinavian revolt." Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:26:00 -0400 20090828112850.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090828112850.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-08-FNC-SRBB-Carr.jpg "While offering condolences to the Kennedy family at this sad moment, it is important to note that his life was not as simple, nor heroic, as is now being portrayed," Howie Carr maintained in scolding the media in his Thursday Boston Herald column. Carr, talk host on WRKO, contended Kennedy "was always protected by most of the media, who shared his views on just about everything." Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:27:00 -0400 20090827092025.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090827092025.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ABC's-World-News-With-Charl.jpg ABC displayed "Battle Cry" on screen as anchor Charles Gibson teased Thursday's World News: "Health care reformers hope to win one for Teddy, but the opposition is largely unmoved." Gibson introduced the story by asserting "some of his allies in Congress harbor hopes that his death might generate a change of heart among opponents," but it may not come to be. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:18:00 -0400 20090827071628.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090827071628.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-27-MSNBC-HB-Hennen.jpg Melinda Henneberger, Editor-in-Chief of AOL's PoliticsDaily.com and former NY Times reporter, boasted on Thursday's Hardball of her admiration for the late Senator and his left-wing policies: "Ted Kennedy has been a huge inspiration to me and just listening to the coverage over the last couple of days one of the things that struck me the most was listening again to his fabulous 1980 convention speech." Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:15:00 -0400 20090827054712.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090827054712.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-26-ABC-NL-Kennedy[1].jpg In the early hours of Wednesday, reporter John Donvan narrated a tough, comprehensive look at the life of Ted Kennedy, one that went so far as to assert that the Senator was sometimes "a let down, an embarrassment to his family, to his party, to himself." However, this segment, which looked into Chappaquiddick, Kennedy's cheating at Harvard and other scandals, aired at 2:30 in the morning. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:10:00 -0400 20090827053812.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090827053812.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-27-NBC-Curry.jpg NBC's Ann Curry, on Thursday's Today show asked Senator John McCain if "the death of Senator Kennedy" would "be the catalyst" to pass health care reform but when the Arizona senator responded that it may change the partisan way in which the Democrats have had "no real negotiations" with the GOP to get it passed, Curry demanded that McCain and the Republicans should be the ones to relent as she pushed McCain to "cross the aisle." Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:33:00 -0400 20090827044000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090827044000.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-27-CBS-TES-Kennedy[1].jpg At the top of the 8AM ET hour of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Russ Mitchell wondered if Ted Kennedy's death could "spur Congress to pass a health care reform bill?" Correspondent Nancy Cordes answered that question: "Kennedy's death, in a way, gives new life to health care legislation, which has really taken a beating the past few weeks at town halls across the country." Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:34:00 -0400 20090827030108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090827030108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-ABC-Kenendy-Eyeblas.jpg On Thursday's Good Morning America, Diane Sawyer and other ABC journalists spun liberal legislation by Ted Kennedy as gifts to the whole country. While bills related to the senator appeared on-screen, Sawyer gushed, "Can you see this going by? It's a scroll. And it's going to continue. We will not finish it before we take a break, because it's Senator Kennedy's legacy." Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:25:00 -0400 20090826094631.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826094631.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-26-NBC-NN-KennedyFinalfight.jpg Proffering "national sorrow has created political momentum before," Wednesday's NBC Nightly News devoted a story to hope Ted Kennedy's passing will propel ObamaCare to victory. Brian Williams proposed "ironically, the fact that he did not live long enough to see a possible overhaul of the system" raises the question: "Will this be the very thing that might break the log jam over getting it done?" Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:41:00 -0400 20090826065403.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826065403.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-26-NBC-Williams.jpg NBC's Brian Williams, during NBC News' live coverage of the President's remarks about the passing of Ted Kennedy on Wednesday, cited what sounded like a spam e-mail rallying support for health care reform, as a way to remember the Democratic Senator. Quoting from his in-box Williams suggested: "In lieu of flowers, pass health care reform." Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:50:00 -0400 20090826064651.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826064651.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-26-NBC-Matthews.jpg MSNBC host Chris Matthews appeared three times on Wednesday's Today show to lionize Sen. Ted Kennedy, and twice he promoted Barack Obama as the "last brother" of the Kennedy political dynasty. He tried to clarify a little in his appearance in the 10 am hour: "I don't mean that in an ethnic sense or a black sense. I mean a brother of the Kennedy tradition. And I think he's the new brother, not that last brother." Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:42:00 -0400 20090826043139.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826043139.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-26-ABC-NL.jpg ABC's Terry Moran on Wednesday spun Ted Kennedy's political career as one of a "happy warrior" who should be looked to for direction in "these bitter times." However, it's hard to square this description of Kennedy with the vitriolic speech the Senator made in 1987 condemning Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:45:00 -0400 20090826035930.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826035930.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-26-CBS-UTM-Brinkley.jpg During the 2:00AM ET hour of CBS's Up to the Minute on Wednesday, shortly after news broke of Senator Ted Kenney's death, historian Douglas Brinkley exclaimed the Massachusetts Democrat was: "...going to be a – a martyr because of all that he's done and he very well might help, in death, Obama get his health care plan." Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:20:00 -0400 20090826011642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826011642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-19-NBC-NN-KennedyNewsweek.jpg Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy, who passed away late Tuesday night, had the news media as an ally and champion of his liberal causes. After the jump are a few examples, culled from the MRC's archive, of how journalists admired his policy efforts and treated him as their hero. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:10:00 -0400 20090826011021.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090826011021.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-25-FNC-OF-Goldberg.jpg On Tuesday, FNC's The O'Reilly Factor hosted FNC analyst Bernard Goldberg as the former CBS News correspondent highlighted a story recently posted on his Web site, BernardGoldberg.com, in which he complains of how little mainstream media attention was given to the fact that former President George W. Bush had volunteered to go to Vietnam. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:14:00 -0400 20090825091144.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090825091144.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-25-ABC-WNCG-Ross.jpg ABC's Brian Ross and NBC's Andrea Mitchell both balked at vindicating Dick Cheney on if "enhanced interrogation techniques" prevented attacks. "Nowhere...does the CIA ever draw a direct connection between the valuable information and the specific use of harsh tactics," Ross declared. On FNC, however, Steve Hayes asserted: "We can't debate any longer about whether this was effective." Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:12:00 -0400 20090825062317.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090825062317.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-25-MSNBC-Shuster[1].jpg MSNBC News Live hosts David Shuster and Tamron Hall on Tuesday embraced a contrarian notion that the tide is shifting in favor of liberal health care reform. Shuster tried to be optimistic: "...If the anti, sort-of, reform crowd on the right owned the early part of August, you almost get the sense that things are starting to pick up on the left, as far as the last couple of weeks in this month." Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:17:00 -0400 20090825051138.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090825051138.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-25-USATodayObamabooks.jpg USA Today reporter Richard Wolf's Tuesday news story on President Barack Obama's vacation book reading list flattered Obama for his “smart” and “exquisite” choice in the five books the White House announced Monday he had picked to read. Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:10:00 -0400 20090825042542.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090825042542.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-23-NBC-MTP-Smiley.jpg On Sunday's Meet the Press, NBC matched Joe Scarborough on the right with PBS talk-show host Tavis Smiley on the left. Smiley declared President Obama was too moderate, and the town hall meetings as full of "unadulterated hate." Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:14:00 -0400 20090825040959.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090825040959.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-23-ABC-Steph[1].jpg During an interview with John McCain on Sunday's This Week, George Stephanopoulos practically begged with the Arizona senator to repudiate "death panel" claims by former Governor Sarah Palin. Speaking of the health care bill, Stephanopoulos attacked euthanasia worries and lobbied, "[Obama] called that an extraordinary lie. And he is right about that, isn't he?" Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:02:00 -0400 20090825094656.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090825094656.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-24-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, ridiculed Republican Congressman Wally Herger, for calling a townhaller a "Great American," because the questioner described himself as a "right wing terrorist." Since satire seems to be above Chris Matthews' head he failed to realize the townhaller was probably mocking those in the liberal media, like the Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein, who actually called Republicans "terrorists." Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:44:00 -0400 20090824084518.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090824084518.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/CouricObamaNeologyvid.jpg Much of the media spent the last eight years ridiculing President Bush's verbal communication and lack of reading skills, but Monday night, CBS and NBC used President Barack Obama's first full day of vacation as a pivot to spin his "wee wee'd up" miscue, which certainly would have been widely mocked if uttered by Bush, and supposed summer book reading list -- into admirable positives. (with video) Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:40:00 -0400 20090824064525.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090824064525.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-24-ABC-GMA-Cuomo.jpg ABC News anchor Chris Cuomo conducted a hostile interview of RNC Chairman Michael Steele on Monday's Good Morning America. Noting Steele hadn't used the term "death panel," Cuomo asked if it was "a sign of positive progress." He also wondered why Steele wasn't bashing insurance companies, since when there is "excess in the system, it always comes back to the insurance companies." Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:41:00 -0400 20090824033111.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090824033111.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-24-NBC-Obamakid.jpg NBC's Ron Allen, on Monday's Today show, highlighted how the residents on Martha's Vineyard are in a tizzy about the First Family vacationing there as he gushed: "On the small island off the coast of Massachusetts, there is Obama everything!" Allen then went on to feature locals celebrating the arrival of the Obamas including a woman excited about eateries naming dishes after the President like the "Barack-O-Taco," the "Obamarita" and as Allen enthused: "Even an ice cream called Barack My World." While Allen did note the politics of Martha's Vineyard, "lean to the political left," he did it right before leading into video of a kid actually gasping "Gosh!" and breaking out into a song and dance when she realized she had just seen Obama. Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:22:00 -0400 20090824093831.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090824093831.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/KerryTshirtRogancombo.jpg Some in Hollywood, it seems, just can't let go of past political hopes – or at least want to use their films to continue pushing their political preferences. In Funny People, the new movie from writer/director Judd Apatow which opened July 31, a character played by Seth Rogen wears a 2004-era "Vote Kerry" T-shirt. Sat, 22 Aug 2009 17:55:00 -0400 20090821082220.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090821082220.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-21-ABC-WNCG-poll.jpg ABC on Friday night made clear how President Obama is losing favor on health, but Kate Snow still saw a "glass half full" view: "It's not all bad news for the President...if you look at the glass half full point of view, the country is basically split. About half of Americans still favor reform, and about half still favor a public option." Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:22:00 -0400 20090821010810.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090821010810.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-21-CBS-TES-Rodrigue[1].jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez interviewed commentator Dick Morris about his latest book critical of the Obama administration, Catastrophe. After reading the book's full title, Rodriguez observed: "This title, though, Mr. Morris, can't you see a lot of people dismissing it right off the bat as alarmist? It screams at you." Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:02:00 -0400 20090821112618.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090821112618.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2005-06-30-MSNBC-CWO-Novakw.jpg Even though conservative columnist Robert Novak was talked about and attacked many times on MSNBC's Countdown show - especially as host Keith Olbermann frequently devoted time to the Valerie Plame case - the MSNBC host did not take time this week to report on Novak's passing. Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:20:00 -0400 20090820110451.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090820110451.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-CNN-LDT-Halperin.jpg "We're the only industrialized democracy that doesn't cover every citizen" and "that is immoral," Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst for Time magazine where he oversees "The Page" blog, declared on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight in illustrating the prism through which journalists view the debate over the proper role of government in health care. Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:00:00 -0400 20090820052557.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090820052557.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/sheehan0809a.jpg The Washington Examiner's Byron York blogged Thursday about how ABC anchor Charles Gibson declared “enough already” when asked about Cindy Sheehan's plan to travel to President Barack Obama's Martha's Vineyard vacation spot next week to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. York observed how "that's a remarkably different stance from the one Gibson took four years ago." Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:20:00 -0400 20090820111236.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090820111236.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-20-NBC-Thompson.jpg Lost in Thursday's Today coverage of Senator Ted Kennedy's letter requesting a succession plan, should the Massachusetts senator be unable to serve due to health reasons, was how nakedly partisan the act was. While NBC's Matt Lauer noted, at the top of the show, that Kennedy sent a "poignant letter to lawmakers," asking for a succession plan, he nor any other NBC correspondent, mentioned that Kennedy was asking for a change in a rule the state Democrats put in place to prevent a then-Republican Governor Mitt Romney from appointing a replacement for Democratic Senator John Kerry, if Kerry had won the presidential election in 2004. Now that Democratic Governor Deval Patrick is in charge, Kennedy is asking the rule be changed back to ensure an extra Democratic vote for a health care bill. Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:06:00 -0400 20090820105939.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090820105939.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-16-CNN-RS-Zurawick.jpg Less than two hours after the news of Bob Novak's passing on Tuesday, Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawik, a regular on CNN's Reliable Sources, excoriated Novak as "a very dark force in cable TV news contributing mightily to the toxic culture of confrontation, belligerence and polarization that so defines cable TV." Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:54:00 -0400 20090819094854.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090819094854.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-19-ABC-WNCG-poster.jpg ABC, CBS and NBC on Wednesday night all showcased liberal Congressman Barney Frank's rejoinder - "On what planet do you spend most of your time?" - to a woman's question: "Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy as Obama has expressly supported this policy?" The networks painted it as a concern coming from a typical anti-ObamaCare conservative, though it came from a LaRouche activist. Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:49:00 -0400 20090819062536.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090819062536.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-19-NBC-Today-Novak.jpg While ABC, CBS and NBC all ran obituaries during their August 18 evening news shows, ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's The Early Show on Wednesday completely skipped over the death of conservative columnist Robert Novak, while NBC's Today only squeezed in a brief, two-sentence item during their 7am news update. Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:20:00 -0400 20090819043753.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090819043753.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-05-18-CBS-CBSSP-Hewitt.jpg Don Hewitt, creator of CBS's 60 Minutes who passed away Wednesday, recognized the bias which led Dan Rather to target President George W. Bush with a 2004 story based on forged documents, as he suggested such a flimsy hit piece damaging to the liberal candidate wouldn't have made it onto the air: "Does anybody really think there wouldn't have been more scrutiny if this had been about John Kerry?" Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:37:00 -0400 20090819023302.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090819023302.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-19-CBS-TES-Loorz.jpg On Wednesday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Daniel Sieberg reported on a young global warming activist from California: "...everyday citizens of all ages are doing their part to raise awareness of climate change....15-year-old Alec Loorz takes his message across the country, using poles to illustrate the predicted sea level rise if nothing is done to prevent global warning." Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20090818102914.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090818102914.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-18-NBC-NN-polllist.jpg NBC turned opposition to ObamaCare into a "split" in public opinion in a NBC poll as Chuck Todd assessed Obama's health effort "is stable," and he listed four charges against the bills which he asserted have "proven to be false," yet NBC didn't inquire about any liberal claims those same groups have discredited. Todd also tried to minimize the impact of what he derided as the "town hall madness." Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:28:00 -0400 20090818064346.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090818064346.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-18-MSNBC-Shuster.jpg Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin appeared on MSNBC's News Live on Tuesday to discuss college football and ended up trashing Sarah Palin. Talking with host David Shuster, Zirin frothed that odd sports rules are like "Sarah Palin considering herself a college graduate. Just 'cause you call yourself that, doesn't mean it means anything." Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:00:00 -0400 20090818040310.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090818040310.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-18-MSNBC-MM-Brewer.jpg On Tuesday, MSNBC's Contessa Brewer fretted over health care reform protesters legally carrying guns: "A man at a pro-health care reform rally...wore a semiautomatic assault rifle on his shoulder and a pistol on his hip....there are questions about whether this has racial overtones....white people showing up with guns." Brewer failed to mention the man she described was black. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:30:00 -0400 20090818010630.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090818010630.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/CNN-Novak-passedaway1.jpg Sadly, news came Tuesday that Robert Novak passed away, at age 78, after a battle with brain cancer. Starting in 1994 Novak generously helped the MRC as a judge for our annual "Best Notable Quotables" annual awards for “the year's worst reporting," lending his credibility and expertise. Novak often brought unique and noteworthy insights about the media. A few from our archive to honor his work. Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:05:00 -0400 20090818114615.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090818114615.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-17-CBS-EN-Att.jpg On Monday's Evening News, CBS's Sharyl Attkisson filed a report highlighting the recent defections of thousands of AARP members to the more conservative American Seniors Association (ASA), because of the perceived support by the AARP for ObamaCare: "Up to 60,000 people have cancelled their AARP membership since July 1, angered over the group's position on health care." Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:41:00 -0400 20090818114041.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090818114041.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-17-ABC-Gibson.jpg On Monday's World News, ABC's Charles Gibson channeled the worry of liberal activists over President Obama' seeming retreat on the big government "public option." Gibson fretted to White House correspondent Jake Tapper: "Will he go to the mat for a public option?" Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:37:00 -0400 20090817063631.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090817063631.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-16-ABC-GMA-Claiborne.jpg ABC on Sunday ran a sympathetic piece on former insurance executive Wendell Potter's "personal journey from health industry insider to outsider." Good Morning America's Ron Claiborne trumpeted how after a "crisis of conscience" Potter became an "outspoken critic of the industry," but failed to tell viewers that Potter now works for a far-left advocacy group, the Center for Media and Democracy. Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:31:00 -0400 20090817061539.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090817061539.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-16-CBS-SM-Teichner.jpg On CBS's Sunday Morning correspondent Martha Teichner touted President Obama's latest PR blitz to promote health care reform: "For the third time in five days, Barack Obama used the presidential bully pulpit on behalf of what he's now calling health insurance reform. No more letting the angry opposition control the agenda." Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:05:00 -0400 20090817054849.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090817054849.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Rather2004.jpg Sunday's Los Angeles Times had an update on Dan Rather's continuing lawsuit against CBS News over what Dan might call the "forged-memos-to-torpedo-Bush's-re-election-in-2004 scandal." Rather scalded CBS with language he used to save for conservatives, but 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager punched back, trashing Rather's work as deficient: "I hate to say it in public, but many of [his] stories were not even close to the standards we expect." Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:42:00 -0400 20090817043552.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090817043552.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-13-ABC-WN-Sno.jpg During Thursday's World News with Charles Gibson, ABC's Kate Snow held open the possibility that some ObamaCare opponents are correct in their belief that universal health care will include taxpayer funding of abortion, although she characterized the truth as "unclear." Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:29:00 -0400 20090817022513.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090817022513.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-17-NBC-DEAN.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer opened Monday's Today show worrying about the possible loss of a public option in Barack Obama's health care reform as he teased viewers at the start of the show: "Reining it in. As President Obama and his family tour the wild west, signs he may drop a key part of his health plan. Is he bowing to pressure from the Republicans and those shouters at town hall meetings?" Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:19:00 -0400 20090815120956.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090815120956.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-14-CBS-EN-Rei.jpg All three broadcast evening newscasts covered President Obama's health care town hall, but only the CBS Evening News told viewers how Democrats in Montana had "orchestrated" a friendly environment for Obama, as many Democrats arrived early to secure tickets. Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:59:00 -0400 20090814054638.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090814054638.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-14-MSNBC-Harwood.jpg On MSNBC Friday, anchor John Harwood spoke with New York Times Week in Review editor Sam Tanenhaus about the health care debate: "...you know an awful lot about the patron saint of modern conservatism William F. Buckley. What do you suppose Bill Buckley would think of the nature of the arguments that are being made against the Obama health care plan right now, death panels and all the rest?" Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:38:00 -0400 20090814051909.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090814051909.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-13-NBC-NN-Cur.jpg All three broadcast networks seized on a charity's offer of free medical care in Los Angeles, arguing the arrival of many patients as a sign of how many Americans need "free health care," and even relaying the notion that the U.S. in some ways resembles Third World countries. But only by watching ABC's Good Morning America did learn that the free clinic does not even screen patients to learn if they really are in need financially. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:59:00 -0400 20090814034124.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090814034124.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-14-ABC-GMA-Ross.jpg ABC News correspondent Brian Ross tried to connect the health care town hall protesters to hate groups on Friday's GMA. Ross cited the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose left-wing political affiliation he omitted, and used two sound bites from the SPLC's Mark Potok, who hyped that President Obama supposedly "triggered fears among...white people...that they are somehow losing their country." Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:38:00 -0400 20090814124005.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090814124005.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-13-CBS-EN-Couric[1].jpg At the top of Thursday's CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric used a free clinic in Inglewood, California to push for health care reform: "Tonight in the battle over health care, they are on the front lines....we're going to show you why many believe reform is desperately needed. These are just some of the tens of thousands of Americans who need health care but have no insurance or not enough of it." Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:36:00 -0400 20090814111316.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090814111316.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-13-CNN-NR-Sanchez.jpg On Thursday's Newsroom, CNN's Rick Sanchez pressed Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee about how, as a constituent was asking her a question at a health care town hall meeting, Jackson-Lee made a call on her cell phone. Sanchez demanded to know, "What were you thinking, Congresswoman?" The Texas Democrat bizarrely suggested the video of her on the phone was "doctored." Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:04:00 -0400 20090814102405.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090814102405.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/pastorwithcastro.jpg "As Castro Turns 83, Cuba Caught Between Past, Future," announces an August 13 headline for the CBSNews.com World Watch blog. The 10-paragraph entry by Havana-based news producer Portia Siegelbaum amounted to an electronic birthday card for the Communist dictator. Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:18:00 -0400 20090813045836.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090813045836.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-11-NBC-NN-Wil.jpg Among Tuesday's network evening newscasts, all three of which ran stories on the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, only the NBC Nightly News mentioned that Mrs. Shriver was strongly opposed to abortion. Anchor Brian Williams explained: "While a lifelong liberal Democrat, she was a lifelong opponent of abortion – she said, based on her strong Catholic faith." Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:52:00 -0400 20090813044809.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090813044809.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-13-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg At the top of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith teased an upcoming segment on dispelling myths about health care reform: "There's so much anger, this vitriol that we see day after day in these town meetings across the country....We're going to try and determine this morning whether or not some of these bold statements are, in fact, true or not." Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:41:00 -0400 20090813035741.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090813035741.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-12-CBS-EN-Orr.jpg On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Bob Orr highlighted a far-left group's report on potential violence by "right-wing extremists." Orr warned: "Officials say a sour economy, a Democrat-controlled government, and a black President present the kind of perfect storm that could further fuel the growth of the militia movement." Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:48:00 -0400 20090813024155.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090813024155.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-13-ABC-Tapper[1].jpg Of the three major networks, only CBS has managed, thus far, to ignore controversial comments from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that compared America's disputed election in 2000 to political corruption in Nigeria. ABC, however, highlighted the August 12 remarks on Thursday's Good Morning America. GMA news anchor Chris Cuomo challenged, "Now, did [the comments] cross the line?" Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:05:00 -0400 20090813101726.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090813101726.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-12-CBS-Protesters.jpg On Wednesday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Ben Tracy filed a report linking angry protesters opposing ObamaCare to conservative groups, examining the possibility that the "outrage" has been "organized" by these groups, or even affected by "anti-government" sentiment over other issues, rather than legitimate concerns about the plans under consideration. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:03:00 -0400 20090812072831.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090812072831.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-12-MSNBC-Abram.jpg Average American citizen Katy Abram's impassioned plea against socialized health care, at Senator Arlen Specter's town hall meeting on Tuesday, got her noticed by the Hardball producers as her clip was featured on Tuesday's show and she even received an invitation to appear tonight -- complete with the requisite scolding from the program's liberal host. Subbing for Chris Matthews, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, incorrectly challenged Abram's fear that Barack Obama wanted to move to a single-payer plan. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:25:00 -0400 20090812055906.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090812055906.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-12-CBS-TES-Health[1].jpg At the top of the 8:00AM ET hour of Wednesday's Early Show, co-host Russ Mitchell cited protests at health care reform town hall meetings as evidence that the debate was "turning into a nasty national shouting match." Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:54:00 -0400 20090812040752.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090812040752.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-11-ABC-WN-factcheck[1].jpg On Tuesday's World News, for the second day in a row, ABC delivered a "fact check" on the health care bill, offering up perspectives sympathetic to the sweeping legislation. Confusing opinions for facts, David Wright spun that it was "true" that "95 percent of the people" would be able to keep their current plan. However, Politifact has labeled this claim a half truth. Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:25:00 -0400 20090812031850.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090812031850.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-11-CNN-Sanchez2.jpg CNN's Rick Sanchez on Tuesday asked Obama spokesperson (and former ABC and CBS reporter) Linda Douglass to reject as a "falsity" that the health care "public option" would include payments for abortions. "There's no evidence," Sanchez insisted: "What's your strategy for dealing with those falsities?" But just days earlier, the Associated Press reported: "Gov't insurance would allow coverage for abortion." Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:10:00 -0400 20090812030623.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090812030623.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/MorningJoe.jpg Time magazine's Mark Halperin, formerly the political director at ABC News, announced on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Tuesday that he believed that most reporters operated under the belief that they are not biased, but instead think that they are "right down the middle." Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:00:00 -0400 20090812010600.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090812010600.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-12-CBS-TES-Mitchell.jpg On Wednesday, the CBS Early Show once again feared a rise in right-wing extremism as co-host Russ Mitchell cited a report from the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center: "A report out this morning says anti-government and white racist militias are regrouping around the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center says it is in part a reaction to the election of America's first black president." Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0400 20090811072738.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090811072738.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-11-MSNBC-MATTHEWS.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, painted town hall protestors as racist as he charged, "I think some of the people are upset because we have a black president." Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:23:00 -0400 20090811055650.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090811055650.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2006-09-11-MSNBCCWOOlber.jpg With the Obama administration and their friends in the media denouncing the sometimes loud dissent that liberals are facing in town hall meetings on health care, it's worth recalling how some of those same journalists celebrated anti-Bush dissenters and denounced what they claimed was the Republican administration's attempts to stifle dissent. Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:43:00 -0400 20090811030152.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090811030152.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-11-ABC-WorldNews-Sn[1].jpg ABC's Kate Snow, who early on Monday couldn't find time to show any Republican opposition to a controversial provision in the health care plan, reversed course on World News and briefly highlighted a GOP voice. Congressman Thaddeus McCotter appeared and asserted, "And there should never be any doubt as to whether your end-of-life decisions are influenced by its effect on the United States Treasury." Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:15:00 -0400 20090811010719.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090811010719.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-11-NBC-Lauer.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer, on Tuesday's Today show, invited on Robert Gibbs to preview Barack Obama's town hall meeting on health care and warned the White House press secretary that it could be a "Super Bowl for shouters." Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:55:00 -0400 20090810045503.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090810045503.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-09-NBC-MTP-Brooks.jpg On Sunday's Meet the Press, New York Times columnist David Brooks slammed Rush Limbaugh as "insane" for comparing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Adolf Hitler, but NBC never let viewers know that Limbaugh was just responding to Pelosi's smear that anti-ObamaCare protesters were just thugs "carrying swastikas." Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:38:00 -0400 20090810041037.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090810041037.aspx http://media.eyeblast.org/newsbusters/static/2009/08/2009-08-08-CBS-EN-Andrews.jpg Reporting on Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court on Saturday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Wyatt Andrews declared: "...she's not always the reserved, work-aholic judge she portrayed in the Senate hearings....The judge is also known for her can't-miss Christmas parties, which included salsa dancing inside the federal court of appeals in Manhattan." Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0400 20090810033728.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090810033728.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-10-MSNBC-Graphic-hy[1].jpg MSNBC's graphics department on Monday provided some obnoxious examples of media bias, fretting about "unhinged" conservatives and "health care hysteria." The left-leaning cable network featured on-screen texts promoting the Democratic agenda. MSNBC News Live host Carlos Watson anchored a piece urging liberals to get tough in supporting universal health care. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:20:00 -0400 20090810120620.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090810120620.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-10-ABC-GMA-Snow[1].jpg ABC's Good Morning America on Monday presented an extremely one-sided take on the controversial end-of-life provisions in the health care bill, decrying all the "screaming" and "shouting" at town hall meetings. Reporter Kate Snow featured no Republican voices (other than of people yelling) in the segment and instead focused on combating the "incorrect claims" about the legislation. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:25:00 -0400 20090810114304.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090810114304.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Globeheadline-09-08-06.jpg Catching up with a front page Boston Globe story from late last week, the newspaper failed to limit its liberal laments, and belittling of conservatives, to the editorial page: "This summer, the Rockwellian ideal of neighbors gathering to discuss community issues in a neighborly way is gone, replaced by quarrelsome masses hollering questions downloaded from activist websites..." Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:41:00 -0400 20090810125113.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090810125113.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2006-01-12-CNNAMFranken.jpg "What do you call a crazed group of people that disrupts a meeting on health care and hangs the congressman holding it in effigy?" Former CNN Washington correspondent Bob Franken, in a Friday blog posting on AOL's "Politics Daily" site, "Health Care Mobs and Their Instigators: Denials Ring Hollow," answered by smearing all instead of holding accountable the few who commit the misdeeds: "A mob." Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:46:00 -0400 20090809081355.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090809081355.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-07-ABC-WNCG-ugly.jpg The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts in near-unison on Friday night disparaged the anti-ObamaCare protests at town meetings as "unruly," "nasty" and "getting ugly," while CBS and NBC targeted Rush Limbaugh for making an ObamaCare/Nazi comparison without bothering to acknowledge Limbaugh was reacting to House Speaker Pelosi who accused opponents of "carrying swastikas" into the events. Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:02:00 -0400 20090809041958.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090809041958.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2000-12-22-CBS-EN-Rather12.jpg In an August 9 Washington Post op-ed, disgraced CBS anchor Dan Rather is asking President Obama to form a commission to find ways to help the news media. It shows the liberal journalist's comfort with Obama - can anyone imagine him asking President Bush to prescribe a fix for what ails the media? Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:14:00 -0400 20090808024640.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090808024640.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-CNN-Neill.jpg On Thursday, CNN Newsroom aired a piece of communist propaganda about how Cuba could serve as "a model for health care reform" in the U.S., complete with an authoritative soundbite from an American medical expert, identified only as someone "who's lived and worked in Cuba for decades," even though she is a longtime admirer of Castro's revolution. Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:37:00 -0400 20090807064635.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090807064635.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-07-MSNBC-Shuster[1].jpg At the top of the 4:00PM ET hour on MSNBC Friday, fill-in co-anchor Monica Novotny issued a dire warning about protests at health care town hall meetings: "The town hall confrontations are turning violent....Where is all of this heading? New fears for the safety of America's first African-American president." Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:42:00 -0400 20090807055333.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090807055333.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-CNN-Panel.jpg Three of CNN's supposedly non-partisan political analysts - Jeffrey Toobin, David Gergen, and Gloria Borger - gave President Obama high grades during the network's special on Obama's second 100 days Thursday night. The panel's B's and B-pluses lined-up with the A's and B's awarded by CNN's liberal pundits, compared with the D's Obama earned from the conservatives. Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:44:00 -0400 20090807034545.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090807034545.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-ABC-JackieRobins.jpg ABC's "Nightline" on Thursday celebrated Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme Court as a "Jackie Robinson moment" and also highlighted cheering crowds at an event put on by the left-wing Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund (PRLDF). Correspondent John Donvan failed to identify the liberal bent of the organization. Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:15:00 -0400 20090807011432.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090807011432.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-07-CBS-TES-Brown[1].jpg After touting the 'Cash for Clunkers' program as a "runaway success" and "great for the environment," Friday's CBS Early Show finally reported on problems with the plan as co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "And find out why the 'Cash for Clunkers' program could actually end up costing you long term." Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:08:00 -0400 20090807120355.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090807120355.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/WashingtonPost-Logo.jpg In Friday's Washington Post business section, columnist Steven Pearlstein - who last week condemned the conservative "fantasy" that raising taxes hurts the economy - blasted Republicans as "political terrorists" who are "poisoning the political well" by peddling "lies" that are "so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage." Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:51:00 -0400 20090807094005.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090807094005.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-05-MSNBC-HB-Mat4.jpg On Wednesday's Hardball, MSNBC's Chris Matthews featured a discussion of Kathleen Parker's latest column arguing that vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin tapped into Southern racism during the 2008 campaign. Matthews demanded to know: "Is Sarah Palin a poster girl for racism?" Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:23:00 -0400 20090806062131.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090806062131.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-CNN-NR-ObamaCareRally.jpg CNN on Thursday twice ran a glowing documentary-style report about a left-wing Capitol Hill rally in favor of ObamaCare. Anchor Heidi Collins introduced the 10am ET version by praising the "work and determination of volunteers hoping to make a difference." No CNN reporter narrated the piece, which consisted of video of the young activists at work and soundbites from the event's left-wing organizers and speakers. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:10:00 -0400 20090806054241.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090806054241.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-MSNBC-Shuster[1].jpg During the 2PM ET hour on MSNBC, anchor Contessa Brewer wondered: "Is a poster of the President as the Joker racist? The posters in Los Angeles and elsewhere show the President as 'The Dark Knight' version of the Joker above the word 'socialism.'" She then cited an article from Thursday's Washington Post making the accusation. Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:32:00 -0400 20090806022026.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090806022026.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-CBS-TES-Mitchell[1].jpg On Thursday, all three network morning news programs reported the conviction of former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson on bribery charges, but only NBC's Today identified him as a Democrat. CBS's Early Show and ABC's Good Morning America simply referred to him as a "former congressman." Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:45:00 -0400 20090806010841.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090806010841.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-NBC-TODAY-MITC.jpg NBC's Andrea Mitchell, on Thursday's, Today show cheered an added benefit to the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling from North Korea, was that it reunited Bill Clinton and Al Gore. In a segment headlined, "Together Again, Clinton and Gore's Emotional Reunion," Mitchell -- who is traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wherever she goes these days -- hailed that the event brought back the "Boomer buddy team," and gushed "Both are now international superstars." Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:05:00 -0400 20090806111816.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090806111816.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-06-ObamaJoker2.jpg An article in Thursday's Washington Post lashed out at the viral Obama-as-the-Joker posters, attacking them as promoting "coded," "racially charged" images. Art critic Philip Kennicott smeared the images as flat-out bigoted: "The charge of socialism is secondary to the basic message that Obama can't be trusted, not because he is a politician, but because he's black." Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:40:00 -0400 20090805090749.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090805090749.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-05-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg Wednesday's NBC Nightly News devoted a full minute to the guilty convictions for bribery, racketeering and wire fraud against former nine-term Louisiana Democratic Congressman William Jefferson, but failed to name his political party Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:06:00 -0400 20090805090144.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090805090144.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-03-MSNBC-CWO-Olb3.jpg On Monday's Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann delivered a "Special Comment" lambasting members of the Blue Dog Coalition. After reciting contributions received from the health care industry, he suggested that these Democrats should just be called "dogs." Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:49:00 -0400 20090805063154.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090805063154.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg While those who question Obama's presidential eligibility are called "fringe" and "false," the New York Times gave a respectful hearing to a convention pushing a far more incendiary left-wing conspiracy theory -- that Bush orchestrated the 9-11 attacks: "Some participants see an American tradition of questioning concentrated power." Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:22:00 -0400 20090805011903.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090805011903.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-04-ABC-WNCG-Gibson.jpg ABC framed its Tuesday night story, on citizens using town hall forums held by Members of Congress to express opposition to ObamaCare, around undermining their credibility by asserting the reaction "appears to be orchestrated" and "organized" and thus is forcing the victimized "White House to push back" by "fighting Internet fire with fire." Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:10:00 -0400 20090804072358.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090804072358.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-04-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's, Hardball invited on California Senator Barbara Boxer to dismiss the increasing number of townhall protestors opposed to Obama's liberal agenda as the "angry, and "noisy," "well-dressed middle-class people in pinks and limes...Brooks Brothers Brigade." After playing brief clips of the townhall meetings Matthews devoted the first half of his show to knocking down their legitimacy. Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:18:00 -0400 20090804055736.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090804055736.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-04-CBS-TES-Cordes[1].jpg After depicting the 'Cash for Clunkers' car buying program as a "runaway success" on Friday, on Tuesday's Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes argued: "The Department of Transportation says the program has been great for the environment. 80% of the clunkers have been pickups or SUVs, traded in for new cars with an average mileage nearly 10 miles per gallon higher." Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:51:00 -0400 20090804045549.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090804045549.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-09-07-CBS-LSDL-Rich.jpg Sarah Palin's a Birther? Frank Rich evidently wants us to think so: "Obama's election, far from alleviating paranoia in the white fringe, has only compounded it. There is no purer expression of this animus than to claim that Obama is literally not an American -- or, as Sarah Palin would have it, not a 'real American.'" Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:55:00 -0400 20090804014431.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090804014431.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-31-MSNBC-HB-poll.jpg MSNBC hosts have been fixated over using "birthers" to discredit conservatives, highlighting a poll which found a majority of Republicans (58%) either believe Barack Obama wasn't born in the U.S. or aren't sure. Where was MSNBC two years ago when a survey discovered a bigger majority of Democrats (61%) think or are not sure if President George W. Bush knew in advance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:46:00 -0400 20090804011859.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090804011859.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-05-08-ABC-GMA-Baskin.jpg Roberta Baskin, a veteran of CBS News, ABC News, PBS and Washington, DC's ABC affiliate, with a stint at the Center for Public Integrity mixed in, "will join the Department of Health and Human Service's office of inspector general as a senior communications adviser in mid-August," Washington Post “Federal Eye” blogger Ed O'Keefe reported late Monday. Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:13:00 -0400 20090803091018.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803091018.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-03-CBS-EN-Sabelius.jpg Monday's CBS Evening News found time for a story on protesters, against liberal Democratic health plans, who confronted members of Congress at forums over the weekend, though reporter Wyatt Andrews felt the need to insert "scare" quotes as he referred to "demonstrators against what they called 'government-run health care'" and "what they call 'Obama-care.'" Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:10:00 -0400 20090803090303.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803090303.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-03-CNN-NR-Sanchez.jpg CNN anchor Rick Sanchez misrepresented Senator John McCain's words from an interview with his colleague John King on Sunday about the GOP's outreach with Latinos. He described McCain as recommending "the Republican Party needs to find competent Hispanics who can fit into the party," when McCain never used the word "competent." Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:58:00 -0400 20090803062252.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803062252.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-02-NBC-MatthewsPane.jpg On the syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, over the weekend, Chris Matthews and his panel linked Rush Limbaugh and the GOP to the birthers movement and accused them of playing racial politics. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:18:00 -0400 20090803050741.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803050741.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-03-CBS-TES-Obama.jpg At the top of Monday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith touted a White House-produced video: "And your letters to the President...A behind-the-scenes look at how President Obama keeps in touch with everyday Americans." After airing the administration spin, co-host Maggie Rodriguez argued it was "all part of Obama's promise of transparency in the people's White House." Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:00:00 -0400 20090803044354.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803044354.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-08-03-ABC-GMA-Cuomo[1].jpg Of the three network morning shows, only ABC touted a new study by the Heritage Foundation that reported how the federal government's massive spending will average almost $34,000 per household in 2009, up $8000 from last year. On Monday, Good Morning America's Chris Cuomo marveled, "Seventy two billion dollars spent by our government to the wrong people in either double payments or mispayments." Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:33:00 -0400 20090803012905.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803012905.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/Pearlsteainmrc.jpg As the weekend ends, catching up with a Wednesday Washington Post article which encapsulated how journalists are revolted by conservative economic policy and upset at how an aversion to tax hikes may prevent passage of Obama's health care takeover. "Health Reform Threatened by Conservatives' Anti-Tax Fantasy" read the headline over a Wednesday "Business" section column by Steven Pearlstein. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:24:00 -0400 20090803012207.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090803012207.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-31-ABC-2020-Sto2.jpg On Friday's 20/20 on ABC, co-anchor John Stossel exposed the flaws in the Canadian and British government-run health care systems, and even showed viewers a clip of President Obama as he once expressed a belief that single-payer health care would be an acceptable. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:15:00 -0400 20090801110327.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090801110327.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ClintonCoversSmall.jpg How unusual is it for a new President to be featured seven times on Time's cover, as Barack Obama has been (with Michelle Obama snagging her own solo appearance)? A look back finds Bill Clinton matched Obama's celebrity in 1993 - seven covers for himself, one for Hillary. But the last three GOP Presidents - Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush - were given relatively short shrift. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 10:56:00 -0400 20090731090512.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090731090512.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-31-CBS-EN-Couric.jpg A year ago, when GDP rose 1.9%, CBS centered a story around the "disappointing" news while ABC and NBC ignored it. But Friday night, Katie Couric crowed a 1% Q2 decline means the "glimmer of hope just got a whole lot brighter." ABC's George Stephanopoulos touted how Obama's team "can point to these numbers today and say, look, there is real evidence right now stimulus package...is working." Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:05:00 -0400 20090731053600.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090731053600.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-30-MSNBC-Deutsch.jpg MSNBC host Donny Deutsch frothed about "right-wing racism" on Thursday and trashed Rush Limbaugh as a both a "moron" and a "putz." The former CNBC anchor talked with liberal journalist Joan Walsh about her Salon.com column and quoted her asserting that "Limbaugh and Beck continue to ratchet up their alarming and increasingly racist hatred for the President." Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:05:00 -0400 20090731030207.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090731030207.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-31-CBS-TES-CFC[1].jpg Reporting on the Obama administration's 'Cash for Clunkers' car buying program running out of money, CBS correspondent Nancy Cordes offered a mixed message: "'Cash for Clunkers' has been such a runaway success....The program is so popular...word spread it would be suspended...because of fears that sales would soon swallow up the $1 billion for rebates the government had set aside." Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0400 20090731104137.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090731104137.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/TimeObamacovers260x170.jpg Time magazine's August 10 edition with President Barack Obama on the cover (“Paging Dr. Obama”) trying to heal the nation in a photo illustration as a physician, wearing a white smock with a stethoscope around his neck, brings to seven the number of issues the magazine's cover has featured Obama just since November's election. Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:34:00 -0400 20090730091707.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090730091707.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-30-ABC-WNCG-Vargas.jpg When Obama does it, it's news. ABC and NBC on Thursday night made time to highlight who President Barack Obama will bestow with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in two weeks. Both started with Senator Ted Kennedy. On ABC's World News, which never touted President George W. Bush's picks in advance, anchor Elizabeth Vargas trumpeted... Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:14:00 -0400 20090730054614.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090730054614.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-29-ABC-Thomas[1].jpg ABC's Pierre Thomas landed an exclusive interview with Eric Holder on Wednesday's Nightline, quizzing the Attorney General on race relations in America. Somehow, however, the reporter managed to completely ignore Holder's incendiary remark from February that America is a "nation of cowards" when dealing with race relations. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:30:00 -0400 20090730015910.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090730015910.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-01-GMABesser.jpg ABC's new "senior medical editor," Dr. Richard Besser, donated $400 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, a search on OpenSecrets.org reveals. Besser, who filled in as acting director of the CDC earlier this year, replaces ObamaCare enthusiast Dr. Timothy Johnson, who moves up to "chief medical editor." Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:51:00 -0400 20090730113719.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090730113719.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-29-FNCOReilly.jpg On Wednesday's The O'Reilly Factor on FNC, host Bill O'Reilly cited a recent study from the MRC's Business and Media Institute finding that broadcast network evening and morning news shows have slanted coverage of President Obama's health care proposals heavily in the Democratic President's favor. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:28:00 -0400 20090730015550.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090730015550.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-29-NBC-NN-jobappr.jpg CBS and NBC released polls Wed. that illustrated how the public is moving against President Obama on health as his overall approval fell to its lowest-ever level. But while both conveyed the bad news for Obama, NBC's Chuck Todd failed to point out how more disapprove than approve of Obama's handling of health care, a devastating judgment, and CBS elaborated on how "the poll also has some good news" for Obama. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:48:00 -0400 20090729060657.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729060657.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-29-CBS-TES-Beer[1].jpg After NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams fawned Tuesday over President Obama planning to have a beer with Sergeant Crowley and Professor Gates, on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith similarly declared: "...it's being called the 'beer summit.' Tomorrow's meeting between the President, the professor, and the policeman. We're going to tell you what's on tap." Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:45:00 -0400 20090729034836.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729034836.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-29-CBS-TES-Obama[1].jpg Taking a break from President Obama's failing health care plan or the Henry Gates controversy, at the top of Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez focused on a more important story: "And move over, Martha. The First Family chooses a popular celebrity retreat for their vacation. We'll tell you where the President will tee off." Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0400 20090729033548.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729033548.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-25-ABC-GMA-NJ[1].jpg ABC's Ron Claiborne on Saturday managed to file a report on vast Democratic corruption in the state of New Jersey and, at the same time, not once use the word Democrat. While reporting on an unfolding scandal that saw the arrest of a number of the state's mayors and assemblymen, all but one a member of the Democratic Party, the Good Morning America host completely ignored party identification. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:20:00 -0400 20090729025205.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729025205.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-29-NBC-TODAY-MALKIN.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer, on Wednesday's Today show, invited on conservative columnist and author Michelle Malkin to discuss several topics ranging from Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s arrest to Malkin's critique of Michelle Obama, but when the subject of only one Republican voting for Sonia Sotomayor in the Senate Judiciary committee came up, Lauer wondered if that would hurt the GOP. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:48:00 -0400 20090729104616.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729104616.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-11-08-CNN-DarnBriscoe.jpg With the revelation that Newsweek Washington bureau reporter Daren Briscoe will start a new job on Monday as Deputy Associate Director of Public Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, my list of journalists who have jumped to the Obama administration - plus one who traveled through the revolving door from helping the Obama campaign into a news media slot - is up to a dozen. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:37:00 -0400 20090729122653.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729122653.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-28-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg Extending the auspices of NBC News to provide some damage control help to President Obama's damage control-inspired meeting at the White House, Brian Williams announced: "Professor Gates reported to be a Red Stripe man, Crowley is said to be partial to Blue Moon and the White House isn't talking about the President's brand of choice. That might constitute, you see, a White House endorsement." Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:09:00 -0400 20090729120559.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090729120559.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-04-25-HBO-RandyCohen.jpg Randy Cohen loves lawsuits: "We Americans are often mocked for being overly litigious, but we are not nearly litigious enough." New York Times "Ethicist" columnist Randy Cohen jumped in to the Henry Louis Gates fray with a Monday night comment on his nytimes.com blog. Cohen wants Cambridge professor Henry Louis Gates to sue the Cambridge police for arresting him for disorderly conduct on July 16. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:51:00 -0400 20090728060323.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090728060323.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-05-11-PBS-BMJ-Moyers.jpg PBS omnipresence Bill Moyers unleashed his anger at Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk radio hosts on Friday night's Bill Moyers Journal, suggesting they "scream like martyrs being stretched on the rack" about the alleged Fairness Doctrine and they "earn millions inciting riots in the public mind." Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:30:00 -0400 20090728055225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090728055225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-27-CNN-Maher-SR.jpg HBO's Bill Maher, after being asked during a segment on Monday's Situation Room on CNN to explain his recent "soulless vampire bastards" moniker of the current health care system, pushed for President Obama's "reform" plan, paraphrasing the Democrat's own words: "We can't do nothing- doing nothing is actually worse." He also stood by his consistent labeling of the U.S. as a "stupid country." Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:34:00 -0400 20090728040225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090728040225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-27-ABC-NL-Palin[1].jpg ABC's Nightline on Monday didn't allow Sarah Palin's resignation as governor of Alaska to pass without airing yet another dismissive segment, reminiscing about the "madcap" politician. Co-anchor Martin Bashir derided her exit as a "real-life Northern Exposure." Reporter Neal Karlinsky proceeded to drag out every cliched Tina Fey clip and supposed gaffe from the 2008 election. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:25:00 -0400 20090728125511.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090728125511.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-27-ABC-WNCG-sodatax.jpg ABC and CBS on Monday night couldn't resist interjecting a plug for imposing a tax on soda to bring in revenue to pay for ObamaCare. ABC's Sharyn Alfonsi asserted "health officials seem to like the idea of a federal soda tax" and CBS's Katie Couric: "Some believe another way to help pay for health care reform is to put a tax on one of the causes of obesity: soft drinks full of sugar." Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:45:00 -0400 20090727052556.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090727052556.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewYorkTimes-Logo.jpg Anti-Bush 9-11 "Truthers" get a fair hearing from the NY Times, but anti-Obama "Birthers" are harshly criticized, and Rush Limbaugh is to blame. Brian Stelter's Saturday story questioned those questioning Obama's birth certificate, his citizenship, and his resulting eligibility for the presidency. Good, but where is the Times' criticism when liberals gin up wackier conspiracy theories? Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:43:00 -0400 20090727031442.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090727031442.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-27-ABC-GMA-JFK[1].jpg Eleven days after mourning the tenth anniversary of the death of "the prince of Camelot," John F. Kennedy Jr., Monday's Good Morning America took yet another look back at the "grace" and "equilibrium" of the late presidential offspring. ABC's Chris Cuomo touted JFK Jr.'s "gift for leadership" and recounted how "America watched him grow from young son, to idealistic lawyer, to loving husband." Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:50:00 -0400 20090727092650.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090727092650.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-26-ABC-WN-HarrisKennedy.jpg Sunday's World News devoted a full story to Ted Kennedy's cause as Dan Harris' tease framed Kennedy's big government agenda in the most-benign light: "In the game. An ailing Ted Kennedy, now working from his sick bed to achieve his life-long goal of health care for everyone." Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:25:00 -0400 20090726101659.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090726101659.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/TimemagBushCheney246.jpg Time magazine's online staff certainly undermined any notion of impartiality in how they littered the posted version of this week's cover story, “Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days,” with the links they chose to display between paragraphs. Some were innocuous, but others reflected hostility and/or derision toward the two key players in the story, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:55:00 -0400 20090726053039.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090726053039.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Cronkite-1970s.jpg Belying the image of Walter Cronkite as an journalist without any political motives, in 1967 he secretly "pleaded" with Senator Robert Kennedy to run as an anti-Vietnam war candidate for President and he later acknowledged he would have accepted the slot as George McGovern's VP in 1972. Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:25:00 -0400 20090726120441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090726120441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-24-FNC-SRBB-Kraut.jpg President Obama's experience last year earning fawning press coverage as a “genius” on race relations lulled him into assuming "he can say anything on race and is so smart that he will be untouchable," columnist Charles Krauthammer postulated Friday night on FNC in suggesting an explanation for why Obama so misunderstand how his remarks on Henry Louis Gates would ensnare him in controversy. Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:42:00 -0400 20090725124441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090725124441.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Couric0724.JPG In her July 24 "Notebook" commentary, CBS anchor Katie Couric ridiculed the New York Times for "not one, not two, but seven errors" in their obituary for Walter Cronkite. But Couric came in for ridicule herself in 2003, when she cluelessly read from a parody item as if it were the real thing. (with video) Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:35:00 -0400 20090724093526.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090724093526.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/CouricSchieffer-video.jpg Katie Couric on Friday night trumpeted as "extraordinary" President Obama's appearance in the White House briefing room to address the "racial profiling" furor he inflamed -- which CBS ran for a lengthy four minutes -- before she pouted over how "the timing could not be worse. Just as he was pushing so hard for health care reform and having some pretty serious setbacks." (with video) Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:32:00 -0400 20090724014423.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090724014423.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/LimbaughSusteren.jpg Expounding on a formulation he's propounded this week on his radio show in pivoting off Senator Jim DeMint's prediction health care could become President Obama's "Waterloo," in an interview with FNC's Greta Van Susteren aired Thursday night Rush Limbaugh asserted: "The press has met their Waterloo and it's Obama." (with video) Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:42:00 -0400 20090724120306.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090724120306.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-23-CBS-EN-Couric.jpg As usual, the network evening newscasts all failed to point out the party affiliation of the major New Jersey office-holders the FBI arrested Thursday for corruption. As AP pointed out, all but one are Democrats: "Among the 44 people arrested were the mayors of Hoboken, Ridgefield and Secaucus, Jersey City's deputy mayor, and two state assemblymen....All but one of the office holders are Democrats." Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:44:00 -0400 20090723083406.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090723083406.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-23-ABC-NL-Moran.jpg Wrapping up a preview of his day with President Obama for Thursday's Nightline, ABC's Terry Moran informed World News anchor Charles Gibson: "I also took the opportunity at this juncture to ask Mr. Obama about how the presidency is affecting and shaping his spiritual life, and he said, Charlie, that before he was elected, he had a habit of praying every night, but that now he prays all the time." Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:28:00 -0400 20090723082730.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090723082730.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-23-ABC-GMA-Stephano.jpg Obama during Thursday's Good Morning America: "It's clear, listening to the President last night, that he knows his stuff. He knows health care policy." He also predicted that the passage of the Democrat's health care "reform" plan was "closer" after the presser, despite his later admission that it had been delayed until after August. Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:23:00 -0400 20090723051934.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090723051934.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-23-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg While interviewing the daughter of arrested Harvard Professor Henry Gates on Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith wondered: "Is there something in this that says, 'I'm not going to take this'?...In speaking with your father, was he hurt by this?...Was his heart broken by it?" Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:14:00 -0400 20090723094509.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090723094509.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-22-MSNBC-HB-10-Snyderman.jpg NBC's medical correspondent, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, was “rooting” for President Barack Obama to do well in selling his health care takeover during his Wednesday night press conference: "As an American citizen, I was rooting for the President to hit a home run." (with video) Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:38:00 -0400 20090722085602.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090722085602.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-22-NBC-NN-Willlies.jpg Daring to go where only cable has gone so far, Wednesday's NBC Nightly News waded into the rampant claims that President Barack Obama is somehow really not a U.S. citizen. Brian Williams didn't hide his disdain, teasing: "Spreading lies about President Obama's birthplace and about his U.S. citizenship. Who's doing it and why?" Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:55:00 -0400 20090722045955.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090722045955.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-22-CBS-TES-Rodrigue[1].jpg While reporting on President Obama's efforts to pass health care reform legislation on Wednesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez cited one person who would benefit from the plan: "Debby Smith from Virginia...lost her job back in 2006, and lost her health care benefits, and says that she can't afford the $700 a month that it would cost take to pay for her own insurance." Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:54:00 -0400 20090722045011.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090722045011.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-22-CBS-TES-Couric[1].jpg In her Tuesday interview with President Obama, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric wondered: "You're so confident, Mr. President, and so focused. Is your confidence ever shaken? Do you ever wake up and say, 'Damn, this is hard. Damn, I'm not going to get the things done I want to get done and it's just too politicized to really get accomplished the big things I want to accomplish'?" Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:30:00 -0400 20090722031444.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090722031444.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-21-CBS-EN-Orr.jpg Tuesday's CBS Evening News tilted against a proposed new gun law that would strengthen the right of gun owners who hold a concealed weapon permit to carry a weapon across state lines into states with more restrictive gun laws than where the permit was obtained. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:09:00 -0400 20090722013537.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090722013537.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-22-ABC-Cuomo.jpg On Wednesday's GMA, ABC's Chris Cuomo suggested Republicans are putting Americans at "risk" by opposing President Obama's big government health care plan. Cuomo sought validation from liberal Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Do you believe that Republicans are playing politics here, at the risk of people's health care....Is this getting to be a little bit of a reckless situation?" (with video) Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:26:00 -0400 20090722114922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090722114922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-22-NBC-Lauer.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer, on Wednesday's Today show hit Senator Jim DeMint over his statement that health care reform could be Barack Obama's Waterloo. Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:44:00 -0400 20090721085727.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090721085727.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-21-CBS-EN-CouOba.jpg A night after CBS slammed as "incendiary" Senator Jim DeMint's observation that if Republicans are able to block Obama's health care push, "it will be his Waterloo, it will break him," CBS anchor Katie Couric adopted the same assumption as she expressed worry to the President: "Are you concerned at all that if health care reform fails it will be a huge and devastating setback to your presidency?" Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:56:00 -0400 20090721053806.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090721053806.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-13-ABC-NL.jpg The Washington Post's Style section conducted a survey of who could fill the most-trusted void left behind by Walter Cronkite. A series of liberal-media heroes were named, but several people just selected the Obamas. ABC reporter Vicki Mabrey nominated Michelle Obama for the honor: she's "Rosie the Riveter for our times in a designer gown. You just want to be her best friend forever." Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:26:00 -0400 20090721042208.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090721042208.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-21-ABC-Stephanopoul.jpg Former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos generally tries to put a happy face on big Democratic Party initiatives, but on Tuesday's Good Morning America the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News was gloomy about the prospects for Barack Obama's health care bill. He told Diane Sawyer "the votes are not there right now" for passage before the August 8 recess, as Obama has demanded, and thought polls showing dwindling support for Obama and rising anxiety about the deficit were a "big problem" for the Democrats. Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:08:00 -0400 20090720090604.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090720090604.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-20-CBS-EN-DeMint.jpg For the second weekday in a row, Katie Couric teased the CBS Evening News by delivering President Obama's aggressive retorts to critics of his health plan as Chip Reid pitched in to help, discrediting critics by disparaging their perspectives as "harsh" and "incendiary" -- all before Couric caught up with ABC and NBC and promoted Ted Kennedy's "We're Almost There" Newsweek cover story. Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:08:00 -0400 20090720064634.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090720064634.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-20-MSNBC-Rather.jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, invited on Dan Rather to remember Walter Cronkite and the former CBS News anchor – famously fired for letting his bias spiral out of control during the George W. Bush National Guard story – called Cronkite "a straight news reporter," and claimed Cronkite advised him and others at CBS News to "Tell it straight without fear or favoritism." Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:42:00 -0400 20090720050917.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090720050917.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/1999-07-17-Kennedy.jpg ABC, CBS and NBC breathed not a word about Saturday's 40th anniversary of Chappaquiddick, but it wasn't a complete blackout. With Ted Kennedy on the cover of the July 27 Newsweek to push for government health care, editor Jon Meacham examined Chappaquiddick as a great flaw. NPR's Ken Rudin blogged about the anniversary Friday, only to be hit with "ugly" mail from readers upset he would mention Kennedy's scandal when "what Bush and Cheney did was much worse." Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:52:00 -0400 20090720040614.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090720040614.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-20-CBS-TES-VanDyk[1].jpg In reaction to a propaganda video of the Taliban holding an American soldier hostage in Afghanistan, on Monday's CBS Early Show, terrorism analyst Jere Van Dyk argued: “What they [the Taliban] are saying is that 'we can treat American soldiers, we can treat prisoners, better than Americans are treating them.'” Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0400 20090720124745.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090720124745.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Cronkite-1990s-2.jpg In 2006 the MRC put together a compilation outlining how, since his retirement in 1981 after nineteen years as anchor of the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite had made clear his liberal views on a range of issues. Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:32:00 -0400 20090719090014.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090719090014.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-19-NBC-NN-KennedyNewsweek.jpg Newsweek engaged itself deeper in the battle for nationalized health by turning over its cover story -- "We're Almost There" -- to Senator Ted Kennedy for his recitation of "the cause of my life." ABC and NBC on Sunday night dutifully championed his cause as ABC's Dan Harris highlighted how "Kennedy is using his own battle against brain cancer to make an emotional pitch for health care reform." Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:59:00 -0400 20090719125521.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090719125521.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-17-CBS-EN-warning.jpg A night after CBS and NBC skipped the assessment from the CBO chief that the Senate and House health plans won't meet President Obama's pledge to not increase deficit spending, the two networks caught up only when Obama late Friday addressed the setback to his quest. Katie Couric spun the bad news for Obama into "a warning" from him about the ominous fate which awaits if he does not succeed. Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:29:00 -0400 20090719123719.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090719123719.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Kopechne.jpg Saturday marked the 40th anniversary of the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, killed July 18, 1969 after leaving a party with Senator Edward Kennedy. Over the course of the past four decades, the media elite have touted Kennedy as a "liberal lion," spending far more time celebrating his ideological agenda than reminding people of his behavior that night in 1969. Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:21:00 -0400 20090717063114.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090717063114.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-17-MSNBC-Hall[1].jpg On Friday, MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall exclaimed: "Harsh political discourse against [President Obama] really amped up and people started to push the boundaries of what might be considered decency. From talk radio to those tea parties that we saw with some pretty offensive signs folks were holding, even in the presence of children. The anger has certainly intensified." Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:26:00 -0400 20090717033657.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090717033657.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-17-NBC-Today.jpg The House Ways and Means committee approved a half-trillion dollar tax increase early Friday, but the ABC and NBC morning news shows offered only a single sentence to the development, while CBS's Early Show skipped it entirely. Neither NBC's Today nor ABC's Good Morning America mentioned the tax increases $544 billion price tag, as each newscast folded the development into larger pieces on President Obama's push for health care "reform." Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:22:00 -0400 20090717010718.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090717010718.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-17-CBS-TES-Obama[1].jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Randall Pinkston described President Obama's Thursday address to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: "The crowd responded to his soaring, almost sermon-like rhetoric." Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:03:00 -0400 20090717100419.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090717100419.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-16-ABC-WNCG-Greenburg.jpg Summing up Sonia Sotomayor's performance during four days of hearings, ABC's Jan Crawford Greenburg on Thursday night asserted her record "proved Sotomayor was a liberal activist." But, Greenburg countered, "Sotomayor -- calmly, persistently, repeatedly -- described herself differently, sounding almost conservative." Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:05:00 -0400 20090717023109.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090717023109.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-16-ABC-WNCG-Tapper.jpg "Congress's chief budget analyst delivered a devastating assessment yesterday of the health care proposals drafted by congressional Democrats," the Washington Post reported, but of the broadcast network newscasts on Thursday only ABC related how, as Jake Tapper put it, "the President's case was dealt a blow today" when CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf warned the health plans will require massive additional spending. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:21:00 -0400 20090717022132.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090717022132.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-16-CNN-NR-Sanchez.jpg CNN anchor Rick Sanchez devoted an entire segment on Thursday to his interviews of five “wise Latina” women from his hometown of Miami, including his own mother, about the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Though Sanchez did point out how many Americans disagreed with the nominee's decision in the New Haven firefighters case, all of the women supported Sotomayor. Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:12:00 -0400 20090716051928.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090716051928.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-16-MSNBC-Brewer.jpg On Thursday, MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer reported on Meghan McCain calling Joe the Plumber a "dumb ass" for his views on homosexuality and remarked: "Is that name calling? Or, you know, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and looks like a duck. Just asking, folks. I'm just asking." Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:07:00 -0400 20090716042812.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090716042812.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/JFKJrMRC.jpg "The sudden death of the only son of an assassinated President is certainly a major news story, but the TV nets used his death as a chance to launch a week-long tribute to him as America's 'crown prince,' gushing about the wonderful contributions of the entire Kennedy family, recreating the myth of 'Camelot' and praising the achievements of Sen. Ted Kennedy..." Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:28:00 -0400 20090716034358.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090716034358.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-16-CBS-TES-JFKJr[1].jpg At the top of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith marked the ten-year anniversary of the death of JFK Jr. by declaring: "He was such an icon in the city [New York], and we're going to remember JFK Jr. a little bit later on this morning." Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:30:00 -0400 20090716024253.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090716024253.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-16-ABC-GMA-Kennedy[1].jpg ABC's Chris Cuomo and Claire Shipman on Thursday marked the tenth anniversary of the death of "the prince of Camelot," John F. Kennedy Jr., lamenting the loss of such strong presidential talent. Reporter Claire Shipman mournfully proclaimed that JFK Jr.'s "very existence had somehow come to represent a critical link to our fairy tale past. And always, always the possibility of another chapter." Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:15:00 -0400 20090716022427.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090716022427.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-15-CBS-EN-Couric.jpg The White House's decision to offer interviews with the President to the medical doctors who are correspondents for ABC, CBS and NBC paid off Wednesday night with stories that embraced the assumption health care must be reformed; and interviews on CBS and NBC which put Obama's efforts in the best light. Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:10:00 -0400 20090715073917.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715073917.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-15-MSNBC-Hertzberg.jpg Leave it to Chris Matthews, a former speechwriter to Jimmy Carter, to actually commemorate the 30th anniversary of the former president's infamous "malaise" speech. On Wednesday's Hardball, Matthews invited on his former bosses from the Carter White House, former speechwriter and now New Yorker senior editor Hendrick Hertzberg and former aide Gerald Rafshoon to mark the event and claim that Carter was vindicated by history. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:33:00 -0400 20090715050609.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715050609.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-15-ABC-GMA-Ross[1].jpg ABC's Brian Ross on Wednesday investigated a subject that has been skipped by CBS and NBC's morning shows, the more than $1 million spent by the Social Security Administration for its employees to attend lavish retreats, complete with a motivational dance company performing for the government bureaucrats. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:25:00 -0400 20090715042209.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715042209.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-13-PBS-Totenberg.jpg NPR's Nina Totenberg, on Monday's Charlie Rose, told the PBS host that Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor actually has "a pretty conservative record" and "you could say that she's more conservative than some members of the Supreme Court, including Justice Scalia, perhaps." (with video) Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:13:00 -0400 20090715031746.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715031746.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-15-CBS-TES-Andrews[1].jpg Reporting on Sonia Sotomayor responding to questions about her "wise Latina" comments during Tuesday's confirmation hearing, CBS's Wyatt Andrews glossed over the multiple times she made the remark: "What did she mean in her 2001 speech to Hispanic law students at the University of California that "a wise Latina woman...would reach a better conclusion than a white male?" Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:20:00 -0400 20090715030642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715030642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-15-ABC-GMA-Stephano[1].jpg Former Democratic strategist-turned-journalist George Stephanopoulos appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning America to coo that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor "didn't make any mistakes" and "did exactly what she had to do" in her confirmation hearings on Tuesday. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:10:00 -0400 20090715023300.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715023300.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-14-NBC-Williams.jpg Back in May, NBC sycophantically touted President Obama's credentials as a constitutional law professor as evidence of his deep experience when it came to the judiciary. But after his nominee to the Supreme Court told senators on Tuesday that she "wouldn't approach the issue of judging in the way the President does," none of the networks juxtaposed that slap with the President's supposed brilliance as a constitutional scholar. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:21:00 -0400 20090715110857.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090715110857.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-14-CNN-TSR-Blitzer.jpg CNN's Wolf Blitzer late Tuesday afternoon characterized it as "an incredibly important exchange” when Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor "concurred" with Senator Lindsey Graham that he would have paid a heavy price if he had ever maintained "a wise white man would make better decisions than a Latina," yet neither ABC nor NBC mentioned it in their evening newscasts. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:55:00 -0400 20090714074859.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090714074859.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-14-MSNBC-Maher.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, invited on HBO's Bill Maher to mock GOP criticism of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as Maher accused them of being "racist," and Matthews marveled at how Republicans can admire Sarah Palin but not someone who worked as hard as Sotomayor to achieve her position, as he pondered: "Why do they like somebody who's shown no sweat equity against somebody who's shown nothing but sweat equity?" Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:38:00 -0400 20090714065519.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090714065519.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-14-MSNBC-Shuster[1].jpg MSNBC hosts Tamron Hall and David Shuster on Tuesday repeatedly grumbled at the tough questions Senator Lindsey Graham posed to Sonia Sotomayor. At one point during live coverage, Shuster derided the lawmaker's remarks as "patronizing" and fretted that "the blogs are already going crazy over this." Hall saw the statements as insinuating the nominee is too "hot blooded." Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:51:00 -0400 20090714061006.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090714061006.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-14-LatMag-Rodriguez[1].jpg A cover story in the June edition of Latino Magazine, discussed CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez's efforts to "...educate her peers on how to be cognizant of Latino viewers, by pushing stories about Latinos that are of interest to all Americans, as well as informing them of more humane and respectful labels – such as undocumented immigrant instead of illegal alien." Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:05:00 -0400 20090713092305.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090713092305.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-13-CBS-EN-CRS.jpg CBS's Wyatt Andrews insisted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor cannot be categorized ideologically and highlighted "the first spotlight moment for...Al Franken who cast himself as new but ready," before Katie Couric fretted "some Republicans didn't really treat her with kid gloves." CBS squeezed in a few secs for how a poll discovered "Obama's overall job approval rating is down six points." Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:10:00 -0400 20090713060031.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090713060031.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-12-NBC-Matthews.jpg Over the weekend, on his syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, Chris Matthews asked his media panel if Barack Obama was governing as "more clearly a radical like FDR was, or more like a true conservative?" The latter part of the question -- the rather absurd proposition of Obama being a conservative -- actually drew a couple of affirmatives from the panel. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:53:00 -0400 20090713043826.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090713043826.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-13-MSNBC-Matthews[1].jpg During live coverage of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing on Monday, MSNBC's Chris Matthews gushed about the judge, saying "Well, I'm getting one of those thrills I get about America. I'm sorry, I'm shouldn't say this. And I'm getting it again." Matthews also offered a fawning aside about what a "genius" the President is. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:10:00 -0400 20090713024141.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090713024141.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Gillisvideoimage.jpg CBS gave only 13 secs Monday night to the deaths of seven soldiers in Afghanistan, but CBS's Sunday Morning should be commended for giving the aunt, of a soldier killed the same day Michael Jackson died, time to convey frustration with the media: "My 24-year-old nephew, Brian Bradshaw, was killed by an IED in Afghanistan on June 25th, but you'd never have known it from the national media." (with video) Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:29:00 -0400 20090713013900.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090713013900.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-13-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg Responding to Senator Jeff Sessions describing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a "typical liberal activist judge" CBS Early Show co-host Harry Smith argued: "You feel like her record indicates that? I mean, she gets a glowing review from the American Bar Association. Her record doesn't seem to necessarily match up with her – what – some of the things she said." Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:34:00 -0400 20090713123206.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090713123206.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-13-CBS-TES-AndB[1].jpg On Monday, CBS correspondent Wyatt Andrews reported on the beginning of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and declared: "To Democrats, Sotomayor is the perfect nominee. That a child of the projects would progress through Ivy League schools and later a 17-year career as a federal judge makes hers an all-American story." Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:10:00 -0400 20090711101027.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090711101027.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-10-MSNBC-ShusterHall[1].jpg MSNBC's David Shuster and Tamron Hall labeled the circulation of a photo of President Obama allegedly glancing at a teenager's posterior a "right wing smear," and singled out Fox News and Drudge as culprits. They brought on a Media Matters spokesman, who accused these sites of being motivated by a "racist stereotype of an oversexed black man being a predator." Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:53:00 -0400 20090710050516.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090710050516.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-10-NBC-Hotel.jpg In yet another moment of Obama puffery the Today show highlighted a hotel dedicated to Barack Obama. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:58:00 -0400 20090710044939.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090710044939.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-10-ABC-GMA-Karl[1].jpg Good Morning America's Jonathan Karl on Friday provided a questioning, skeptical analysis of how stimulus money is being spent on road signs promoting the legislation. At one point, the reporter quipped, "But for now, the signs seem easier to create than jobs." However, journalist George Stephanopoulos provided White House spin on the total amount of stimulus money spent. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:40:00 -0400 20090710025419.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090710025419.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-10-CBS-EN-Reid[1].jpg On Thursday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Chip Reid described the relief of world leaders at the G-8 Summit that Barack Obama was representing the United States: "...the President showed yet again he's the most popular leader here...And some leaders said they're relieved that President Obama is here instead of President Bush." Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0400 20090709064120.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090709064120.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-09-MSNBC-Quinn[1].jpg Appearing on MSNBC Thursday afternoon, Washington Post writer and founder of the paper's On Faith blog, Sally Quinn, exclaimed of Sarah Palin: "Well, clearly, she has not put her family first...And these children have, it seems publicly, to have been exploited by her in a, I think, really unfortunate way." Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:37:00 -0400 20090709044636.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090709044636.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-08-MSNBC-Shuster.jpg On Wednesday, MSNBC anchor David Shuster made a bold prediction about Sarah Palin's political future: "I've said it before, I'll say it again, Sarah Palin will never recover from this...No matter what people say, no matter what these polls, she has no future." Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:35:00 -0400 20090709020103.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090709020103.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-08-NBC-Nightly-News.jpg In January, NBC News ignored the thousands of pro-lifers who came to Washington for the annual March for Life. But Brian Williams hailed 12 hard-left Greenpeace activists illegally hanging a banner at Mount Rushmore on Wednesday's Nightly News and showed their banner on screen for a full 15 seconds. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:51:00 -0400 20090709112210.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090709112210.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-08-CNN-TSR-Lawrence[1].jpg Wednesday's Situation Room on CNN devoted nearly three times as much time to clips from advocates of overturning the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy than the one sound bite from a proponent of keeping the policy. The two advocates- Democratic Representative Patrick Murphy and a female Iraq war veteran had 33 seconds of air time, compared to the 12 seconds from a conservative spokesman. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:13:00 -0400 20090708040825.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090708040825.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-04-ABC-GMA-Wright[1].jpg Good Morning America's David Wright on Saturday continued his habit of dropping insulting comments into stories about Sarah Palin, snidely asserting that the Alaska governor lacked "some would say, a firm grasp of the issues." Wright, who was reporting on Palin's announcement that she would be resigning her office, also speculated that far more serious motives could be behind the move. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:45:00 -0400 20090708122802.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090708122802.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-08-NBC-Guthrie.jpg Previewing Barack Obama's trip to Italy for the G8 summit, on Wednesday's Today show, NBC's Matt Lauer asked Savannah Guthrie what kind of reaction the President will receive as Lauer noted the President got a "chilly reception" in Russia. Guthrie responded that "It was a real contrast," because she is used to seeing, "really swooning Europeans who are very excited about Mr. Obama." Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:18:00 -0400 20090707033108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090707033108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-07-ABC-GMA-Tapper[1].jpg Despite devoting almost the entire Good Morning America program on Tuesday to Michael Jackson, ABC could only find three minutes for a hard-hitting Jake Tapper interview with Barack Obama. And even though co-host Diane Sawyer promised at the close of the piece, "And we'll have more of the President's interview with Jake Tapper later in the broadcast," the segment never returned. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:30:00 -0400 20090707031607.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090707031607.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-06-CBS-EN-Couric.jpg Two days after the Washington Post carried a letter from a woman who asked “where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers” who were killed in the days after Michael Jackson died, attacks in Afghanistan killed seven U.S. soldiers, but their deaths earned a total of less than a minute combined on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts Monday night - 1/20th the time devoted to Jackson. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:36:00 -0400 20090706092218.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090706092218.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-06-ABC-WNCG-Russian.jpg After the Bush years Russians are naturally “wary” of a U.S. President, but ABC still managed to highlight teens, at a "Kremlin-sponsored summer camp," optimistic about President Obama." One asserted "he's so young and energetic" and "he will give a new surge to our relationship," while a second, echoing the take of U.S. journalists, maintained: "I see Obama as an innovator in your country." Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:14:00 -0400 20090706080045.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090706080045.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-06-CNN-TSR-Cafferty.jpg CNN's Jack Cafferty, on Monday's Situation Room, referred to one of Sarah Palin's reasons for her resignation, that she wanted to avoid becoming a lame duck, then cracked: "She was already lame." Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:55:00 -0400 20090706060429.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090706060429.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-06-ABC-GMA-Sawyer.jpg Even with a serial killer on the loose in South Carolina, ABC's Diane Sawyer was asking the local sheriff if he was concerned about the community "arming up and we're reading that ammunition is selling out at some of the stories." Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:55:00 -0400 20090706055315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090706055315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Kaiser_Robert2.jpg Washington Post associated editor Robert Kaiser reviewed a new book by ultraliberal Rep. Henry Waxman, lauding the legislator as comparable to baseball star Ted Williams and biblical hero King David. The headline was "Moustache of Justice." Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:18:00 -0400 20090706051528.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090706051528.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-05-CNN-RS-Lemon.jpg CNN daytime anchor Don Lemon asserted on Sunday's Reliable Sources that claims that the media are overcovering Michael Jackson are "elitist." He twice saluted Jackson as an "accidental civil rights leader." Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:02:00 -0400 20090706023913.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090706023913.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Bradshaw-Brian-240x180.jpg Army 1st Lt. Brian N. Bradshaw was killed in Afghanistan, fighting in a war to protect all Americans, the same day that Michael Jackson died, prompting a letter to the Washington Post from Bradshaw's aunt, Martha Gillis, who scolded media priorities: "What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial 'shrines,' while this soldier's death goes unheralded?" Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:33:00 -0400 20090705022116.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090705022116.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-05-ABC-TW-Tucker.jpg Sarah Palin hasn't had it as tough as Hillary Clinton and at her Friday announcement Palin "came across as petty and vindictive. Richard Nixon without the policy knowledge or the experience," Washington, DC-based Atlanta Journal-Constitution political columnist Cynthia Tucker contended during the roundtable on Sunday's This Week on ABC. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:13:00 -0400 20090705015636.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090705015636.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-04-NBC-NN-Perot.jpg A night after NBC's Chuck Todd predicted Sarah Palin will make fundraising appearances where she'll draw "car-wreck watchers," Todd's colleague, Mike Viqueira asserted over video of Ross Perot dancing: "Others describe her performance yesterday as erratic, comparing it to Ross Perot's on-again/off-again presidential run in 1992." Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:55:00 -0400 20090705014347.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090705014347.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-04-FNC-NWATCH-Stalin.jpg Picking up on how CNN's Suzanne Malveaux hailed, as "a bold display of presidential concern," President Obama hugging a woman at Wednesday's health care forum, Jim Pinkerton, on FNC's Fox Newswatch, pointed out that "in the middle of all of this Stalinesque fakery at this town hall meeting" Malveaux's characterization "is like Stalin putting Ukrainian family victims on his lap during the '30s." Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:56:00 -0400 20090704121508.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090704121508.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-08-29-McCainPalin.jpg In announcing that she was stepping down as Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin noted the unrelenting hostility of liberal media elites. In the barely ten months since she burst onto the national scene, Palin has been scorned and mocked by journalists -- including many supposedly objective reporters -- like few other politicians. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:05:00 -0400 20090703090551.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090703090551.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/ChuckToddvideo.jpg Sarah Palin's "bombshell" announcement that she will resign as Governor of Alaska trumped Michael Jackson as the lead on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts Friday as NBC's Chuck Todd predicted she will now make fundraising appearances for GOP candidates where she'll draw "car-wreck watchers." On all three newscasts Palin's decision was called "bizarre." (with video) Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:58:00 -0400 20090702085111.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702085111.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-02-CBS-EN-unemploy.jpg Unemployment in June hit 9.5%, the highest since 1983, as 467,000 jobs were lost, yet the CBS Evening News didn't mention President Obama or his "stimulus" while NBC only touched Obama's policies by running a soundbite of the President defending the lack of positive impact from his policies: "It took years for us to get into this mess and it will take us more than a few months to turn it around." Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:45:00 -0400 20090702060608.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702060608.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-02-NBC-Franken[1].jpg On Thursday's Today, Meredith Vieira tossed mostly softballs to Senator-elect Al Franken, offering no hard questions about the disputed 2008 election, instead fawning, "...Are you more worried about becoming a target for the GOP or a target for Saturday Night Live, your old stomping ground?" Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:58:00 -0400 20090702042637.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702042637.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-02-CNN-AM-Acosta[1].jpg CNN glowingly featured an entire segment on Thursday's American Morning about Wendell Potter, a former chief corporate spokesman for the health insurance company Cigna, and he attempted to discredit conservative ad campaigns against health “reform” proposals as “outright lies.” But reporter Jim Acosta left out his current ideological employment with a left-wing advocacy group. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:35:00 -0400 20090702032603.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702032603.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-02-NBC-Today-Vieira[1].jpg NBC's Meredith Vieira on Thursday conducted a defensive interview with Fox News' Dick Morris, at one point skeptically wondering if "the Republican tactic from this point on" would be "to sit and watch Obama fail." Later, when Morris pointed out the problems with the Canadian health care system, the Today host retorted, "But, the President clearly has said that's not the road he's headed down." Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:05:00 -0400 20090702011450.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702011450.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NewsweekSamuelsquote.jpg Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz reported Thursday on black females on the Michelle Obama beat, and whether their shared race and gender produces gauzier coverage. "Indeed, most write with enthusiasm, in some cases even admiration, about the first lady as a long-awaited role model for black women." Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:02:00 -0400 20090702014514.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702014514.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/CNNSuzanneMalveaux-09-07-01.jpg Network reporters swooned over President Barack Obama hugging a woman, who has cancer and lacks insurance, at his Wednesday "town hall" on health care, as both CNN -- where Suzanne Malveaux heralded the hug as “a bold display of presidential concern” -- and NBC failed to point out how all the questions (just seven in total) were pre-selected or from members of pro-Obama groups. (with video) Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:53:00 -0400 20090702011530.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702011530.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/WashPost-head-09-07-01.jpg The Washington Post and New York Times published similar Supreme Court "analysis" pieces on their front pages Wednesday offering the theme that the court under Chief Justice John Roberts is moving boldly to the right, and the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor will have no effect on this bold shift. Post headline: "Term Saw High Court Move to the Right: Roberts-Led March Likely to Continue." Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:10:00 -0400 20090702010713.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090702010713.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NYTedit-09-07-01.jpg The New York Times' lead editorial Wednesday proudly flew the liberal flag, calling the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Ricci v. DeStefano (aka the New Haven firefighter case) "a blow to diversity in the American workplace." Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, as part of a three-judge appeals court panel, had curtly dismissed the discrimination claim of white firefighter Frank Ricci. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:17:00 -0400 20090701124511.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090701124511.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-07-01-ABC-GMA-Johnson[1].jpg ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson, a fervent fan of universal health care, actually talked to the other side on Wednesday, featuring Newt Gingrich for what an onscreen graphic labeled a "debate" on the merits of a government-run program. It might seem odd for the network to tag a segment of a conservative talking to one of its journalists as a debate, but Johnson is certainly a health care partisan. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:25:00 -0400 20090701124710.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090701124710.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-30-FNC-SRBB-Baier.jpg "Another case of Sarah Palin derangement syndrome has reared its ugly head," FNC's Bret Baier announced Tuesday night in citing Todd Purdum's lengthy piece in the August issue of Vanity Fair magazine, "It Came from Wasilla." In "Liberal Media and GOP Hacks vs. Palin" on the Weekly Standard's blog, Bill Kristol denounced the "hit piece" from the "lefty" Purdum. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:58:00 -0400 20090630084704.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090630084704.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-29-CBS-EN-Logan.jpg On Monday's CBS Evening News, Lara Logan relayed concerns that U.S. troops in Iraq may be pulling back too quickly: "Off camera, several senior Iraqi officers told us they would have liked to have U.S. soldiers on the city streets with them for another six months." Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:42:00 -0400 20090630025422.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090630025422.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/GMACentered.jpg Following up on Monday's Supreme Court ruling in favor of white and Hispanic firefighters denied promotion after no black applicants passed an exam, ABC's Bob Woodruff on Tuesday approached the decision from a liberal perspective, wondering if it makes "future workplace discrimination harder to prove," as opposed to wondering if the ruling protects workers from discrimination in the name of "diversity." Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:43:00 -0400 20090629084157.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629084157.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-29-CBS-SCOTUS.jpg In the midst of pretty balanced evening newscast stories on the Ricci reverse discrimination case involving New Haven firefighters, one quibble: CBS's Wyatt Andrews framed the ruling as issued by the Supreme Court's "conservative" justices and opposed not by liberals but by "civil rights leaders," as if the justices who ruled against the racial discrimination were not advancing civil rights. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:39:00 -0400 20090629064940.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629064940.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Toobin.jpg During CNN's breaking news coverage of the Supreme Court's reversal of Sonia Sotomayor in a reverse discrimination case, CNN's Jeffrey Toobin labeled the majority as "five conservatives" and painted as Sotomayor mainstream: "She got four justices to agree with her." Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:42:00 -0400 20090629051542.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629051542.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-29-MSNBC-Blow[1].jpg MSNBC's Carlos Watson on Monday provided a friendly forum for New York Times opinion writer Charles Blow to link red states and social conservatism with the hypocrisy of sex scandal-ridden politicians like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. In his June 26 column, Blow attacked right-leaning voters, "And this kind of hypocrisy isn't confined to the politicians. It permeates the electorate." Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:21:00 -0400 20090629043058.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629043058.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-28-NBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on his syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, over the weekend, wondered if the Mark Sanford scandal will make the GOP a more tolerant party as he asked his panel: "Have Republicans finally embarrassed themselves out of calling themselves the family values party?" Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:23:00 -0400 20090629024349.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629024349.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-29-MSNBC-Spitzer.jpg While discussing the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court on MSNBC Monday, guest Eliot Spitzer made a startling observation: "Democratic presidents nominate very centrist justices to the Supreme Court. The Republican presidents over the past 10-15 years have nominated very extremely conservative justices and that's why the court has eschewed to the right." Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:50:00 -0400 20090629044038.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629044038.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-26-HBO-RTBM-OliverStone.jpg Film producer/director Oliver Stone declared on Friday night's edition of HBO's Real Time that "Reagan was a dumb son of a bitch" and "I really think George W is dumber," but he won't create a movie on Ronald Reagan because "by doing the W movie I kind of put all my efforts behind dumbness." Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:35:00 -0400 20090629023819.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090629023819.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2008-07-24-CNN-TSR-Amanpour.jpg CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl interviewed CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour for the website The Women on the Web, and the oddest part came when Amanpour insisted "nobody knows my biases...I just try very hard to report the facts and to tell the stories as best as I can." Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:53:00 -0400 20090627040139.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090627040139.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-26-PBS-IW-Krauthammer.jpg NPR's Nina Totenberg scolded the adversarial approach some took to Obama during Tuesday's press conference, but on Inside Washington columnist Charles Krauthammer rejected the notion the media's honeymoon is "over," cracking: "The hot sex is over, they're in the cigarette stage right now. You get a question or two that's slightly obstreperous, but the adulatory coverage is still all wall-to-wall." Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:55:00 -0400 20090626090106.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090626090106.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-26-ABC-WNCG-Conyers.jpg Friday night's newscasts spent 95% of their time on Michael Jackson. Only ABC reported how Monica Conyers, a Detroit city councilwoman married to U.S. House Democrat John Conyers, pled guilty to taking bribes. But Charles Gibson, who on Wednesday identified Mark Sanford as a Republican, failed to list any party ID. ABC uniquely found a little time to mention House action on Obama's “cap and trade” bill. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:56:00 -0400 20090626042400.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090626042400.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-25-NBC-Today-Sanfor[1].jpg The three network morning shows on Thursday devoted a staggering 18 segments to the revelation that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was having an affair with a woman from Argentina, adding up to over 54 minutes of coverage. NBC's Today show spent the most time on the subject, highlighting the infidelity with six segments and 25 minutes of air time. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:30:00 -0400 20090625080424.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090625080424.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-25-CNN-NR-Velshi.jpg CNN's Ali Velshi on Thursday ignored all the past sex scandals involving Democrats in recent years as he focused on "another sex scandal involving a leading Republican." When his guest, Tony Blankley, tried to counter with how these scandals are being used to try to get the GOP to abandon social issues, Velshi tried hard to brush this aside. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:50:00 -0400 20090625052020.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090625052020.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-25-ABC-GMA-Donaldso.jpg ABC's Sam Donaldson appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to talk about the developing Mark Sanford scandal and loudly assert that it's hard to forgive Bible-thumping Republicans for their sexual transgressions. He began by deriding, "The problem Republicans have, so many of them are sanctimonious." Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:15:00 -0400 20090625025818.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090625025818.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-CBS-EN-Couric[1].jpg In the wake of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's admission to having an affair, evening and morning newscasts on NBC, CBS, and ABC all immediately identified him as a Republican. In contrast, in March of last year, the networks rarely identified disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer as a Democrat in the wake of his affair with a prostitute. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:51:00 -0400 20090625124645.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090625124645.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-25-ABC-GMA-Stephano[1].jpg Former Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America to bizarrely assert that Democrats have a harder times surviving sex scandals than Republicans. While discussing South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, he breathlessly claimed, "We've never seen anything like this before" and never mentioned his former boss, Bill Clinton. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:42:00 -0400 20090625112552.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090625112552.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-25-NBC-Lauer.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer, at the top of Thursday's Today show, was careful to note the party affiliation of Mark Sanford as he announced "The political future of South Carolina's governor Mark Sanford, a once-rising star in the Republican Party, is very much in doubt." However when he invited on former Democratic New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey – who resigned after admitting an affair with a gay man who he appointed to office – to discuss the story, he never mentioned McGreevey was a Democrat. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:16:00 -0400 20090625013247.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090625013247.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-CBS-EN-CouBlair.jpg "President Obama's response to the government crackdown has been criticized by some Republicans as timid," Katie Couric noted on Wednesday's CBS Evening News as she featured a retort: "Today, in an exclusive interview with CBS News, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair came to his defense saying he believes the protestors understand the tough position the President is in." Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:28:00 -0400 20090624083500.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624083500.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-ABC-WNCG-momkid.jpg Hours before ABC's prime time special with President Obama from the White House, a World News piece conveyed the public's doubts that Obama will achieve his goals, but also endorsed Obama's premise that something must be done as reporter David Wright focused on concern over rising costs and a family without insurance before concluding: "Expectations are low, but the need is obvious." Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:32:00 -0400 20090624060612.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624060612.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-MSNBC-Capehart.jpg In the wake of the revelations about Mark Sanford, Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart declared on MSNBC: "Maybe what the Republican Party is going to have to do is skip a generation and wait for the Meghan McCains to come of age so that they can run for office and take over the mantle of the party." Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:05:00 -0400 20090624055628.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624055628.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-MSNBC-MJ-Matthew.jpg Chris Matthews got into a heated exchange with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on Wednesday, accusing them of "pussyfooting" the issue of health care and its cost. He also attacked conservatives in general, deriding, "You know, it seems to me that the right-wing will fight any war and say, 'Don't look at the cost,' because they want to fight the war." (with video) Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:05:00 -0400 20090624051233.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624051233.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-ABC-GMA-Sawyer[1].jpg ABC's Diane Sawyer on Wednesday hit Barack Obama with some refreshingly tough questions about his plans for health care reform, quizzing the President on potential rationing, reduction of services and whether Americans would really be able to keep their current plan. However, the program also devoted 13 minutes to Obama and featured no Republican opposition. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:05:00 -0400 20090624010152.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624010152.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-24-CBS-TES-Smith.jpg On CBS's Early Show, Mitt Romney described Obama's latest comment on Iran as "not exactly a Ronald Reagan 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall' moment." Harry Smith got defensive: "Very different circumstances that have been trotted out by Republicans for the last five or six days now. That was a crumbling regime in its last legs. Let's talk about this in realistic terms." (with video) Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:55:00 -0400 20090624112010.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624112010.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-HBO-REALSP-diver.jpg HBO's Real Sports promised a look at an "inspirational therapeutic program" in which wounded warriors are able to go diving off Guantanamo Bay, but Bryant Gumbel and Jon Frankel couldn't resist piling on left-wing cliches about "one of the most controversial places on Earth," "the most infamous military base in the world" where "the heat here will reach a hundred degrees, [and] the glare of world criticism is even hotter." Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:12:00 -0400 20090624121020.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090624121020.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-CBS-EN-health.jpg CBS, of all news outlets, is setting a high standard for ABC to meet in its White House broadcasts. Tuesday night, just a week after a "Reality Check" on how President Obama's claim that his government-expansion health care plan won't hike the deficit doesn't match reality, CBS Evening News aired a story on how his plan would likely force many to lose their current health insurance and/or doctor. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:59:00 -0400 20090623090642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623090642.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-FNC-SRBB-Kraut.jpg Columnist Charles Krauthammer noted on FNC's Special Report that while "there wasn't exactly aggressiveness on the part of the press" during the afternoon presidential press conference, "it looked as if the stupor that the press has been in for the last six months is lifting slightly." He quipped: "I say that as a psychiatrist who has a lot of experience in watching these things." Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:06:00 -0400 20090623085815.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623085815.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-22-CNN-CB-Brown.jpg CNN's Campbell Brown used a proponent's own talking point about Obama's health plan as she pressed a doctor over his skepticism of the project during her Monday program: "There's plenty of evidence...that...two-thirds of all bankruptcies in this country [are] due to people's medical bills. It's clear the current system isn't working, so why not be open to trying this?" Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:54:00 -0400 20090623063215.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623063215.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-CSPAN-Schieffer[1].jpg Appearing on C-SPAN's Washington Journal Tuesday, CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer dismissed the notion of liberal media bias: "...there is so much media out there now that the idea of bias in the media, it's almost become irrelevant. I mean, we're in this age of opinion journalism, where you can get the news served up almost anyway you want it." Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:27:00 -0400 20090623051922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623051922.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-ABC-GMA-Robertsd[1].jpg ABC's Robin Roberts conducted two fawning interviews with Michelle Obama on Tuesday and repeatedly reminded viewers that the First Lady would be tending to the White House garden as soon as the segment was completed. Roberts breathlessly explained, "I caught up with Michelle Obama for an exclusive interview as she was heading outside to work in the White House garden..." Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:59:00 -0400 20090623045446.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623045446.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-ABC-Tapper.jpg During Tuesday's White House press conference, ABC News' Jake Tapper sparred with Barack Obama over the details of the President's universal health care plan, bluntly observing, "...If the government is offering a cheaper health care plan, then lots of employers will want to have their employees covered by that cheaper plan, which will not have to be for-profit, unlike private plans." (with video) Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:46:00 -0400 20090623024841.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623024841.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-22-MSNBC-Matthews[1].jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, mocked Florida GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio for pondering, on his Twitter page, that the "situation in Iran would be a little different if they had a 2nd Amendment like ours." Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:40:00 -0400 20090623113122.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090623113122.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-23-CBS-TES-Smith.jpg In the final portion of his interview with President Obama aired on Tuesday's CBS Early Show, Harry Smith mocked the idea of media bias: "People in the mainstream media have been accused of being afraid to speak truth to power and I've got – I've got some truth to power for you right now...I've been observing, your dog looks like he's out of control." Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:07:00 -0400 20090622041003.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090622041003.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-22-CBS-TES-Smith[1].jpg In an interview with President Obama geared to Father's Day, CBS's Harry Smith asked the "father-in-chief" about growing up without his own father: "In this fatherless world, where did you learn to love?" Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:40:00 -0400 20090622032200.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090622032200.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/2009-06-20-CNN-RS-Kurtz[1].jpg Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer popped up on Sunday's Reliable Sources and swore that ABC's much-scrutinized health care special with President Obama "won't be an infomercial." She also seriously touted the objectivity of the network, cheering, "I know that our network has worked very, very hard to be completely- completely responsible and fair and serious about big issues." Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:30:00 -0400 20090621104302.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090621104302.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-19-MSNBC-NYT-spies.jpg "She fell for his worldly sophistication" while he "admired her work helping ordinary people," gushed a front page Friday NY Times story on Gwendolyn and Kendall Myers, charged with spying for communist Cuba for nearly 30 years. A Washington Post piece began: "He was a courtly State Department intelligence analyst from a prominent family who loved to sail and peruse the London Review of Books." Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:35:00 -0400 20090621043128.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090621043128.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-21-ABC-TW-Keller.jpg ABC's This Week took up media favoritism toward Obama. George Stephanopoulos marveled at "how obsessed" Obama is with Fox News, prompting George Will to observe "it's the discordant note in an otherwise harmonious chorus." NY Times chief Bill Keller, however, cautioned "don't confuse attention with love" as he maintained of Obama's coverage: "I don't think...it's been unskeptical or uncritical." Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:31:00 -0400 20090621035420.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090621035420.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-19-FNC-SRBB-William.jpg The media are so far into the tank for President Obama that even the fairly liberal Juan Williams decried on FNC: "We are going towards a weekend of high tide for kowtowing to the Obama administration. He's all over CBS this weekend and then he's going to be all over ABC. I don't know what's going on with big media in this country." Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:47:00 -0400 20090621034527.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090621034527.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-19-HBO-RTBM-Kay.jpg Sticking up for European socialism, Friday night on HBO's Real Time, BBC America's Katty Kay contended the "idea of demonizing" a "public option" for U.S. health care "as some sort of step toward socialism - it just seems to me so out of touch with reality." Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:10:00 -0400 20090620031458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090620031458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-19-ABC-WNCG-promo.jpg Friday's World News carried a 15-second promo for Wednesday night's controversial prime time special, "Questions for the President: Prescription for America." Over video of President Barack Obama, ABC exulted in how "Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer take you inside his house" for "a television event" where "President Obama answers all of your tough questions about your health care." (with video) Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:17:00 -0400 20090619054941.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090619054941.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-18-NBC-Matthews[1].jpg MSNBC's Chris Matthews appeared on Montel Williams' Air America radio show on Wednesday to slam John McCain: "I think McCain put his finger on the idiot button." The Hardball host fumed about McCain's criticism of how Barack Obama has handled the response to Iran's disputed election. He also unflatteringly compared the Senator to Sarah Palin. Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:46:00 -0400 20090619051745.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090619051745.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-19-MSNBC-Harwood[1].jpg Reacting to a New York Times column in which Frank Rich claimed Fox News was responsible for violent acts like the murder of abortionist George Tiller or the Holocaust Museum shooting, on MSNBC on Friday, John Harwood remarked: "I love Frank's columns, but I don't believe that cable television causes people to become violent." Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:10:00 -0400 20090619050759.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090619050759.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-19-CBS-TES-Cordes[1].jpg CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez wondered on Friday: "Lots of politicians get caught having affairs, as you know. The trick, though, is making a comeback. It's happened before, but the question is does John Edwards have a political future?" Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:25:00 -0400 20090618093026.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090618093026.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-18-NBC-NN-Williams.jpg Centering its story around a man unable to get "affordable" health insurance after a battle with cancer, Thursday's NBC Nightly News devoted its "In-Depth" segment to the "public option," what Brian Williams innocuously described as "a government insurance program similar to Medicare, but available to those under 65." NBC didn't note how that could become a "slippery slope" to single-payer. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:32:00 -0400 20090618080325.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090618080325.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-05-NBC-Brokaw.jpg President Obama has named two NBC News veterans to the selection panel for the White House Fellows program, which will select new Fellows in the coming week: "Tom Brokaw, now a special correspondent for NBC News, and John Hockenberry of Public Radio International and formerly with NBC and ABC, join a distinguished panel..." Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:58:00 -0400 20090618051625.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090618051625.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-18-ABC-Sotomayor[1].jpg Good Morning America on Thursday unearthed archival footage that featured Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on the show in 1986 complaining about discrimination against women. The clips highlighted her fretting, "There are different styles. And because of those styles, I think that's what affects the ability of women to get ahead in the workplace." Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:02:00 -0400 20090618122149.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090618122149.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-18-CBS-FarLeft2.jpg Now that gay activists are unhappy with Barack Obama for his policies on federal benefits for same-sex couples, CBS has dusted off the "far left" label. Co-host Harry Smith on Thursday: "President Obama gets some pressure from an unlikely source, the far left." The on-screen graphic: "Pressure from the Far-Left; Gay Community Frustrated with Obama." It's CBS's first use of the "far left" label in more than two years. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:07:00 -0400 20090617095058.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617095058.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-17-NBC-NN-business.jpg "The honeymoon is coming to an end for President Obama," NBC's Chuck Todd fretted Wed. night in summarizing a NBC poll. "But," he rebounded, "it's not personal. It's professional as now the public appears to be judging the President on some of his actions." Todd empathized with how "Obama is now dealing with a public that is judging him more and more for the actions he's taking, and not just the promises he's made." Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:51:00 -0400 20090617082309.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617082309.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-05-MSNBC-HB-ET.jpg In this week's Newsweek, Evan Thomas confessed to being nailed by MRC and other media critics for comparing Obama to God on MSNBC – or so it seemed, he wrote: "I compared President Obama with God. Or at least that's how it seemed to some bloggers and talk-show hosts, who made me a poster child for the argument that the liberal press is hopelessly in love with Obama." Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:17:00 -0400 20090617055848.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617055848.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/KenBode2.jpg On Friday, June 12, the PBS program Now (formerly hosted by Bill Moyers) devoted most of its half-hour to the complaints of late-term abortionists Warren Hern and LeRoy Carhart smearing the pro-life movement. Hern called it a "terrorist movement," and Carhart said despite the flood of pro-life group press releases denouncing George Tiller's murder, the movement's "heart was certainly with Scott Roeder on the day he shot Dr. Tiller." Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:51:00 -0400 20090617052709.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617052709.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/SciAmerican.jpg For his "extraordinary" accomplishments in just "a matter of weeks of taking office," the June edition of Scientific American magazine is honoring Barack Obama as one of ten people "who have recently demonstrated outstanding commitment to assuring that the benefits of new technologies and knowledge will accrue to humanity." Author Sally Lehrman jabbed at Obama's predecessor: "After eight long years in exile, scientists have been enthusiastically welcomed back into the White House." Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:15:00 -0400 20090617051343.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617051343.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ObamaFly.jpg The everyday act of swatting a bug happens countless times at picnics and ball games across the country, but when CNBC's cameras caught Barack Obama slapping a fly, the fawning liberal press couldn't contain their excitement. All three broadcast network morning shows on Wednesday praised the presidential kill, as TV journalists praised the "ninja" Obama's "precision" and "cat-like quickness." Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:01:00 -0400 20090617042626.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617042626.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Sawyer copy.jpg ABC and CBS's morning shows on Wednesday both provided surprisingly tough questioning to Christina Romer, one of Barack Obama's economic advisors. On the issue of health care, Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer compared the costs of Medicare to the new health care plan and pointed out past government inaccuracies when it came to accessing cost. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:55:00 -0400 20090617100106.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090617100106.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-17-NBC-Curry.jpg Wednesday's ABC, CBS and NBC morning shows made a point of labeling Nevada Senator John Ensign a "Republican" after he admitted an extramarital affair. NBC, which took days to admit New York's Eliot Spitzer was a "Democrat" after his relationship with a prostitute was exposed, called Ensign a "conservative Republican," while CBS made a point of reciting Ensign's associations with Christian groups. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:50:00 -0400 20090616101718.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090616101718.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-16-CBS-EN-reality.jpg Reality catches up with CBS News which on Tuesday night ran a "Reality Check" story on how a new CBO report shows President Obama's claim that his government-expansion health care plan won't hike the deficit doesn't match reality. So, will ABC News display similar skepticism when it broadcasts from the White House next Wednesday? Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:05:00 -0400 20090616100543.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090616100543.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-16-CNN-Mahervidscr.jpg President Obama isn't nearly liberal enough for HBO's Bill Maher who on CNN repeated the focus of his rant on his show last Friday night. When Wolf Blitzer asked what he was most disappointed about with Obama, Maher contended: “Barack Obama is not a socialist - he's not even a liberal....this country needs a left wing. It doesn't have it, and part of the reason is the media.” (with video) Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:32:00 -0400 20090616092723.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090616092723.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-16-MSN-HB-vidscreen.jpg An outraged Chris Matthews scolded John McCain, on Tuesday's Hardball, for criticizing Obama's stance on Iran's elections as he exclaimed: "The difference between the President, who is being very calm and not jumping up and down, and those on the right who are hitting the idiot button right now. And the idiot button is the one often pushed by Sarah Palin, but this week by John McCain and others." (with video) Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:15:00 -0400 20090616080558.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090616080558.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-16-ABC-GMA-Sawyer.jpg On Tuesday's Good Morning America, Diane Sawyer complained about America's maternity leave policies for women, and for the fourth time in slightly more than two years, the show connected them to such struggling countries as Swaziland and Papua New Guinea. The host solemnly observed that only three countries "have policies equal to the United States. Swaziland, Liberia and Papua New Guinea." Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:01:00 -0400 20090616075606.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090616075606.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-16-MSNBC-vidObama.jpg On MSNBC, John Harwood shared an intense moment with President Obama he had during a CNBC interview: "He had this fly that was persistently buzzing around him during the interview...he swatted his hand and he said 'I got the sucker'...it was a, you know, Dirty Harry 'make my day' moment." (with video) Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:51:00 -0400 20090616021825.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090616021825.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-15-FNC-SRBB-Uighurs.jpg FNC's Catherine Herridge traveled to Bermuda to meet the four Chinese Muslim Uighurs released from Guantanamo Bay and she elicited from them that living in China is worse than life at Guantanamo. Talking to them through an interpreter, Herridge reported she "asked which was worse: Life at Gitmo versus China?" The interpreter relayed: "Of course it's China. There's no guarantee for human rights there." Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:13:00 -0400 20090615091822.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090615091822.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-15-ABC-WNCG-JohnSte.jpg President Barack Obama created "a very tender moment," as he addressed the American Medical Association, and "was right on target at reaching out to the heart of most physicians" ABC's Dr. Tim Johnson beamed on Monday's World News in reaction to anchor George Stephanopoulos paraphrasing how Obama told the doctors "our health care system should let them be healers, again, instead of bean counters." Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:14:00 -0400 20090615091127.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090615091127.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-08-CBS-LSDL-Letterman.jpg "David Letterman is making a full-throated apology for his controversial joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter," TV Week reported a short while ago. "During a taping of tonight's [Monday 6/15] edition of his CBS Late Show, Letterman went much further than his last explanation of the joke, in which he quipped that a baseball player had 'knocked up' Palin's daughter," Josef Adalian wrote. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:15:00 -0400 20090615051248.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090615051248.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-15-MSNBC-Brewer.jpg On Monday, MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer offered some advice to Republicans: "Until they change policies – I mean, that's what it took for conservatives in Great Britain to win – is a real change in focus away from morals and values into things that affect people's daily lives." New York Times reporter John Harwood completely agreed: "Bingo, Contessa, that's exactly right." Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:07:00 -0400 20090615033244.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090615033244.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/TimJohnson.jpg ABC will be awarding an hour of primetime next Wednesday, June 24, to President Obama as part of the White House's push on health care (10pm ET). Among the participants from ABC News: the network's medical editor, Dr. Timothy Johnson, who has long been a fan of exactly the sort of big government plan Obama is peddling. It probably won't be a tough night for the President. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:10:00 -0400 20090615125731.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090615125731.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Fineman.jpg In his latest column for the magazine, Newsweek senior Washington correspondent Howard Fineman scolded "disgraded or discarded" Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich, whose "ruthless" caricaturing of liberals represents the "old-school insult" in stark contrast to the new, somehow nonpartisan cool of Barack Obama. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:51:00 -0400 20090615124724.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090615124724.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/CampbellBrown.jpg "The Big Question" on CNN's Campbell Brown show Thursday night dealt with CBS host David Letterman's raunchy jokes about Sarah Palin's teenage daughter, but the panel CNN assembled justified Letterman's approach, with CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin even declaring Palin's daughter was "fair game." Only ex-Republican congresswoman Susan Molinari sided with the governor. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:41:00 -0400 20090612093637.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090612093637.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Letterman.jpg With Sarah Palin condemning David Letterman's joke about her daughter, a look back at some of Letterman's previous hostility toward Palin after she emerged as the GOP's VP nominee - as documented, with video, in previous NewsBusters posts. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:24:00 -0400 20090611112907.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090611112907.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-11-ABC-WNCG-nazi.jpg ABC's Pierre Thomas on Thursday night delivered an ominous story on how "radicals of the ultra-fringe, filled with rage about illegal immigration, fear of losing their guns, abortion and race making law enforcement increasingly nervous about a potential wave of domestic terror." In contrast, NBC's Pete Williams stuck with facts: "A former FBI official, who tracked hate groups, said overall there's been no spike in activity." Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:44:00 -0400 20090611110653.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090611110653.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-11-CNN-NR-Sanchez.jpg Anchor Rick Sanchez used another crazed gunman's rampage to blast conservative media during CNN's Newsroom program on Thursday, and brought on Media Matters' Eric Boehlert as his aide to bash talk radio and Fox News. He hinted that the white supremacist who killed a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, might have been "motivated to move by right-wing pronouncements...on some TV and radio outlets." Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:29:00 -0400 20090611075902.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090611075902.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-11-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg On Wednesday night Chris Matthews invited Salon.com's Joan Walsh to link the Holocaust Museum shooter to Rush Limbaugh, but it was the Hardball host himself, on Thursday, who connected Sarah Palin to James von Brunn as he wondered if the Alaska Governor was "getting very close to the edge" of the same "attitude" of the "far right," and questioned: "Is she talking their language?" (with video) Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:52:00 -0400 20090611031145.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090611031145.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-10-FNC-SRBB-Bronstein.jpg FNC on Wednesday night highlighted how the ex-top editor at hardly conservative San Francisco Chronicle wrote a blog, "Obama and the Fawning Press Need to Get a Room," in which Phil Bronstein suggested "the Obama-press dance is a more consensual seduction where, in the old-fashioned sense, we're the girl." He asked: "Is there a...limit to the number of instances you can be the cover of Newsweek?" Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:06:00 -0400 20090610092214.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090610092214.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-10-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Salon.com's Joan Walsh, on Wednesday's Hardball, cited "conservatives" like Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin and Bill O'Reilly for "whipping up" a climate that sparks the likes of the Holocaust Museum shooter and host Chris Matthews wondered if access to guns were to blame for the tragedy as he cried: "It's easier to get your hands on a gun than to get somebody to make you a waffle." (with video) Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:46:00 -0400 20090610035254.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090610035254.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Assuras.jpg CBS correspondent Thalia Assuras touted the celebrity status of the Obamas on Wednesday: "The paparazzi and the press corps treat them like movie stars. They're on magazine covers and in fashion spreads. Even the presidential pooch is a celebrity. The Obamas are helping turn staid old Washington into Hollywood on the Potomac." Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:37:00 -0400 20090610034117.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090610034117.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Shipman-Sotomayor.jpg In what seemed a campaign commercial for Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, ABC's Claire Shipman on Wednesday narrated an "exclusive" profile of Sotomayor's brother about his sister's love for Salsa dancing, among other light topics. Juan Sotomayor informed Americans, "She loves to party. She loves dancing. Had her 50th birthday party and she learned how to Salsa." Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:31:00 -0400 20090610013950.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090610013950.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-09-CNN-TSR-BlitCaf.jpg To hearty laughter from what sounded like anchor Wolf Blitzer (who would have a live mike, but listen and judge for yourself), CNN's Jack Cafferty on Tuesday afternoon asked on The Situation Room whether viewers would “rather just stick needles” in their eyes than listen to Sarah Palin or Newt Gingrich? (with video) Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:38:00 -0400 20090609043400.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090609043400.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-05-HBO-RTBM-MaherHu.jpg On HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, D.L. Hughley insisted “you never saw drugs or drive-byes or homeless people” in inner-cities before Reagan “cut” social programs and became “the Moses of...greedy white men.” Jeremy Scahill predicted the new Reagan statue will be dragged “through the street like the Saddam statue with some kid hitting it with a shoe.” (with video) Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:16:00 -0400 20090609041042.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090609041042.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-08-CBS-TES-Roth.jpg On Monday, CBS correspondent Richard Roth gave a glowing report on President and Michelle Obama in Paris: "The big tourist treat in Paris this weekend was for the tourists treated to a sight of the Obamas driving by. For the President and First Lady, the treat may have been a European reprise of their date night in New York a week ago." Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:26:00 -0400 20090609040348.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090609040348.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-09-NBC-Today.jpg VH1 comedian Chuck Nice appeared on Tuesday's Today show and compared Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to the sexually transmitted disease herpes. He mocked: "But, Sarah Palin to the GOP, this is what I've got to say, she is very much like herpes, she's not going away." (with video) Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:12:00 -0400 20090609035133.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090609035133.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-12-18-MSNBC-Hardball.jpg Continuing his obsession with Dick Cheney, Hardball host Chris Matthews on Monday compared the former Vice President to movie monster Freddy Krueger, a child-murdering serial killer. After Republican strategist Michelle Laxalt suggested that Matthews missed Cheney, the host retorted, "Well, he keeps coming back...Freddy Krueger comes back in every movie and this guy is back every day." Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:47:00 -0400 20090609080810.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090609080810.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/BillMoyers.jpg Conservative talk-show hosts and bloggers have been hammering away at the gooey NBC News Inside the White House specials with Brian Williams adoring Obama. But Williams also drew fire from the hard-core left. On Friday's Bill Moyers Journal, the PBS omnipresence and former LBJ press aide said Williams offered a "candygram" to the President. Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:04:00 -0400 20090608053233.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090608053233.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ChipReid.jpg On CBS's Sunday Morning, White House correspondent Chip Reid gave a glowing review of President Obama's overseas trip: "A trip laden with symbolism and elegant words, asking the world to look beyond old hatreds and wounds. In doing so, he hopes to create a world where there never has to be another D-Day." Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:24:00 -0400 20090608052031.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090608052031.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/EvanThomas2.jpg On this weekend's Inside Washington, Newsweek's Evan Thomas lauded President Obama as a "brave," "great teacher" who "stands above everybody." These comments were only slightly less hyperbolic than a gushing assertion on Friday's Hardball, where Thomas gushed that Obama is "standing above the country, above the world, he's sort of God." Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:43:00 -0400 20090608022012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090608022012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/CBSLear.jpg On Sunday, CBS's Bill Whitaker praised the liberal activism of former TV producer Norman Lear: "But in 1980, the king turned his back on his TV empire. He grew alarmed as evangelical Christian preachers grew more visibly and vocally involved in politics with views and tactics he found divisive. He responded the way he knew best, on TV." Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:16:00 -0400 20090608081445.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090608081445.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/ObamaSesemeStreet.jpg In a gooey article titled "Tickle Me Obama," Time magazine's Nancy Gibbs giddily associates educational programming and Barack Obama as very similar concepts: "It's not just his age and mastery of the alphabet that make Obama the first Sesame Street President. The Obama presidency is a wholly American fusion of optimism, enterprise and earnestness." Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:06:00 -0400 20090607040713.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090607040713.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-07-McLaughlin-Clift.jpg Newsweek's Eleanor Clift seemed flabbergasted on this weekend's McLaughlin Group as fellow panelists Pat Buchanan, Monica Crowley and Mort Zuckerman criticized President Obama's speech to Muslims. Clift exclaimed: "Until I came on this set, I heard nothing but rave reviews for this speech. I feel like I'm in a total parallel reality." Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:01:00 -0400 20090607035927.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090607035927.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-07-ABC-Shipman.jpg On Sunday's This Week, ABC correspondent Claire Shipman claimed it would be "very hard"” for Republicans to label Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a liberal. That was too much even for liberal columnist Cynthia Tucker, who is currently editorial page editor of the Atlantic Journal-Constitution: "She is certainly liberal, she's called herself liberal." Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:52:00 -0400 20090606031258.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090606031258.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-05-MSNBC-Thomas.jpg Newsweek editor Evan Thomas brought adulation over President Obama's Cairo speech to a whole new level on Friday, declaring on MSNBC: "I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above – above the world, he's sort of God." Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:08:00 -0400 20090605052433.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090605052433.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-05-NBC-Brokaw.jpg Talk about moral equivalency run amok. On Friday, NBC's Tom Brokaw asked President Obama two questions about his upcoming trip to Buchenwald, a Nazi death camp: First, what lessons does Obama think the Holocaust-denying Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could learn; then, what could the descendants of Buchenwald's victims learn regarding "their treatment of Palestinians." Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:16:00 -0400 20090605033727.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090605033727.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/TamronHall.jpg On Thursday, MSNBC's Tamron Hall attempted justify to her network's obsessive coverage of talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh: "We have a right to cover people who are speaking out...Many people listen to this man, and we have a responsibility to report all sides and you can't try to duck and hide, throw the rock and then hide in the bush." Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:25:00 -0400 20090605013114.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090605013114.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/CokieRoberts.jpg ABC veteran Cokie Roberts agrees with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's assertion that a wise woman would come to a better conclusion than a man: "Of course, I would agree with her that they're better." Appearing alongside Roberts on Friday morning's Good Morning America, Sam Donaldson argued that if the judge made a mistake, "it was a Joe Biden problem. She blurted out the truth." Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:21:00 -0400 20090605085258.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090605085258.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-04-NBC-Williams.jpg Thursday's network evening newscasts gave positive reviews to President Obama's Cairo speech, with NBC the most glowingly positive. NBC quoted one observer who said she got "goose pimples," and another who compared the speech to that of JFK in Berlin; correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed: "This was a transformational speech, potentially....This could change the Obama presidency." Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:42:00 -0400 20090604064348.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090604064348.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-04-CNN-NR-OBrien2.jpg On Thursday's 10am ET Newsroom, CNN sought to give “context” to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's infamous “wise Latinas” remark. To rationalize and explain Sotomayor's ethnic argument, correspondent Soledad O'Brien surreally suggested the judge was really talking about food she ate as a child, even going so far as to interview people in Central Park to ask about their favorite foods. Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:35:00 -0400 20090604063051.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090604063051.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Cuomo-June-4.jpg On location with Barack Obama in the Middle East, ABC's Chris Cuomo Thursday condescendingly suggested to the son of Egypt's President that if Americans "understood the link to the Palestinian/Israeli situation, they might understand terrorism differently." Cuomo also saluted Obama's speech to Muslims as "very comprehensive, very thoughtful and historic." Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:02:00 -0400 20090604041109.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090604041109.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/CBS-June-4.jpg CBS's Early Show crew fawned over President Obama's Thursday morning speech in Cairo, calling it "historic," powerful," "far-ranging," "presidential" and "professorial." Co-host Harry Smith gushed: "He was very much a teacher this morning. He was giving Americans and Muslims a history lesson." Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:08:00 -0400 20090604090307.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090604090307.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/RogerSimon.jpg Politico's Roger Simon complained about the White House backpedaling on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's declaration that a "wise Latina woman" makes better decisions than a white male: "We all know why. If you are not white, you have to be careful what you say. You cannot hint that you may actually know more than white people." Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:56:00 -0400 20090604040225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090604040225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-03-FNC-SRBB-Baier.jpg On his FNC show Wednesday night, Bret Baier looked at how the murder of an abortion doctor on Sunday has earned much more media attention than Monday's murder by a politically-motivated Muslim killer of a serviceman in Arkansas, a disparity matched by the condemnation of the first killing by an Obama administration which has ignored the second. Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:44:00 -0400 20090603111803.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090603111803.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-03-CBS-EN-Logan.jpg President Obama's popularity amongst Muslims pegged to success at “pulling out of Iraq,” “ending torture” and “closing Guantanamo,” are key to the chances of ending terrorism CBS reporter Lara Logan contended Wednesday night. She concluded her preview of Obama's Thursday speech in Cairo: “Terrorists who are threatened by Obama's popularity amongst Muslims do not want America's President to succeed.” Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:18:00 -0400 20090603100531.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090603100531.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/1989-06-20-NBC-Chancellor.jpg June 4 is the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square. Back in 1989, CBS's Eric Engberg compared the planned assault on students with the Ohio National Guard's panicky shooting into anti-war demonstrators at Kent State; and NBC's John Chancellor rued the heavy focus on the bloodshed in Beijing instead of a then-new Carnegie report on problems with America's middle schools. Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:35:00 -0400 20090603065015.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090603065015.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/MSNBC-June-2.jpg "MSNBC News Live" co-host David Shuster slammed Dick Cheney on Tuesday's program as a hypocrite, complaining, "Your Iraq war inflamed the Muslim world, bred a new generation of terrorists who hate America and cost the lives of over 4,000 U.S. soldiers." Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:43:00 -0400 20090603101500.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090603101500.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-02-ABC-WNCG-Calbudget.jpg Two weeks after ABC's Laura Marquez blamed California's budget deficit on an "unwillingness to raise taxes" tied to 1978's Proposition 13 "mandating an almost unachievable two-thirds vote by the legislature to raise taxes," on Tuesday night she repeated herself as she lamented "education and social services continue to end up on the chopping block" because "it's a lot easier to make cuts than it is to raise taxes" since Prop 13 requires "the approval of two-thirds of the legislature to raise taxes, a virtual impossibility." Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:16:00 -0400 20090603030603.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090603030603.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-02-NBC-Williams.jpg The networks, which saw the apparently politically-motivated murder of a doctor who performed late term abortions as a major story, haven't been so interested in a Muslim convert who targeted and shot two Army privates at a Little Rock recruiting office, killing one. None mentioned it Monday night and on Tuesday evening, as all aired follow-ups on Dr. George Tiller, only NBC gave it a few seconds. Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:05:00 -0400 20090602094536.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090602094536.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-02-NBC-NN-WillOba.jpg In an interview excerpt on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams used President Obama's upcoming speech to Muslims in Cairo to take a dig at ex-President Bush, as he contended: "It's a speech that your predecessor perhaps could not have given constitutionally, given who he is..." Obama rejected Williams' premise: "I'm not sure that it's true that President Bush couldn't have given a speech in the Muslim world." Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:37:00 -0400 20090602090059.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090602090059.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-02-NBC-Today-Curry2.jpg Tuesday's Today show completely ignored two facts about a man who murdered a soldier at an Army recruiting station in Arkansas: He had just converted to Islam and was being investigated by the FBI for a trip to Yemen. Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:54:00 -0400 20090602123255.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090602123255.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/EarlyShow0602.jpg On Monday, CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez gushed over the Obamas' “date night” in New York City: "...this is something that he promised her...It is sweet...they're beautiful." On Tuesday, after the $81,000 cost to taxpayers emerged, CBS's Dave Price defended the Obamas' indulgence: "He's entitled to have a night with his wife...I mean, give the guy a break." Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:30:00 -0400 20090602090631.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090602090631.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-01-MSNBCShuster.jpg MSNBC News Live host David Shuster railed against conservative "hypocrite" Newt Gingrich late Monday afternoon. Shuster derided: "Hey, Newt. When you embrace the empathy of a conservative judge, but call the empathy of a progressive judge racist, that's hypocrisy and it's wrong." Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:57:00 -0400 20090601090044.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601090044.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-01-NBC-NN-OReilly.jpg NBC, the object of Bill O'Reilly's scorn for its biased news from the left, provided him with fresh evidence Monday evening as NBC Nightly News, unlike the ABC and CBS newscasts, found it newsworthy in a story on the murder of Kansas doctor George Tiller to highlight “on the Internet, questions from critics of commentator Bill O'Reilly about his blunt remarks regarding abortion and Dr. Tiller.” Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:55:00 -0400 20090601085324.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601085324.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-02-18-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Monday's Hardball, was outraged at the RNC's criticism of the Obamas wasting taxpayer money to go see a Broadway play as he railed that it was a "jealous, pathetic swipe at the First Couple." Matthews also questioned if the GOP attack was made out of "jealousy or simple nincompoop anti-intellectualism?" Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:44:00 -0400 20090601072437.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601072437.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-06-01-CBS-TES-Glor.jpg Reporting on the murder of Kansas abortion doctor, George Tiller, on Monday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Jeff Glor touted the doctor's career, while not depicting it as controversial: "...a doctor in the middle of the abortion debate for 35 years...Tiller, one of only a handful of doctors in the country performing late-term abortions, when the mother's health is at risk." Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:50:00 -0400 20090601062912.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601062912.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Kofman.jpg ABC's Monday morning coverage of the slaying of a Kansas abortionist skirted over the fact that pro-life groups had condemned the killing but did feature the preposterous claim by co-host Diane Sawyer that, after 36 years of legalized abortions, 'The abortion debate turns deadly.' Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:19:00 -0400 20090601014404.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601014404.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/GoodeFamilysticker.jpg The Goode Family, a new animated comedy show which spoofs the politically-correct and environmental do-good thinking of a liberal family which considers its lifestyle superior to “abstinence people” who “wear flag pins,” debuted this past Wednesday night on ABC. (with about three minutes of video of the funnier and most-damning parodies of liberal thinking.) Sun, 31 May 2009 09:26:00 -0400 20090601011009.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601011009.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-29-CNN-LKL-Leary.jpg Displaying a caricature of a celebrity enraptured by President Barack Obama, although apparently quite serious in the underlining attitude he conveyed in an over the top manner, on Friday's Larry King Live actor Denis Leary proclaimed: “I think that President Obama is the greatest President in the history of all of our Presidents and that he can do no wrong in my book.” (with video) Sat, 30 May 2009 13:02:00 -0400 20090601125716.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090601125716.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/1993-06-14-CBS-B.jpg This isn't the first time the networks have channeled the worries of liberal pro-abortion groups about a Democratic President's Supreme Court nominee. Sixteen years ago, President Clinton picked the solidly liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, yet the networks conveyed doubts about whether she would really be a solid liberal vote on abortion. Sat, 30 May 2009 10:47:00 -0400 20090529092108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090529092108.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-29-NBC-NN-WillOba.jpg NBC provided a platform Friday for President Obama to fire back at conservative critics of Sonia Sotomayor, as Brian Williams cued him up to agree her comment that a Latina judge would make better decisions than a white male one, is “one of those she'd rather have back.” Obama naturally agreed as NBC Nightly News aired his response for an uninterrupted two-plus minutes - an eternity on TV news. Fri, 29 May 2009 21:21:00 -0400 20090529053418.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090529053418.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-29-CNN-AM-Costello.jpg During a segment on Friday's American Morning, CNN correspondent Carol Costello used two liberal talking heads to cast doubt on the “judicial activist” label used by conservatives. Fri, 29 May 2009 14:48:00 -0400 20090529052616.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090529052616.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-29-ABC-GMA-Tapper.jpg On Friday's Good Morning America, ABC's Jake Tapper provided a skeptical, challenging analysis of the Obama administration's claims about the economic stimulus bill. Tapper wondered: "How much of this is real? And how much is hype?" He asserted, "Critics have long said the administration overstates the impact of the stimulus." (with video) Fri, 29 May 2009 14:10:00 -0400 20090529035358.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090529035358.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-29-CBS-TES-Rodrigue.jpg While reporting on disgraced priest Alberto Cutie leaving the Catholic Church in the wake of a sex scandal, on Friday's CBS Early Show, Maggie Rodriguez asked Father Thomas Williams about the celibacy rule: "Would you like to see your church be more introspective, more progressive?" (with video) Fri, 29 May 2009 12:26:00 -0400 20090528104905.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090528104905.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-28-NBC-NN-stand.jpg NBC and ABC on Thursday night framed stories around concerns of “abortion rights” advocates who want proof Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is on their side, but both cloaked their pieces around the proposition “both sides” of the debate are equally worried. NBC's Pete Williams asserted her position is “a mystery.” Thu, 28 May 2009 22:41:00 -0400 20090528101944.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090528101944.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-28-NBC-Cowan.jpg NBC's Lee Cowan, on Thursday's Today show, giddily highlighted new found photos taken of Barack Obama when he was a freshman at Occidental College and even cooed at a shot of him sitting on an old Goodwill couch: "Humble beginnings!" Thu, 28 May 2009 14:24:00 -0400 20090528100908.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090528100908.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-28-CBS-TES-Kauffman.jpg On Thursday's CBS Early Show, fill-in co-host Chris Wragge wondered: "Could painting your roof white be the best defense against global warming? Some very important people think so. So Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman put that idea to the test." Thu, 28 May 2009 13:55:00 -0400 20090528041458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090528041458.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Nagourney28.jpg Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Judge Clarence Thomas both had compelling life stories when they were nominated for the Supreme Court. But only Sotomayor's story has been celebrated that way by the New York Times. Thu, 28 May 2009 13:05:00 -0400 20090528032535.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090528032535.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-27-CBS-EN-Couric.jpg Bewildered where Obama's Supreme Court nominee stands. “Pundits usually label judges as either liberal or conservative, but that won't be easy with Judge Sotomayor,” Katie Couric propounded before Wyatt Andrews concluded: "Obama has found a judge with 17 years experience but no clear ideology on discrimination, gay rights, or abortion and who can't be easily defined by political labels." (w/ video) Wed, 27 May 2009 23:04:00 -0400 20090527102443.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090527102443.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-27-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg After playing a clip of Rush Limbaugh charging Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor with bigotry and racism, Chris Matthews, on Wednesday's Hardball, implied Limbaugh was the racist as he asked guest panelist Jeanne Cummings of the Politico: "Is this the pot calling the kettle black?" To which Cummings responded: Rush Limbaugh can chase 'em all away in an afternoon with that kind of talk." Wed, 27 May 2009 18:43:00 -0400 20090527070601.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090527070601.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/PostHeadline.jpg The Washington Post front page for May 27 announces the Sonia Sotomayor nomination with this large headline: "First Latina Picked for Supreme Court; GOP Faces Delicate Task in Opposition." There's no reference to Sotomayor being a liberal. How did previous Supreme Court nominations do in labeling the ideology of nominees? Unsurprisingly the Post highlighted the conservatism of recent Republican nominees, but placed Democratic nominees in the middle. Wed, 27 May 2009 18:15:00 -0400 20090527060129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090527060129.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Stolberg29.jpg Sheryl Gay Stolberg gushed that Obama Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor "danced a mean salsa" at Princeton, hints she might be some kind of liberal - but not until paragraph 73. Wed, 27 May 2009 16:10:00 -0400 20090527033940.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090527033940.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-27-NBC-Lauer.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer, on Wednesday's Today show, greeted viewers with the following teaser: "Good morning, Supreme showdown. Republicans gear up for a fight over President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the nation's highest court," and then asked the racially loaded question: "But will taking on the first Hispanic nominee cost them down the road?" Wed, 27 May 2009 12:55:00 -0400 20090527032454.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090527032454.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-27-ABC-GMA-Sotomayor.jpg ABC's Good Morning America program on Wednesday led their 7 am Eastern hour with three positive reports about Judge Sonia Sotomayor, highlighting her judicial background and personal story. Wed, 27 May 2009 12:10:00 -0400 20090527015239.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090527015239.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-26-ABC-WNCG-ObaSoto.jpg Amazingly, after showing no reluctance in 2005 to describe John Roberts and Sam Alito as “conservative” or worse, the Tuesday network evening newscasts, particularly ABC and NBC, applied more “conservative” tags to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's critics than “liberal” labels to her, as the coverage suggested calling her a liberal was a hasty judgment from accusatory partisans. Tue, 26 May 2009 22:39:00 -0400 20090526101920.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526101920.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-26-CNN-TSR-Toobin.jpg CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Tuesday twice labeled President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a “moderate liberal.” Tue, 26 May 2009 20:57:00 -0400 20090526074411.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526074411.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-26-MSNBC-Matthews.jpg Chris Matthews, on Tuesday's Hardball, couldn't contain his excitement over Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor: "It was a brilliant piece of work....it couldn't have been done any better," and then later gushed that Barack Obama "wowed us!" Matthews also claimed the only opposition came from the "crazies" and "whack jobs," like Rush Limbaugh. Tue, 26 May 2009 19:15:00 -0400 20090526073750.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526073750.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-26-ABC-Stephano.jpg ABC News didn't use any labels such as liberal or progressive to describe Judge Sonia Sotomayor during its Tuesday morning coverage of her nomination to the Supreme Court. On the other hand, when President Bush nominated Justice Samuel Alito to the high court in 2005, the network's correspondents repeatedly used the conservative label to describe the nominee. Tue, 26 May 2009 18:40:00 -0400 20090526045225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526045225.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/CharlesBlow-NoStretch.jpg A New York Times columnist on Saturday: 'In 1984, Ronald Reagan won every Northeastern state. Since then, the leadership of the GOP has systematically shed its idealists in favor of ideologues, reducing itself to the current Cheney-Limbaugh illusionati whose strategy is to exploit faith and ignorance by fanning fear and hatred.' Tue, 26 May 2009 16:26:00 -0400 20090526024854.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526024854.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2005-10-31-ABCAbort2.jpg Network anchors and reporters didn't hesitate to apply strong ideological labels (not just quoting others) to President Bush's two Supreme Court nominees, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Will they be as willing to tag President Obama's nominee, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as “staunch,” and “hardline” and “ultra” libera"? Tue, 26 May 2009 14:39:00 -0400 20090526115844.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526115844.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-26-CBSSpecial.jpg Moments after President Obama announced his pick of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, CBS's Bob Schieffer and Katie Couric enthused over what Couric called Sotomayor's "very, very compelling life story," with Schieffer cheering that she was 'the political advisor's dream candidate." Tue, 26 May 2009 11:53:00 -0400 20090526093017.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526093017.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-ABC-GoodePromo.jpg With television hosts unwilling to joke about President Barack Obama as those comedians regularly ridicule conservatives, there's a bright spot coming up this week in a new TV show set to debut on ABC which will mock leftist environmentalism. Mon, 25 May 2009 15:25:00 -0400 20090526092414.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526092414.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-24-CBS-EN-open.jpg ABC and CBS, which two weeks ago gave short-shrift to Dick Cheney choosing Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell as the better representative of the Republican Party, both led Sunday night with Powell push back against Cheney and Rush Limbaugh. “Colin Powell hitting back at Dick Cheney and other Republican critics, saying he's still a member of the party, a party he says has to change.” Mon, 25 May 2009 00:15:00 -0400 20090526091345.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526091345.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-22-PBSIW-Cummings.jpg The Politico's Jeanne Cummings, a Wall Street Journal veteran, fretted on this weekend's Inside Washington that former Vice President Dick Cheney has “changed this debate in a way that has made it much, much harder to close Guantanamo, which the President is already committed to doing.” So he's done an awful thing in daring to oppose something President Obama is “committed to doing.” Dreadful! Sat, 23 May 2009 15:09:00 -0400 20090526090618.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090526090618.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-21-CNN-AC-LizCheney.jpg Anderson Cooper grilled Dick Cheney's daughter Liz on his CNN program on Thursday evening about her father's defense of Bush's anti-terror tactics. He asked: “Is it appropriate, though, for your father, who has had access to high-level intelligence for -- for eight years, to be very publicly waving a flag, saying, we're much weaker now than ever before? Isn't that, in fact, emboldening our enemies?” Fri, 22 May 2009 17:07:00 -0400 20090522025214.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090522025214.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-22-ABC-GMA-CHeney.jpg Good Morning America on Friday featured something that has become rare on morning shows, an actual philosophical debate between a strong conservative and a vocal liberal. Liz Cheney engaged in a shoot-out with MSNBC analyst Lawrence O'Donnell over the issue of torture, Guantanamo Bay and keeping America safe. (with video) Fri, 22 May 2009 12:11:00 -0400 20090522110037.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090522110037.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-21-NBC-NN-WillMitch.jpg Thursday's NBC Nightly News featured Andrea Mitchell chastising and correcting former Vice President Dick Cheney for his speech on fighting terrorism, but the network saw no need to correct anything asserted by President Obama in his address on the same topic while anchor Brian Williams asked if Republicans are “happy” to have Cheney as “their messenger?” Thu, 21 May 2009 21:43:00 -0400 20090522010046.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090522010046.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-21-MSNBC-ODonnell.jpg After the Thursday speech by ex-VP Dick Cheney, MSNBC assembled its usual panel of left-wing pundits to tear him down, including political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell, who proclaimed: 'He came today to - obviously to do nothing much other than defend torture, which he calls 'tough questioning.' This was as sleazy a presentation by a Vice President as we've had since Spiro Agnew. This was an absolute abomination.' Thu, 21 May 2009 17:33:00 -0400 20090522124924.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090522124924.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-04-30-NBC-NN-Brokaw.jpg During his Saturday commencement speech at Fordham U, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw fretted the "vital signs" of "Mother Earth" have "taken a turn for the worse," as he cited global warming as a problem this year's graduating class would need to help solve. He also used the term "economic justice," a term commonly invoked by the Left, as he called on graduates to "restore economic justice." Thu, 21 May 2009 15:11:00 -0400 20090522122828.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090522122828.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-21-GMA-ABC-SuperRic.jpg George Soros is a superhero along the lines of Batman and Superman? That's the comparison ABC's John Berman made on Thursday's Good Morning America. He was reporting on a closed door meeting of billionaires that included liberals Soros, Ted Turner and Oprah Winfrey, to discuss charitable giving, leading ABC to feature a graphic with Turner as Superman and Winfrey as Wonder Woman. (with video) Thu, 21 May 2009 16:48:00 -0400 20090521043629.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521043629.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-11-08MSNBCTCSullivan.jpg Time magazine's senior editor Amy Sullivan, who, like most of her peers in the mainstream media, is an amateur when it comes to religion, twice implied in May that the pro-life Catholics in the U.S. who are upset about President Obama's recent commencement address at Notre Dame are more Catholic than Pope Benedict XVI. Thu, 21 May 2009 14:55:00 -0400 20090521012154.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521012154.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-21-NBC-Today-Cheney.jpg NBC reporter Chuck Todd on Thursday's Today spun the dueling speeches of President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney as not "a fair fight." He proclaimed: "Our latest poll indicates it's the most popular member of the Democratic Party facing off against one of the most unpopular members of the Republican Party." Thu, 21 May 2009 13:20:00 -0400 20090521100718.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521100718.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-20-NBC-NN-Lewis.jpg A night after ABC blamed California's deficit on the “unwillingness to raise taxes” and the need for "an almost unachievable two-thirds vote by the legislature to raise taxes,” on Wednesday NBC's George Lewis also ignored soaring state spending as he focused on budget cut victims, asserting: “Part of California's problem is that it takes a two-thirds vote in the state legislature to raise taxes.” Thu, 21 May 2009 02:31:00 -0400 20090521094637.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521094637.aspx http://www.mrc.org/BiasAlert/uploads/2009-05-20-ABC-WNCG-Gibson.jpg ABC, CBS and NBC all led Wednesday night with the Senate's overwhelming 90 to 6 bi-partisan vote to withhold funding for the closing of Guantanamo and block any detainees from being moved to the U.S., but ABC anchor Charles Gibson was uniquely flummoxed: “What's the problem here?...We have terrorists in U.S. prisons, so why not the guys from Guantanamo?” (with video) Wed, 20 May 2009 21:20:00 -0400 20090521093306.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521093306.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-20-NBC-VanSmer.jpg When NBC's Today show, on Wednesday, devoted an entire segment asking the question "How Should the GOP Battle Back?" who did they turn to, to offer strategic advice? Leftist Nation editor/publisher Katrina Vanden Heuvel and self-described "moderate" radio talk show host Michael Smerconish. Wed, 20 May 2009 12:45:00 -0400 20090521092609.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521092609.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-20-MSNBC-Brewer.jpg MSNBC host Contessa Brewer derided Republicans for using the word socialist in reference to Barack Obama's economic policies on Wednesday, complaining, "Well, maybe they think Americans are a bunch of idiots." Wed, 20 May 2009 12:35:00 -0400 20090521091640.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090521091640.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-19-MSNBC-ODonnell.jpg Reacting to a speech by Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele during Tuesday's 3:00 EST hour on MSNBC, anchor Norah O'Donnell declared: "In case you missed it, we compiled the greatest and the best of Michael Steele. Some people said that a lot of the cliches he used in his speech you could string them together and it would make a bad Hallmark card." Wed, 20 May 2009 13:15:00 -0400 20090520072316.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520072316.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-19-CNN-NR-Sanchez.jpg CNN anchor Rick Sanchez and Dallas Morning News political writer Wayne Slater agreed on Tuesday's Newsroom program that former President George W. Bush appeared to be “controlled by a bunch of bullies,” or that he was “presiding over a reign of bullies, with [Dick] Cheney and [Donald] Rumsfeld and Karl Rove pushing a partisan agenda.” Tue, 19 May 2009 19:15:00 -0400 20090520051639.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520051639.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-12-PBS-TS-Tavis.jpg Time magazine is not wild about capitalism. In a "business roundtable" on the "future of capitalism," Time assembled several liberals to decry the idea: PBS host Tavis Smiley, blog founder Arianna Huffington, and soul singer John Legend all found the need for capitalism to have a large dose of government intervention. Tue, 19 May 2009 07:59:00 -0400 20090520050242.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520050242.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-19-MSNBC-MitchellAM.jpg Who did MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell feature to respond to Michael Steele's Tuesday speech about the future of the Republican Party? Chris Shays, the liberal, former Republican congressman with a lifetime American Conservative Union score of 44, appeared on "Andrea Mitchell Reports" to critique the chairman of the Republican National Committee. Tue, 19 May 2009 16:20:00 -0400 20090520045045.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520045045.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-19-ABC-GMASawyer.jpg Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer on Tuesday aggressively lobbied for the Obama administration to install a European-style gas tax on the United States. Talking to Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, she demanded: "Why not just go to a gas tax, for instance, which would accomplish a reduction in the use of gasoline, dependence on foreign oil right away?" Sawyer would proceed to ask variations on this question six times. Tue, 19 May 2009 11:08:00 -0400 20090520014202.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520014202.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-19-NBC-TodayCast.jpg NBC's Matt Lauer and Al Roker, on Tuesday's "Today" show, revealed they enjoyed a "nice" evening at the theater last night, in the presence of Michelle Obama, as she "dazzled New York City for a second time," when she visited the Metropolitan Opera House. Tue, 19 May 2009 13:39:08 GMT 20090520125312.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520125312.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-18-CBS-EN-childrec11.jpg Katie Couric sees America through a very dark prism. On Monday, she launched a new "Children of the Recession" series, in collaboration with USA Today, with an op-ed in "the nation's newspaper" in which she speculated today's kids may become the "Recession Generation" since "in some ways, I think they already are," or the "innocent victims could become the Lost Generation." Tue, 19 May 2009 12:50:46 GMT 20090520125025.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520125025.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-18-NBC-Matthews21.jpg Chris Matthews, on the syndicated The Chris Matthews Show over the weekend, likened Dick Cheney's recent media appearances, to defend the Bush administration and to criticize Obama on national security policy, to Glenn Close's stalker character from the 1987 film Fatal Attraction. Mon, 18 May 2009 16:37:00 -0400 20090520124717.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520124717.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/cnn-live.jpg Minutes after she praised President Obama on Sunday for his "courageous" decision to accept the invitation to speak at Notre Dame, CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield played the role of liberal advocate for the President's commencement address, grilling one Catholic guest who questioned the university's decision, while going easy on her other guest who was happy to see Obama speak there. Mon, 18 May 2009 18:22:00 -0400 20090520124324.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520124324.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-18-ABC-GMA-Cuomo41.jpg After promoting the controversial, religion-baiting film Angels Demons for a combined 19 minutes last week on Good Morning America, ABC finally featured a Catholic priest to object to the movie. Unfortunately, the interview was relegated only to the network's Web site, not the ABC morning show. Mon, 18 May 2009 15:36:00 -0400 20090520102620.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520102620.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-19-ABC-WNCG-palmtre.jpg A Tuesday story on ABC's World News, which ignored soaring state spending, reflected frustration with California voters for the anticipated rejection of ballot initiatives to raise taxes as reporter Laura Marquez blamed the Golden State's budget deficit on an “unwillingness to raise taxes” stretching all the way back to 1978's Proposition 13. In fact, though personal income tax collections “dropped 14% last year,” a Tuesday Wall Street Journal article noted they “soared 70% from 2002 to 2007.” Tue, 19 May 2009 21:58:00 -0400 20090520123118.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520123118.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-16-CBS-EN-Glor21.jpg A night after the CBS Evening News ignored CIA Director Leon Panetta's rebuke of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Saturday's newscast continued the blackout as anchor Jeff Glor only mentioned Pelosi in setting up a question by explaining she "put herself in a very awkward position" when "she said the CIA lied to her or misled her about water-boarding," before he asked Time magazine veteran John Dickerson: "Is this something that's over for the Speaker now or does this continue?" Sat, 16 May 2009 22:27:00 -0400 20090520122514.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520122514.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-ABC-WNCG-Panetta31.jpg After ignoring for three weeks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's denial she was briefed by the CIA about how water-boarding was being used, only to decide it was news on Thursday when Pelosi at a press conference accused the CIA of "lying" and of "misleading" the Congress, on Friday the CBS and NBC evening newscasts fell silent again despite the backlash from CIA Director Leon Panetta, a former Democratic Congressman. Fri, 15 May 2009 21:26:00 -0400 20090520122111.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520122111.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-NBCToday41.jpg After three weeks of virtual silence, all three broadcast networks provided full reports Thursday night about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's shifting story about what she knew about the interrogation methods used against al Qaeda terrorists, methods that liberals have decried as criminal torture. Mon, 18 May 2009 08:17:00 -0400 20090520121715.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520121715.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-PBSIW-TotenThomas51.jpg Asked "why does it matter" what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "knew or did not know" about the "enhanced interrogation" of terror suspects, Newsweek's Evan Thomas and NPR's Nina Totenberg failed to address Pelosi's hypocrisy in now condemning others for what she knew about years go, as both dismissed the relevance of her evolving memory. Mon, 18 May 2009 12:15:43 GMT 20090520121513.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520121513.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-CNN-AM-Chetry62.jpg On Friday's American Morning, CNN anchor Kiran Chetry used the liberal talking points about Wanda Sykes and Rush Limbaugh, the two "Wingnuts of the Week," according to John Avlon of The Daily Beast, Tina Brown's Huffington Post knock-off site. Mon, 18 May 2009 12:11:53 GMT 20090520121100.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090520121100.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-CBS-TES-Chen71.jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen read some viewer email, including a question from one woman who asked: "Would you be willing to jeopardize your job to report something your bosses or the government wanted to keep hidden?" Mon, 18 May 2009 12:07:03 GMT 20090519034756.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519034756.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-17-CNN-Whitfield.jpg Just under an hour before President Barack Obama delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon, CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield applauded Obama's anticipated comments, addressing the controversy of the Catholic institution awarding an honorary degree to a politician who does not uphold pro-life policies, as “very courageous.” Sun, 17 May 2009 16:40:17 GMT 20090519055529.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519055529.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-PBSIW-TotenThomas.jpg Asked “why does it matter” what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “knew or did not know” about the “enhanced interrogation” of terror suspects, Newsweek's Evan Thomas and NPR's Nina Totenberg failed to address Pelosi's hypocrisy in now condemning others for what she knew about years go, as both dismissed the relevance of her evolving memory. Sat, 16 May 2009 15:51:33 GMT 20090519033401.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519033401.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-15-CBS-TES-Chen.jpg On Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen read some viewer email, including a question from one woman who asked: "Would you be willing to jeopardize your job to report something your bosses or the government wanted to keep hidden?" Fri, 15 May 2009 17:58:48 GMT 20090519011821.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519011821.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-14-ABC-GMA-Sawyer11.jpg Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer worried on Thursday that Barack Obama backtracked "on his pledge to release pictures of U.S. soldiers allegedly torturing terror suspects," framing the story by fretting that this might be a "cave-in to Dick Cheney and the political right." Fri, 15 May 2009 13:16:33 GMT 20090519011554.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519011554.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-14-CBS-TES-Logo21.jpg While both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today on Thursday covered President Obama's decision to block the public release of photos depicting prisoner abuse under U.S. custody, CBS's Early Show failed to make any mention of the dramatic reversal by the White House. Fri, 15 May 2009 13:14:23 GMT 20090519011342.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519011342.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/odonnell0515.jpg Instead of performing as an anchor, MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell became a liberal sparring partner to the Cardinal Newman Society's Patrick Reilly on the network's Thursday afternoon programming over President Obama's upcoming commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. Fri, 15 May 2009 13:07:39 GMT 20090519010703.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519010703.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/Anderercombinedthree41.jpg Chrysler announced plans to eliminate 789 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealerships across the nation, yet on Thursday night ABC, CBS and NBC all showcased the very same upset Long Island dealer, Jim Anderer of Island Jeep in Lindenhurst, New York, while two other dealers also on the closing list were each featured on two of the three evening newscasts. Fri, 15 May 2009 13:05:10 GMT 20090519010103.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519010103.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-13-ABC-WNCG-partyID11.jpg "The problem for Republicans right now is the party doesn't seem big enough for conservatives like [Rush] Limbaugh and moderates like Colin Powell and Senator Arlen Specter," ABC's Jonathan Karl contended in a Wednesday night World News story on the plight of the GOP which, though framed by anchor Charles Gibson as exploring "whether it can attract new voters by becoming more conservative or more moderate," came down, no surprise, on the side of those who think the party is already too conservative. Thu, 14 May 2009 12:57:37 GMT 20090519122153.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519122153.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-13-MSNBC-Matthews21.jpg Chris Matthews, on Wednesday's Hardball, mocked a plan by the RNC to cast Democrats as the Democrat Socialist Party, as "schoolyard," and sarcastically sneered. Thu, 14 May 2009 12:20:06 GMT 20090519121931.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519121931.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-08-FNC-Pelosi31.jpg For the past three weeks, controversy has swirled around Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has called for a "truth commission" to expose the supposed war crimes of the Bush administration but who herself was briefed years ago on the use of waterboarding and the other enhanced interrogation techniques that are now drawing howls of outrage. Thu, 14 May 2009 12:17:58 GMT 20090519121641.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519121641.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/may_19_homeownership_month300.jpg Which Wednesday newspaper headline, over articles about the same report from the Pew Hispanic Center, is not like the others? Thu, 14 May 2009 12:14:04 GMT 20090519121336.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519121336.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-13-CBS-TES-Rodrigue51.jpg On Wednesday's CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez interrogated Miss California Carrie Prejean, wondering if the beauty queen was a hypocrite for standing up for Christian values. Thu, 14 May 2009 12:11:48 GMT 20090519120813.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519120813.aspx http://www.mrc.org/stillshots/2009/May/2009-05-12-CBS-TES-Smith11.jpg On Tuesday's CBS Early Show co-host Harry Smith repeated liberal talking points while asking Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about President Obama's plan to nationalize the health care system. Wed, 13 May 2009 12:04:45 GMT 20090519120410.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519120410.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-12-MSNBC-Shuster21.jpg David Shuster, substitute hosting for Chris Matthews on Tuesday's Hardball, absurdly asserted that Dick Cheney "didn't know" about al-Qaeda before 9/11. Wed, 13 May 2009 08:02:00 -0400 20090519113753.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090519113753.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-02-27-MSNBC-MJ-Brown.jpg Former New Yorker editor Tina Brown appeared on Tuesday's Morning Joe on MSNBC to rail against the "crazy jihad" and "one-man...hate-fest" of Dick Cheney. Brown, who is now the editor of the Daily Beast Web site, trashed the former Vice President for constantly appearing on cable news programs to attack the current administration and for claiming that Barack Obama is making America less safe. Wed, 13 May 2009 10:28:42 GMT 20090514050617.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514050617.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-11-CNN-CB-Panel41.jpg Three CNN personalities and one regular commentator on Monday's No Bias, No Bull program all tried to get Republicans Bay Buchanan and Kevin Madden to disown former Vice President Dick Cheney, and agree with some unnamed Republicans who call for him to "just shut up." Wed, 13 May 2009 17:04:03 GMT 20090514125156.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514125156.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/rescue_me.jpg Four weeks after FX's Rescue Me featured a New York City firefighter telling a French journalist how the 9/11 terrorist attacks were part of "a massive neo-conservative government effort" to enable "American global domination," Tuesday night's episode gave the French character "Genevieve," interviewing firefighters for a book on 9/11 first-responders, a platform to rail against how the U.S. failed to heed France's advice in starting "two new wars" in the name of "revenge." Wed, 13 May 2009 12:45:38 GMT 20090513122528.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513122528.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-03-21-CNN-SJohnson11.jpg Following the path of CNN Middle East correspondent Aneesh Raman and producer Kate Albright-Hanna, who both jumped aboard the Obama campaign last year, senior political producer Sasha Johnson this week announced she's leaving the network's Washington bureau to take the Press Secretary slot at the Department of Transportation. Wed, 13 May 2009 12:17:05 GMT 20090514114743.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514114743.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-11-BBCA-Koppel11.jpg Former ABC News anchor Ted Koppel took to BBC's World News America newscast on Monday night to denounce former Vice President Dick Cheney as Koppel declared U.S. policy should be that "torture is always illegal, and those who use it will always be prosecuted." Tue, 12 May 2009 11:44:53 GMT 20090514114425.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514114425.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-04-20-CBS-TES-Smith.jpg Talking about Wanda Sykes' nasty anti-Limbaugh "joke" at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner ("I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was just so strung out on oxycontin he missed his flight"), CBS's Harry Smith defended Sykes more than did Keith Olbermann. Tue, 12 May 2009 11:39:01 GMT 20090514113551.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514113551.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-11-ABC-GMASawyer31.jpg Angels Demons star Tom Hanks received zero critical questions or challenges when he appeared on Monday's Good Morning America to promote a movie that features the Catholic Church ordering a brutal massacre in order to silence a secret society. Instead, Sawyer referred to the film, a prequel to The Da Vinci Code, as a "scary, spiritual scavenger hunt." Tue, 12 May 2009 11:33:24 GMT 20090514112921.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514112921.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-18-TimeCover11.jpg How many times can you use the discrediting term "extremely," suggesting "extremist" positions, in a single sentence describing the state of the Republican Party? Three, if you're writing Time magazine's cover story. Mon, 11 May 2009 11:16:44 GMT 20090514111157.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514111157.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-10-CBS-FN-Cheney21.jpg To Bob Schieffer's astonishment, when he wrapped up his Sunday interview by asking former Vice President Dick Cheney where he comes down between Rush Limbaugh and Colin Powell who both say the Republican Party would be "better off" without the other, Cheney declared: "I'd go with Rush Limbaugh." Mon, 11 May 2009 10:58:04 GMT 20090514105600.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514105600.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-08-ABC-GMAStossel31.jpg ABC's token contrarian John Stossel appeared on Friday's Good Morning America to promote his new 20/20 special on some very politically incorrect subjects. Mon, 11 May 2009 10:50:53 GMT 20090514105032.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090514105032.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-10-CSP-Scheft41.jpg The proudest moment in his career, Late Show writer Bill Scheft boasted at a Friday comedy writer panel held at Washington, DC's Newseum, was when he got David Letterman to try to undermine guest John McCain's Bill Ayers talking point by raising McCain's relationship with G. Gordon Liddy -- as if a political dirty trickster were the equivalent of a terrorist involved with bombings which killed people, could have killed hundreds more if his attempts worked and remains unrepentant. Mon, 11 May 2009 10:48:06 GMT 20090513041638.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513041638.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-07-NBC-NN-Spock11.jpg Concluding a Thursday NBC Nightly News story on summer movies, correspondent George Lewis previewed the new Star Trek film, set to open on Friday, and found it relevant to highlight how "some Trekkies have compared the Spock character, the product of a mixed marriage between a human and a Vulcan, to President Obama. Fri, 08 May 2009 16:13:38 GMT 20090513041218.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513041218.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-07-ABC-GMASawyer22.jpg Good Morning America co-host Diane Sawyer and ABC journalist George Stephanopoulos lauded Barack Obama for his handling of the banking crisis on Thursday. Sawyer even saw the government administered stress tests as a "mission accomplished" moment. Fri, 08 May 2009 16:09:23 GMT 20090513040829.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513040829.aspx http://www.timeswatch.org/stillshots/2006/Carlos_Slim.jpg Carlos Slim, described in 2007 as a "thief" and "robber baron" by a Times editorial writer, is now "a very shrewd businessman with an appreciation for great brands," according to the paper's publisher. What changed? A $250 million loan from Slim to the NYT Co., for one. Fri, 08 May 2009 16:06:15 GMT 20090513040253.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513040253.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-04-CNN-AM-Acosta41.jpg Correspondent Jim Acosta, "carrying the CNN flag" on the island of Cuba, filed several reports for the American Morning program during the first week of May which slanted favorably towards an end to the trade embargo with the communist communist country. Fri, 08 May 2009 12:01:00 -0400 20090513040012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513040012.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2007-02-24-PBS-CR-Hirsh51.jpg Two days after the death of GOP icon Jack Kemp, Newsweek Senior Editor Michael Hirsh posted a classless obituary on Monday, "The Dangers of Amateurism," calling the football player, politician, and self-taught economist Kemp an "amateur econo-cultist." Fri, 08 May 2009 15:57:19 GMT 20090513035238.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513035238.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-06-NBC-NN-ToddMitchell11.jpg The leaders of nations who quarreled when George Bush was President now hug each other, thanks to President Barack Obama deigning to take time from his busy schedule to hold a meeting which displayed the "quintessential Obama" and the "Obama doctrine at work" in bringing "two sides together." Thu, 07 May 2009 15:46:54 GMT 20090513034442.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513034442.aspx http://www.mrc.org/stillshots/2009/May/2009-05-06-ABC-GMAShipman21.jpg Despite running two segments in the last week on Elizabeth Edwards and how she has coped with the extramarital affair of former Senator John Edwards, ABC's Good Morning America has yet to feature a single story on the news that a federal probe has been launched into whether the then-presidential candidate paid off the woman he was having a relationship with. Thu, 07 May 2009 15:44:18 GMT 20090513033805.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513033805.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NYTimesMastHead.jpg The New York Times Co. is playing hardball with the Boston Globe, threatening to shut it down unless it got more cuts from the Globe's unions, without a trace of its flagship paper's vaunted support for unions against management. Thu, 07 May 2009 11:35:00 -0400 20090513022331.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513022331.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/NYTimesMastHead.jpg Russell Shorto, a regular contributing writer for the New York Times Sunday magazine, offered a country-to-country comparison between the United States and Holland, where he's been living for the last 18 months. The story's headline is self-explanatory: "Going Dutch -- How I Learned To Love The European Welfare State." Thu, 07 May 2009 12:34:09 GMT 20090513121644.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513121644.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-01-ABC-GMAStephanop21.jpg New video has surfaced of possible Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor remarking that the courts are the place "where policy is made." Sotomayor, who is a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was giving a speech at Duke University in 2005 when the footage was shot. Wed, 06 May 2009 12:11:42 GMT 20090513115639.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513115639.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-01-NBC-NN-Williams31.jpg NBC anchor Brian Williams' Web surfing centers on liberal sites, as at least evidenced by the reading list he recommended in his Monday afternoon entry on The Daily Nightly blog consisting of four articles, all from left-leaning sites: Slate, The New Republic and The Daily Beast. Wed, 06 May 2009 11:53:27 GMT 20090513114951.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090513114951.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-04-CBS-EN-Whitaker41.jpg At the end of Monday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Bill Whitaker gave a fawning report on a book being complied of children's letters to President Obama: "Eight-year-old Lucy O'Brien loves to draw, ask her dad, a fine antiques dealer...She also knows times are hard at dad's business...So when her mother told her about a 'Dear Mr. President' contest, lucky winners' art and letters presented to President Obama, she poured her heart into it." Wed, 06 May 2009 11:17:56 GMT 20090505112752.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090505112752.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-04-NBC-Mitchell11.jpg In a piece that could've been crafted by Hillary Clinton's PR shop, NBC's Andrea Mitchell, on Monday's Today show, gushed on and on about the Secretary of State's new 'role of a lifetime,' as a 'a foreign policy superstar,' and cheered Clinton has the 'highest approval ratings of any time in her career.' Tue, 05 May 2009 07:26:00 -0400 20090505112506.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090505112506.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/mathews.jpg Chris Matthews asked his panel of reporters, on this past weekend's syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, to offer their prescriptions on how the GOP, in the wake of the Arlen Specter departure, can regain its popularity. Tue, 05 May 2009 11:20:50 GMT 20090505112026.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090505112026.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-02-ABC-WNS-Rachel31.jpg On ABC's World News on Saturday, and the same day's CBS Evening News, correspondents suggested that conservative positions on social issues were responsible for the Republican party's recent electoral misfortunes, as the two programs filed stories about an appearance in Arlington, Virginia by Jeb Bush, Eric Cantor and Mitt Romney as part of an effort to rebuild the party's appeal. Tue, 05 May 2009 07:18:00 -0400 20090505111654.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090505111654.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2006-06-30-PBS-WW-LindaG41.jpg New York Times' former Supreme Court reporter, liberal Linda Greenhouse, came out of journalistic retirement to write the lead Sunday Week in Review profile of retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Tue, 05 May 2009 07:14:00 -0400 20090505111315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090505111315.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-04-ABC-GMASawyer51.jpg ABC's Good Morning America, which has yet to interview talk show host Mark Levin about his best selling book on conservatism, featured James Carville on Monday to promote '40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation.' Tue, 05 May 2009 07:10:00 -0400 20090505104232.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2009/20090505104232.aspx http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/uploads/2009-05-04-NBC-NN-WillKemp.jpg Nightly News delivered an obit on Kemp's life, but while Brian Williams didn't find room in his 37-second update to mention how Kemp was behind the successful, supply-side Regan tax cuts, he decided it was newsworthy to point out how "Kemp was a conservative purist who, in a letter to his grandchildren months before his death, said the election of Barack Obama was proof that we live in a great country." 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