The very early returns are in for Savannah Guthrie's debut as the new co-anchor at NBC's Today show and so far they're not great. According to TV Newser's Chris Ariens, ABC's Good Morning America beat its morning show competitor in the ratings on Guthrie's first day in the co-anchor chair. Ariens reported that GMA won Monday morning's showdown among both total viewers and younger viewers:
Ann Curry
By Kyle Drennen | June 22, 2012 | 5:14 PM EDT
Trying to do some cheerleading for President Obama on Friday, NBC's Today touted the First Daughters as a major boon to his reelection, as co-host Matt Lauer proclaimed: "...with the election just about five months away, Malia and Sasha are stepping forward a little bit. So are they a good way to connect with voters?...are they his secret weapon in the upcoming campaign?"
Introducing the pro-Obama fluff as legitimate news, co-host Ann Curry talked about the President as if he were a summer action flick: "Like most parents, President Obama loves talking about his kids. But during an election year, those stories might also just help him out at the box office."
By Lamar Smith | June 22, 2012 | 7:30 AM EDT
Last month’s jobs numbers were anything but encouraging. The number of jobs that economists expected to be created was significantly lower than the actual number of jobs created. Unemployment rose to 8.2% and underemployment rose to nearly 15%. The Wall Street Journal reported that “U.S. job growth slowed sharply in May, the latest indication that the economy has lost momentum.”
Yet, President Obama claimed that “the private sector is doing fine.” The 5.4 million American workers who have been classified as the long-term unemployed would think otherwise. Americans are concerned about the economy. A recent Gallup poll found that over two-thirds of Americans know someone personally who has been laid off in the last six months—the highest in Gallup’s history of asking this question. Despite this, the liberal national media has placed its journalistic principles aside and have already begun to shill for the White House and justify President Obama’s remarks.
By Kyle Drennen | June 21, 2012 | 3:29 PM EDT
MediaBistro's TVNewser blog picked up on an "unfortunate lower third" on Thursday's NBC Today, referring to a headline that appeared on screen as reportedly outgoing co-host Ann Curry was interviewing actor Steve Carrell about his new movie, Seeking A Friend for the End of the World. The graphic read: "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow."
Today Show Covered Benefits of MS Patients Riding Horses Same Day O'Donnell Mocked Ann Romney For It
By Noel Sheppard | June 19, 2012 | 9:30 PM EDT As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday mocked Ann Romney for riding horses to combat her multiple sclerosis.
Hours earlier, NBC's Today show, in a segment about the recent MS diagnosis of rock star Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack, addressed the benefits of horseback riding for reducing the symptoms of the disease (video follows with transcript and commentary):
By Kyle Drennen | June 11, 2012 | 1:07 PM EDT
Straining to find a way to excuse President Obama's Friday remark that "the private sector is doing fine," on Monday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry did her best to spin for the White House: "He is right in saying that the private sector is doing better than the public sector, is he not? And so that was his point, that this comment was taken out of context." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Curry's attempt at Obama campaign damage control was prompted by left-wing guest and MSNBC host Chris Hayes arguing: "I would also say that the point he's making specifically about the difference between where the private sector's at and where the public sector's at is a really important one. We've lost 600,000 jobs in the public sector....Those layoffs did not have to happen if we had extended revenue sharing from the federal government."
By Kyle Drennen | June 11, 2012 | 11:33 AM EDT
Reacting to allegations that the White House leaked several pieces of highly classified national security information to the press for political gain, on Monday's NBC Today, left-wing MSNBC host Chris Hayes demanded: "I think we need more leaks and not less...we should know how the war is operating and what's going on with a kill list that's operating out of the White House or what covert activities we're engaged in." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Only seconds earlier, fellow guest Meghan McCain, daughter of Arizona Senator John McCain, explained that her father called the leaks "the worst security breach he's ever seen in his entire career." She added: "...whomever is doing this is not putting their country first and thinking about America and the safety of our troops, and that's scary."
By Matthew Balan | June 6, 2012 | 2:11 PM EDT
The Big Three networks certainly have their priorities straight. ABC, CBS, and NBC's morning shows on Wednesday dedicated more time to entertainment news than the results of the Wisconsin recall election. On CBS This Morning, Disney's new ban on junk food ads from its kids programming received a minute and a half more than the political story. The same gap occurred on ABC's Good Morning America, but instead of junk food, the Miss USA pageant got the extra time.
NBC's Today, however, one-upped its competitors, as they devoted over six minutes to former Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus getting engaged, while Republican Governor Scott Walker's victory received under four and a half minutes. Today also spent over five minutes on the Miss USA story.