Ken Shepherd lives in New Carrollton, Md., with his wife, Laura, and children Mercy and Abraham. Ken graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland in 2001 with a Bachelors of Arts in Government & Politics and a citation in Public Leadership. 

Ken has worked full-time for the Media Research Center since May 2001 and prior to that was an MRC New Analysis Division intern from October 1998 to May 2001. 

In his spare time, Ken enjoys karaoke, tennis, reading, and discussing theology or politics.

Latest from Ken Shepherd
Chris Matthews: Celibate Priesthood Means Catholic Clergy Don't Have Wives Who Push Them to Allow Women Priests
September 23, 2015, 8:52 PM EDT

Cradle Catholic Chris Matthews spent the first segment of his September 23 Hardball program effusively praising Pope Francis, particularly for raising immigration and climate change in his brief remarks at a welcome ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. But in a later segment, Matthews and guests Joan Walsh and Sister Simone Campbell lamented how even the liberal-leaning Francis is closed to the idea of women serving as priests in the Catholic Church.

At one point, Matthews offered up his theory for why the opposition was so long-standing, and it boiled down to, wait for it, a celibate Catholic clergy.

Daily Beast Features Woman Writer Blasting Catholic Hospital for Refusing to Tie Her Tubes
September 23, 2015, 6:14 PM EDT

Welcome to the United States, Pope Francis, it's "indefensible" that Catholic hospitals refuse to perform tubal ligation surgery on women. That is the thrust of a Daily Beast piece written by one Jessica Mann, who explained her plight in a September 23 article headlined, "A Catholic Hospital Says It’s ‘Evil’ For Me to Get My Tubes Tied"

Todd Plays Softball with Liberal Catholic Sen. Cantwell, Beans Conservative Sen. Hoeven Over Planned Parenthood Funding Fight
September 22, 2015, 9:00 PM EDT

Filling in for Chris Matthews on Hardball tonight, NBC's Chuck Todd noted at the open of the program that Pope Francis's U.S. visit would likely yield moments where he speak out to the discomfit of both Republicans and Democrats on certain policy issues. Yet Todd himself didn't seek the emulate such balance when he interviewed Catholic senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.).

Daily Beast Writer Whines About Gov. Jindal's 'Embarrassing Abortion Obsession'
September 22, 2015, 4:38 PM EDT

On the eve of Pope Francis's arrival in the United States, the Daily Beast's Samantha Allen groused about Catholic convert Gov. Bobby Jindal's "Embarrassing Abortion Obsession."

Daily Beast Snarks Over 'Nerds' Critiquing Media's Shoddy Coverage of Ahmed Mohamed's Clock
September 21, 2015, 12:33 PM EDT

The Daily Beast is rather annoyed with electronics "nerds" who have dared to challenge the mainstream media's narrative about Irving, Texas teenager Ahmed Mohamed's pencil-case clock, which got him in a brief scrape with authorities and briefly suspended from high school after administrators feared it was either a real or a hoax bomb.

Obama-Appointed Judge Joins Pro-Gun Rights Ruling; WashPost Ignores That Angle
September 18, 2015, 4:14 PM EDT

A federal appeals panel today ruled parts of a Washington, D.C. gun-regulation bill to be unconstitutional. One of the judges in the majority, Patricia Millett, is an Obama appointee who once clerked for a judge in the infamously left-leaning Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Yet that angle of the story was curiously absent from Washington Post reporter Spencer Hsu's coverage of the ruling, even as he noted it was a George W. Bush appointee who dissented from ruling.

Chris Matthews: 'I'm Not a Hater'; Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz Might Beg to Differ
September 18, 2015, 3:06 PM EDT

Last night on Hardball, MSNBC host Chris Matthews insisted, "I'm not a hater" even though there are "a couple that really get to me though," such as Dick Cheney.

 

Joan Walsh: Fiorina Was Either Lying Or 'Delusional' About Planned Parenthood Videos
September 17, 2015, 8:33 PM EDT

Carly Fiorina is "either a liar, or she's delusional" regarding the Planned Parenthood sting videos, Salon editor-at-large Joan Walsh snarled on tonight's edition of Hardball.

CNN.com Turns to Iranians to Bash GOP Debate Participants
September 17, 2015, 6:18 PM EDT

Leave it to CNN to go to the streets of Tehran for commentary on the Republican presidential primary.

 

 

NBC Sharpens Knives for Carly: Her Super PAC 'Tests Legal Limits of Campaign Coordination'
September 17, 2015, 4:49 PM EDT

"[I]n the current presidential campaign, the lines [between super PACs and candidates] are being blurred even more and no candidate is testing the legal limits more visibly or blatantly than Carly Fiorina, whose performance in Wednesday night’s Republican debate has thrust her candidacy into the spotlight," NBC News's Alexandra Jaffe and Kailani Koenig in a posting today at NBCNews.com's Meet the Press page.

Prior to Debate, Matthews Tag-Teamed with Sen. Barbara Boxer to Bash Carly Fiorina
September 16, 2015, 10:08 PM EDT

A half hour prior to Wednesday's Republican presidential debate on CNN, Chris Matthews over on MSNBC's Hardball tag-teamed with California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer to trash Republican candidate Carly Fiorina, who unsuccessfully challenged Boxer in a 2010 Senate race. "Senator, I'm a big fan of yours," Matthews began, "So tell me what you think about tonight. I mean, you beat her, and here she is back going for president. Doesn't make sense. Your thoughts?"

Matthews Channels Rev. Wright: GOP Chickens 'Coming Home to Roost' with Birther Trump's Popular Candidacy
September 16, 2015, 8:52 PM EDT

In an exchange with former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) on Wednesday night's Hardball prior to the CNN debate, host Chris Matthews blasted the Republican Party writ large for not rebuking Donald Trump several years ago when he publicly questioned whether President Obama was constitutionally eligible for the office.

Matthews's Dog Whistle? He Accuses Bill Kristol of Being Neo-Con Puppet Master
September 15, 2015, 8:29 PM EDT

Here's a pro-tip for Chris Matthews. If you're going to blow a dog whistle on your national program about how a neo-conservative Jewish guy is a political puppet master, you might want to not add insult to injury by doing so as Jews the world 'round celebrate the new year.

David Gregory: Brian Williams Was Wrong But We Need to Have 'Compassion'
September 15, 2015, 5:41 PM EDT

"I think what he did was wrong" but "I also want to have compassion for him, and I don't want to judge him for his mistake," former NBC Meet the Press anchor David Gregory told Yahoo! News Global Anchor Katie Couric earlier today in a live interview. Gregory declined the opportunity to say whether he thought it was right of NBC/MSNBC to bring Williams back in an on-air capacity. 

Daily Beast: O'Malley Call to Boost Gun-Purchase Age to 21 Is 'Bold'
September 14, 2015, 12:38 PM EDT

Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley -- who is polling in the single digits in the Democratic presidential primary race -- has come out with a new measure to restrict 2nd Amendment rights. He's calling for raising minimum age for purchasing any firearm from 18 to 21. The liberal Daily Beast website noticed the move by O'Malley and hailed it as "bold" in today's Cheat Sheet digest.

Daily Beast's Woodruff Snarks 'Kate's Law' About Avenging Dead 'White Girl'
September 11, 2015, 2:21 PM EDT

"Kate’s Law would be enormously expensive, and there’s scant evidence it would be worth the cost. But hey, a white girl got shot. We have to do something," snarked former National Review writer Betsy Woodruff as she concluded her September 11 story "Is Kate's Law a Terrible Idea?"

MSNBC's Matthews Attacks Ben Carson for Quoting Bible In Answer About Donald Trump
September 10, 2015, 8:56 PM EDT

On his September 10 Hardball program, cradle Catholic Chris Matthews voiced his disdain for political candidates  discussing their religious faith and/or citing the Bible at a campaign event. The target of Mr. Matthews's wrath was Dr. Ben Carson, who recently quoted from the biblical book of Proverbs to answer a question related to Donald Trump.

CNN Breaking News Email Cheers How Obama 'Won't Be Forced to Veto' Congressional Block on Iran Deal
September 10, 2015, 5:23 PM EDT

Senate Democrats have spared the American public an "ugly battle" over the Iran which would "force" President Obama to make good on his veto threat, according to a breaking news email alert by CNN.

MSNBC's Matthews: Racism May Account for Only 10 Percent of GOP Approving of Obama's Job As President
September 9, 2015, 9:03 PM EDT

According to Hardball host Chris Matthews, President Obama's skin tone may well account for his paltry 10 percent job-approval rating among Republicans.

MSNBC's Matthews Cheers Francis As Foil to Conservative Wing of Church Among American Catholicism
September 8, 2015, 9:22 PM EDT

A few weeks ahead of Pope Francis's visit to the United States, liberal cradle Catholic Chris Matthews -- who once opined that it was somewhat en vogue for "really anti-gay" folks to convert to the faith -- used the upcoming visit as an opportunity to praise the pontiff as a foil for more conservative and traditionalist wings of the Catholic Church, particularly in the United States.