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Roger Friedman: Brooke Shields 'Likely' to Replace 'Extremely Right Wing' Hasselbeck on 'The View'
By Tom Blumer | | March 8, 2013 | 11:07 PM EST

This posts builds on another by Noel Sheppard which appeared earlier today at NewsBusters. At ShowBiz411.com, Roger Friedman, who worked at Fox News for a decade until he was fired in 2009 over alleged film piracy, claims that Brooke Shields is “Likely” to join “The View” as Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck depart. "Likely"? Wow, Rog, way to put yourself on the line.

Friedman went heavy on praise for Shields and took shots at Hasselbeck. Commenters certainly aren't supportive, as will be seen after the jump.

Krauthammer: Obama Took 12 Senators to Dinner - Same as the Number of Apostles
By Noel Sheppard | | March 8, 2013 | 7:03 PM EST

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer made a humorous observation Friday about President Obama's recent dinner with Republican Senators.

Appearing on Fox News's Special Report, Krauthammer joked, "It was twelve Senators at dinner. That's the same number as the number of Apostles."

Ed Schultz to Radio Show Caller: I Don't Shill for GE! I Shill for Obama!
By Jack Coleman | | March 8, 2013 | 5:53 PM EST

Ed Schultz touts his radio program as the place "where America comes to talk" -- providing that "America" agrees with Schultz.

Good example of the habitually acerbic Schultz's response to criticism was heard on the show yesterday when a caller questioned the basis for Schultz's support of President Obama's use of drones to kill suspected terrorists. (audio clip after page break)

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien Embarrasses Herself Attacking Fox News Chief Roger Ailes
By Matthew Sheffield | | March 8, 2013 | 5:40 PM EST

While being ignorant of the facts is not as bad for a journalist as deliberately suppressing them, not knowing what you’re talking about can be far more embarrassing—and amusing.

Soledad O’Brien, the soon-to-be-former host of CNN’s “Starting Point,” proved that point definitively yesterday when she revealed that she had basically no knowledge of the new favorite story among left-of-center journalists, the supposed racism of Fox News president Roger Ailes.

Report: Elisabeth Hasselbeck Booted From ‘The View’ for Being ‘Too Extreme and Right-wing’
By Noel Sheppard | | March 8, 2013 | 5:32 PM EST

ABC might be getting rid of the lone conservative on its daytime talk show The View.

So claimed Us magazine Friday in a piece titled "Elisabeth Hasselbeck Leaving The View After Nine Years, Viewers Found Her Too Extreme and Right Wing'":

CBS Fawns Over Caroline Kennedy; Rose Wonders If She Will Run For President
By Matthew Balan | | March 8, 2013 | 5:31 PM EST

Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell, and Gayle King gushed over Caroline Kennedy on Friday's CBS This Morning. O'Donnell asked Kennedy is she supported a potential Hillary Clinton presidential run in 2016, which prompted Rose to wonder if the daughter of JFK might run herself for the highest elected office in the U.S.

King hyped the potential nomination of Kennedy to be an ambassador to Japan: "Madame Ambassador – does that have a ring to it for you?" O'Donnell tossed the softest of softballs as a follow-up: "Do you like Japan or Canada better?" (audio available here; video below the jump)

Disney CEO Confronted Over Liberal Bias at ABC, ESPN by Shareholder
By Ken Shepherd | | March 8, 2013 | 5:05 PM EST

Liberal bias in journalism is not just bad for the profession as an abstract concept, it's bad for the bottom line of media companies and their shareholders. That was the argument of one Justin Danhof of the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) when he attended a Disney shareholders meeting and confronted the entertainment company's CEO Bob Iger about liberal bias at the news division of ABC. "Liberal bias pervades Disney's media outlets" and "it's time to stop denying this bias and start doing something about it," Danhof argued, having cited former ESPN analyst Rob Parker's "cornball brother" crack about black quarterback and alleged Republican Robert Griffin III and ABC News's Brian Ross's infamous episode in which he hinted that Auroroa, Colorado theater shooter James Holmes might be a Tea Party member.

Danhof argued that Disney executives need to take seriously NCPPR's concerns and the concerns of other conservatives who happen to own Disney stock. Danhof appealed not so much to Iger's sense of journalistic integrity but rather the bottom line: Putting out a fairer, more balanced news product may help ABC attract more conservative viewers, and with them, higher ratings and more customers buying products from ABC News program sponsors, leading of course to higher profit margins for Disney. [h/t Huffington Post; Danhof's statement embedded below the page break]

NBC Proclaims 'Hero's Sendoff' for Chavez, 'A Harsh Critic of the U.S.'
By Kyle Drennen | | March 8, 2013 | 4:57 PM EST

Introducing a brief report on Friday's NBC Today about the funeral proceedings for socialist Venezuelan strong man Hugo Chavez, news reader Natalie Morales announced: "In Venezuela, a hero's send-off today for Hugo Chavez, a harsh critic of the U.S. who ruled for 14 years." The headline on screen during the segment read: "Saluting Chavez; World Leaders in Venezuela for President's Funeral."

Correspondent Mark Potter, reporting from Caracas, noted that Chavez would "lie in state for another seven days so more Venezuelans can pay their respects" after "thousands and thousands of people stood in a mile-long line for the chance to quickly file past the casket." Potter added: "Chavez's body eventually will be preserved, much like those of historic communist figures Lenin and Mao, for future public display in a special tomb."

'Clinton News Network': CNN Promotes Clinton's 'Surprising' Pro-Gay Marriage Op-Ed
By Matt Hadro | | March 8, 2013 | 4:44 PM EST

CNN couldn't stop talking about former President Clinton's op-ed on Friday. Every hour between 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET, the network touted Clinton asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act that he signed as president, spending over a half hour of coverage on it.

Anchor Don Lemon reported the op-ed four times between 9 and 11 a.m. ET. Anchor Ashleigh Banfield ran two segments on it during the 11 a..m. ET hour. Lemon, openly-gay, voiced his support: "I mean, when you sit right down and just look at it, it's really all about civil and equal rights, human rights. We're a country that treats everybody equal, I mean everyone should be treated equally under the Constitution." [Video below the break. Audio here.]

Michelle Obama Scolds Obese Parents for Setting a Bad Example for Their Kids
By Noel Sheppard | | March 8, 2013 | 4:06 PM EST

Just how far is the nanny state going to go in telling people how to live their lives?

On Friday, Michelle Obama, during her keynote speech at the Partnership for a Healthier America's childhood obesity conference in Washington, D.C., scolded obese parents for setting a bad example for their children.

War on Women? Matthews, Olbermann Forced Pregnant Norah O’Donnell to Work Until 2 AM
By Jeffrey Meyer | | March 8, 2013 | 3:58 PM EST

Being that March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day, what better time to showcase a prominent female journalist being treated poorly by her male colleagues, particularly ones from the "war on women" network itself, MSNBC.

Speaking with the liberal Huffington Post, CBS This Morning co-host Norah O’Donnell describes a not-so-pleasant experience with former NBC colleagues Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann back in 2008:

Juan Williams Caught in Plagiarism Scandal
By Matthew Sheffield | | March 8, 2013 | 3:28 PM EST

Lefty Fox News analyst Juan Williams is in hot water after it was discovered that a column he’d written for a political insider publication contained plagiarized material.

According to a report by Salon.com, a Feb. 18 piece that Williams wrote for The Hill newspaper copied almost word-for-word from a study by the far-left Center for American Progress on the subject of immigration and Social Security.

Jesse Jackson at Chavez Funeral: 'He Lifted the Poor' and 'Helped Them Realize Their Dreams'
By Noel Sheppard | | March 8, 2013 | 3:27 PM EST

"Hugo fed the hungry. He lifted the poor. He raised their hopes. He helped them realize their dreams."

So said Jesse Jackson at the funeral of Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez Friday (video follows with transcript and commentary):

SXSW: Liberals Gore, Maddow, Gays, Porn Highlight Media Festival
By Kristine Marsh | | March 8, 2013 | 3:11 PM EST

Editor’s Note: Some of the language and links might be offensive.

Austin is known for its motto, “Keep Austin Weird.” This week, an estimated 27,000 people will come to South by Southwest (“SXSW”) to try and prove it.  The annual interactive media and technology festival will host big name liberals like former Vice President Al Gore, the Bush-hating band Green Day and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, as well panel discussions and films about gays, pornography, sex with minors and drag queens.

In short, it’s a celebration of things liberals love.

PBS’s Judy Woodruff Helps Pelosi Blame Republicans for Sequester
By Paul Bremmer | | March 8, 2013 | 3:03 PM EST

The PBS NewsHour invited Nancy Pelosi on for an interview Thursday night, and the sparks were flying. Sparks of love, that is, between anchor Judy Woodruff and the House minority leader. Woodruff conducted a 10-minute interview of mostly softballs about the salient topics of the day. But one of today’s hottest topics, the sequester, only merited one question from Woodruff - and it wasn’t a query a serious journalist would ask. [Video below. MP3 audio here.]

Woodruff began, “Quick question about the sequester. The White House spent a lot of time, the president did, talking about the dire consequences once the sequester kicked in.” Okay. So far, so good. Now, surely Woodruff is going to ask why the president did an about-face and is now downplaying the sequester’s effects. Or maybe she’ll ask if Mr. Obama’s fearmongering was overblown. Or maybe she’ll even ask Pelosi if the president did everything he could to reach a compromise with Republicans to avert the sequester.