Media Bias Debate

Press Yawns As Univ. of Louisville Advertises Asst. Prof Position For Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans Only
By Tom Blumer | December 21, 2015 | 10:55 PM EST

Did you hear about the university which advertised for "a tenure-track Assistant Professor position that will be filled by a White American or Asian American"? Of course you didn't, because it didn't happen. But it's not difficult to imagine the outrage which would justifiably ensue if such an ad were ever placed.

Well, last week it became widely known that the University of Louisville placed an ad for a "tenure-track Assistant Professor position" which specified the racial/ethnic makeup of who would be considered eligible. It was removed after appearing for almost two months. Thanks to the wonders of Google cache, readers can see the relevant portion below (HT Progressives Today):

New York Daily News Ridicules 'White Meatheads' Pushing Sam's Club Boycott, But Posts Critical Black Site-Based Video
By Tom Blumer | December 21, 2015 | 8:41 PM EST

Rosalind Brewer is CEO of Sam's Club, the wholesale division of Walmart. Sam's claims that it is "committed to being the most valued membership organization in the world."

Brewer is apparently "committed" to a cause which has become quite a distraction from Sam's core commitment. Last week, she told CNN of a meeting she had with a supplier. Was she interested in getting the best prices and terms to save her members money and otherwise deliver "value"? Apparently not. Instead, she obsessed over the fact that the subject firm's executive team happened to consist exclusively of white men. On Wednesday, David Boroff at the New York Daily News called those who have objected to Brewer's dance on the edges of overt racism stupid white people, i.e., "white meatheads." The far-below-genius white guy here is actually NYDN home page editor Boroff himself. You see, the video posted at the paper's web site is from The Black Sphere, a site operated by Kevin Jackson, a definitely not-white guy.

CNN and FNC Slam ‘Outrageous’ NYT for Deleting Obama Quote on Cable News/Terrorism; ‘Perplexing’
By Curtis Houck | December 21, 2015 | 4:43 PM EST

Both of the media-centered programs on CNN and FNC covered on Sunday the move by the New York Times from Friday to delete a line from an article about President Obama not fully realizing “the anxiety” of Americans following terror attacks due to his lack of exposure to cable news. Other than NPR TV critic Eric Geggans rushing to Obama’s defense on CNN’s Reliable Sources, the other panelists both denounced the Times for what they described as “outrageous,” “perplexing,” and “potentially damning.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin Fawns Over Hillary’s ‘Amazing’ ‘Internal Confidence’ in Debate
By Curtis Houck | December 21, 2015 | 1:06 PM EST

Liberal historian and former Johnson administration staffer Doris Kearns Goodwin was on Sunday’s Meet the Press panel and to the shock of no one, sang the praises of Hillary Clinton by proclaiming how she projected an “amazing...internal confidence” in the debate and has become “a better candidate now than she was six months ago” and from 2008.

Leading Far-Left PR Firm Closes Over Sex Harassment and Assault Allegations; Press Coverage Is Minimal
By Tom Blumer | December 21, 2015 | 12:52 AM EST

A leftist flack who has been waging his own personal war on women for at least a decade has been exposed. As a result, his far-left public relations firm, a leader in the field, has closed.

FitzGibbon Media shut down on Thursday. That's because Trevor FitzGibbon, the firm's founder and owner, who also was "a communications director for (now-President Barack) Obama’s 2008 campaign," has been accused by several now-former employees of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Though the defunct firm's client list reads like a Who's Who of "progressive" and radical causes, and despite how sensational charges such as these are usually considered ready-made clickbait in the press, the FitzGibbon shutdown has received minimal press exposure. The obvious comparative point, raised at TruthRevolt on Friday: "Just imagine if this were a GOP PR firm."

Todd Pushes Ryan to Denounce Ingraham, Levin; Hounds Him on How He’ll Cooperate with Obama
By Curtis Houck | December 20, 2015 | 7:00 PM EST

Appearing exclusively on Sunday’s Meet the Press, Chuck Todd repeatedly pressed Speaker Paul Ryan to denounce conservative radio talk show hosts Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin over their criticism of the recently-passed omnibus bill and Todd demanded to know how he’ll work with President Obama to “lay the groundwork” to end political polarization. Todd asked, of the talk show hosts, whether their “rhetoric is inappropriate” or “[o]ut of line?”

ABC’s Cokie Roberts Dismisses Bernie Hours After Praising Him; Dowd Laments Jeb’s Standing in GOP
By Curtis Houck | December 20, 2015 | 2:36 PM EST

Hours after praising socialist Senator Bernie Sanders prior to ABC’s Democratic presidential debate on Saturday night, ABC News political analyst Cokie Roberts completely reversed course on Sunday’s This Week and brushed off Sanders as unelectable and having shot at the nomination even if he wins both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary in February 2016.

AP's D'Innocenzio Makes Disappointing Online Sales Growth Seem Strong
By Tom Blumer | December 20, 2015 | 10:57 AM EST

What little remains of the economy's momentum appears to be riding on Christmas season consumer spending being perceived as strong. Unfortunately, it hasn't been.

Following up on her early Friday excuse-making for why things haven't gone too well at the malls so far — it's because the weather has just been too darned nice — Anne D'Innocenzio at the Associated Press worked over the available statistics to leave readers with the impression that it's not all that bad, and that there's plenty of time for a comeback. The linchpin of her effort is her claim that online sales continue to grow nicely. That's not so.

MRC's Rich Noyes Joins Fox & Friends to Discuss Winners of MRC's Worst of the Worst 2015 Awards
By NB Staff | December 20, 2015 | 8:02 AM EST

On Saturday morning, MRC Research Director Rich Noyes joined co-host Tucker Carlson on the Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends to highlight a few winners from the 2015 edition of Notable Quotable’s Worst of the Worst, including overall winner MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry for her diatribe about the term “hard worker” having racist connotations. 

Fail: MSNBC Skips Out on Airing Post-Democratic Debate Analysis; Airs Lockup Instead
By Curtis Houck | December 19, 2015 | 11:47 PM EST

After airing an hour of coverage following the last Saturday night Democratic presidential debate on November 14, MSNBC skipped out on airing any post-debate analysis after Saturday’s third Democratic debate on ABC and instead played yet another episode of its weekend jail series Lockup.

ABC’s Raddatz Throws Softball to Hillary on First Spouses; ‘Is It Time to Change the Role?’
By Curtis Houck | December 19, 2015 | 10:54 PM EST

In the final set of questions of Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate prior to the closing statements, ABC’s co-moderator Martha Raddatz served up a massive softball to frontrunner Hillary Clinton concerning how former President Bill Clinton would function as a member of the First Family if Hillary is elected president. 

ABC Lets Stephanopoulos Host Pre, Post-Debate; Teams with Brazile to Tout ‘Battle-Tested’ Hillary
By Curtis Houck | December 19, 2015 | 9:00 PM EST

Showing that they’ve learned next to nothing from the George Stephanopoulos/Clinton Foundation scandal, ABC allowed its chief anchor in Stephanopoulos to anchor its pre-game coverage of Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate. Not surprisingly, the former Clinton White House official teamed with DNC Vice Chairwoman Donna Brazile to gush over how Hillary Clinton has “found her footing during the fall” and has been “battle tested” following e-mail server and Clinton Foundation scandals that rocked her candidacy earlier in the year.