Mike Ciandella is a research analyst for the MRC's News Analysis Division. Before that, he was a senior analyst for MRC Business where he managed The Soros Project, the MRC's ongoing research effort into the influence of liberal donors.

Latest from Mike Ciandella
CBS Hypes Misleading Government Alcohol Study
March 27, 2014, 5:25 PM EDT

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recently published a new report that not only misled, but was completely unnecessary. And CBS repeated it rather than criticize its irrelevancy.

The NIAAA study claimed that the number of alcohol related deaths has been vastly under-reported. However, this was misleading. A separate government agency NIAAA agrees with has been publishing the correct number of deaths for years, and media outlets have been using that correct data. So the new taxpayer study went looking for a problem that wasn’t there.

Psych Series Finale
March 26, 2014, 11:29 PM EDT

With plenty of action, puns and celebrity guest stars, Psych has finally aired its last episode after eight seasons. Deon Richmond, Val Kilmer and Billy Zane guest starred, and the writers managed to fit in plenty of running jokes and references to earlier seasons and still have a decent plot.

When it Comes to Kochs, WaPo Picks Activism Over Accuracy
March 25, 2014, 3:46 PM EDT

The Washington Post has a new tactic to justify erroneous reporting: the intention was to create debate.

Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin attacked the Koch brothers in a Washington Post article on March 20, claiming that the Kochs had a financial interest in the Keystone Pipeline. The article insinuated that was the reason many conservatives were promoting the project.

Rep. Lamar Smith: Liberal Media Bias ‘The Greatest Threat We Face in America’
March 18, 2014, 2:21 PM EDT

Media bias is a greater threat than terrorism, according to Rep. Lamar Smith. Rep. Smith heads the Media Fairness Caucus on the Hill.

The Business and Media Institute interviewed Rep. Smith about Internews, the liberal journalism group which has gotten more than $364 million in funding from the US government through the State Department and USAID.  Internews also received $1.7 million from liberal billionaire George Soros.

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Media Credited ‘Let’s Move’ With Obesity Drop, Ignore Flawed CDC Data
March 17, 2014, 12:55 PM EDT

Michelle Obama’s highly touted “Let’s Move” campaign might not have its first victory after all. Despite healthy living advocates touting a decline in obesity among preschoolers, that CDC claim of a 43 percent decline in a decade might not be at all true.

In fact, the data is so vague that the obesity rate may actually have increased, according to Reuters. ABC and CBS praised the statistic as a victory for Obama’s healthy living campaign when it came out, but failed to mention on news programming the evening of March 16 or the morning of March 17 that the statistic was called into question.

Bloomberg Businessweek Acknowledges Comcast's Liberal Ties
March 11, 2014, 1:28 PM EDT

“Congress Never Has to Wait for the Cable Guy,” so says Bloomberg Businessweek.

Todd Shields, Stephanie Green and Laura Litvan wrote about Comcast’s cozy relationship with DC, especially to the White House. It was published online March 6.

They reported that Comcast executive vice president David Cohen “raised at least $500,000 for Obama's 2012 reelection,” and hosted a fund raiser for him at their home in Philadelphia. The story also quoted President Barack Obama saying at that fundraiser, “I've been here so much, the only thing I haven't done in this house is have seder dinner.”

SNL: Bad Guys Shut Down Planned Parenthood Clinics
March 9, 2014, 1:28 AM EST

Saturday Night Live this week included a skit that portrayed people who shut down Planned Parenthood Clinics as bad men who had their heart broken by some girl when they were 18 and never got over it.

During the skit, protesting against Planned Parenthood was used as an example of how out of touch a dorky guy was. The actor, with slicked down hair and an emphasized nasal voice, argued that men deserve to be paid more than women always, before his proud (but unaware) girlfriend proudly volunteered that he had helped to shut down two Planned Parenthood clinics. (Video below)

Maria Bartiromo Premieres on FBN
February 24, 2014, 4:49 PM EST

“Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo,” hosted by the former CNBC host, premiered Feb. 24, on Fox Business Network. According to Business Insider, part of the appeal for Fox News to hire Bartiromo was her ability to “book big-name guests,” which would increase the amount of exclusive content on the cable network.

Bartiromo’s guests on first FBN show included bank analyst Dick Bove, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, Gamco CEO Mario Gabelli, CEO of Nissan Renault Carlos Ghosn and House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor.

Maria Bartiromo Premiers on FBN
February 24, 2014, 4:33 PM EST

CNBC Alumnus now hosts ‘Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo.’

Universities in FCC Newsroom Probe Have Close Ties to Soros, Got $3.7M in Funding
February 24, 2014, 12:50 PM EST

Funding includes partnerships with Soros on events, projects.

Rant That Launched Tea Party – and 4 More Amazing Ones from World’s Top Ranter
February 19, 2014, 6:39 AM EST

CNBC’s Rick Santelli is a man who isn’t afraid to speak his mind. His Feb. 19, 2009, rant was credited with inspiring the start of the Tea Party. It’s not alone. Santelli raises his voice on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade whenever he feels that an important point of information isn’t getting enough attention.

Complete with arm waving, props and a lot more facts than liberals are comfortable with, here are what we at the Business and Media Institute have decided are the five best Rick Santelli rants of all time.

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Comcast To Acquire Time Warner Cable
February 13, 2014, 2:42 PM EST

Comcast announced that they reached an agreement to purchase Time Warner Cable. The acquisition will combine the largest two cable providers, according to Feb. 12, New York Times article. The move will give Comcast, which already owns NBC Universal and MSNBC, even more influence, allowing it to expand into Time Warner controlled territories including New York and Los Angeles.

Columbia Journalism Prof Promotes Article Calling Israel an ‘Open-air Prison’ for Palestinians
February 13, 2014, 11:10 AM EST

A professor at one of the most prestigious U.S. journalism schools promoted an article calling Israel an “open-air prison” for Palestinians.

HuffPost Live host Shihab-Eldin, a Columbia Journalism School professor and former Al Jazeera English staffer, Tweeted 10 times on Feb. 12 to promote an article bashing Israel. He also retweeted someone else’s promotion of the article once.

“For the love of god, justice, peace, dignity and humanity...please read this powerful post by@stopbeingfamous.” Shihab-Eldin tweeted.

Krugman: How Do I Love Spending Your Money? Let Me Count The Ways
February 13, 2014, 9:35 AM EST

If you’re confused about what to get Paul Krugman for Valentine’s Day, it’s not like he hasn’t dropped enough hints. He likes spending. Gobs of it. In fact, he thinks President Barack Obama is far too miserly with the public dime. Since Obama was elected in 2008, Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, has called for an increase in U.S. government spending 133 times in his New York Times column.

Comcast Goes Further Left, Helps Fund JournoLister Ezra Klein’s $10M Startup
February 11, 2014, 10:52 AM EST

Apparently MSNBC wasn’t liberal enough for Comcast. Its division Comcast Ventures is funding liberal blogger Ezra Klein’s new startup. Klein, the boy wonder of left-wing journalism, is famous for creating a list of liberal media who planned how to spin the news called JournoList.

Klein has hired fellow liberal Matthew Yglesias from Slate as executive editor, and two fellow Washington Post staffers. Both of these Post staffers, Dylan Matthews and Melissa Bell, worked for a Wonk Blog joint project called Know More. This project idea, with an initial estimated cost of more than $10 million, was turned down by the Washington Post in January.

ABC, NBC and CBS Hype ‘Food Babe’ Attack on Subway
February 10, 2014, 5:24 PM EST

Whether it’s beef, tuna or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, the networks love to scare people away from their dinner plates.

The latest attack was on Subway restaurant’s sandwiches. Food blogger Vani Hari made another appearance on the networks to hype her claim that Subway uses the same chemical to whiten its bread that is used to make some yoga mats.

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$5.6 Million from Soros Aids Universities That Boycott Israel
February 4, 2014, 11:09 AM EST

Academic boycott ignores hypocrisy, cites Palestinian grievances.

Same Love: Queen Latifah Officiates Gay Weddings at Grammys
January 26, 2014, 11:29 PM EST

Not to be outdone by other awards shows, the 56th Grammy Awards decided to put on a wedding ceremony for 33 "Same Love" couples. Performers Madonna, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Queen Latifah banded together to produce a wedding ceremony for the mixture of gay and straight couples, which included Ryan Lewis' sister and her fiancé. Madonna hinted at this on the E! pre-show when she told Ryan Seacrest, "History is going to be made tonight... I want to be a part of that." Known for her bizarre stunts (the 2003 VMAs kiss with Brittney Spears, for example), it is not a surprise that she would be involved. Neither is it a surprise that Queen Latifah, who is rumored to be a lesbian, would be officiating. Of course, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' song, "Same Love" has been known as "a marriage-equality anthem" according to The New York Times.

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Misleading ‘97 Percent of Scientists’ Claim Resurfaces in NY Times
January 23, 2014, 11:02 AM EST

Repeat a statistic often enough and people will start to believe you. At least, that seems to be the philosophy of Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann, who has been repeating misleading figures to warn of manmade climate change for years.

The latest example of this effort from Mann was his Jan. 19 opinion piece in The New York Times. In it, Mann bemoaned the fact that there is any sort of debate going on over climate change “where none should exist.” Despite Mann’s claims about the “appearance of a debate” in the media on climate change, the news media are dismissive of manmade climate change skeptics, even going so far as to compare them to “flat earthers,” and are frequently alarmist in coverage of climate.

Supernatural: Carlton vs Crowley
January 21, 2014, 10:09 PM EST

Apparently Sean and Gus aren't the only ones scared of Lassiter. Timothy Omundson guest stars on this latest episode of Supernatural as someone that even Crowley is terrified of: Cain.