Jan Crawford

ABC, CBS Rush to Defend Hillary Clinton From Karl Rove’s Questions About Her Health
By Jeffrey Meyer | May 14, 2014 | 11:45 AM EDT

Earlier this week,, The New York Post reported that Karl Rove recently made comments questioning Hillary Clinton’s health in the event she runs for president in 2016, and the Wednesday, May 14 ABC and CBS morning shows predictably rushed to defend Secretary Clinton from Rove’s criticism. 

CBS This Morning’s Charlie Rose promoted the “backlash following Karl Rove’s comments about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton” while ABC’s George Stephanopoulos played up the “hard-edged dustup over Hillary Clinton's health.” [See video below.]

CBS Highlights Liberal Justice's 'Impassioned Dissent' on Affirmative Action
By Scott Whitlock | April 23, 2014 | 11:44 AM EDT

The journalists at CBS This Morning, Wednesday, highlighted the "impassioned dissent" of liberal Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor on affirmative action. All three networks covered the 6-2 ruling upholding a state's right to ban race as a factor in public universities. But it was CBS's Jan Crawford who focused on the liberal anger, noting that Sotomayor "took the unusual step of reading [her dissent]  aloud." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] 

Crawford dramatically recounted, "She spent about 12 minutes really saying that the six justices in the majority just don't get it, that race still matters. It felt almost personal at times." The journalist added, "[Sotomayor] talked about the experiences young people face, racial indignities and discrimination and how race still matters and what the court did yesterday was put unique burdens on minorities."

ABC on Chelsea Clinton's Pregnancy: 'Move Over, Prince George'; U.S. Has New 'Royal'
By Scott Whitlock | April 18, 2014 | 10:35 AM EDT

According to the liberal network journalists, being part of a Democratic family makes you "royalty." Reporters on ABC, CBS and NBC gushed over the announcement that Chelsea Clinton is pregnant. Good Morning America's Bianna Golodryga enthused, "Move over, Prince George, though. This morning, Americans have their own royal, or, rather, presidential baby, to look forward to. " 

On CBS This Morning, Jan Crawford was almost as excited, hyping, "...This is not as quite as big of a deal as when Prince William and Kate Middleton said they were expecting. But in the U.S., I guess you could say political dynasties might be the thing we've got closest to royalty." 

Networks: Kathleen Sebelius Exits on a 'Relatively High Note,' 'Decision to Leave Was Hers'
By Scott Whitlock | April 11, 2014 | 12:29 PM EDT

All three network morning shows on Friday highlighted the departure of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Good Morning America's Jon Karl insisted that the exit was a "chance for her to leave on a relatively high note." CBS This Morning's Jan Crawford claimed  that "Sebelius made clear the decision to leave was hers." Over on NBC's Today, Chuck Todd dished dirt, explaining, "In addition to the management issues, the White House also lost confidence in her ability to sell the product publicly." 

He gossiped, "Senior aides were not happy with how she struggled in what should have been a friendly interview with Jon Stewart." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] However, if Sebelius struggled, Today viewers didn't know about it for weeks after the October 7th Daily Show appearance. It wasn't until October 31, 2013 that the botched interview was mentioned on Today. Back then, Todd briefly conceded, "When she went in front of Jon Stewart at the Daily Show, that became a big problem. It became another PR problem." Despite this "PR problem," Today viewers didn't see an actual clip until Friday. 

ABC, NBC Continue Blackout Of GOP’s Criminal Referral for Lois Lerner
By Jeffrey Meyer | April 10, 2014 | 10:18 AM EDT

On Wednesday April 9, the House Oversight Committee voted to send a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for former IRS official Lois Lerner. Despite the severity of this most recent revelations into the IRS’ targeting of Tea Party organizations, ABC and NBC continue to ignore the story.

After all three networks failed to cover the story on their nightly news broadcasts on Wednesday, only CBS This Morning bothered to mention the revelations on Thursday April 10. Co-host Norah O’Donnell described the events as such: “The House Oversight Committee today is expected to hold a retired IRS official in contempt of Congress. Republicans say Lois Lerner led an effort to investigate Tea Party organizations. She's refused to testify at two committee hearings claiming her Fifth Amendment rights.” [See video below.]

Networks Parrot White House Spin That Latest ObamaCare Delay Due to 'Surge in Demand'
By Kyle Drennen | March 26, 2014 | 10:56 AM EDT

On Wednesday, all three network morning shows repeated the White House line that the reason for delaying the March 31 ObamaCare enrollment deadline was due to a last-minute "surge" of people signing up. In a 20-second news brief on NBC's Today, fill-in news reader Tamron Hall announced "a reprieve this morning for people who've been trying to sign up for ObamaCare," before noting that "the Health and Human Services Department says there has been a last-minute surge in demand." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

During a 17-second news brief on ABC's Good Morning America, fill-in news reader Amy Robach gently described the law's new setback as a sign-up "grace period" and declared: "...the White House predicts a crush of applicants in the final hours could cause a computer traffic jam."

CBS Adopts Left-Wing Spin on ObamaCare Contraception Mandate: Women's 'Rights' vs. 'Religious Freedom'
By Kyle Drennen | March 25, 2014 | 12:10 PM EDT

On Tuesday's CBS This Morning, co-host Gayle King adopted liberal spin on the ObamaCare contraception mandate being challenged in the Supreme Court: "It pits the rights of a woman's access to contraception against a company's religious freedom." That description of the case was nearly identical to the false framing of the issue in Monday's New York Times. [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

In the report that followed on This Morning, correspondent Jan Crawford teed up the faulty argument: "Women's rights groups and doctors say the cases are about women's health." A clip ran of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists president Jeanne Conry ranting: "As a physician, I need a number of ways to treat women, and treat them appropriately. And I don't need an employer coming into my exam room and telling me how to treat a patient."

CBS Hypes Michelle Obama for 'Praising Free Speech,' Skips Press Blackout of Her China Trip
By Scott Whitlock | March 24, 2014 | 12:22 PM EDT

Ignoring the most important part of the story, CBS This Morning reporter Jan Crawford hyped Michelle Obama for promoting free speech in China. Yet, Crawford never mentioned that American journalists weren't allowed to travel with the First Lady on her trip. With no sense of irony, Crawford touted, "Michelle Obama hit a hot button issue in China by praising freedom of speech in America." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] 

The journalist played a clip of Mrs. Obama trumpeting, "My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens...But we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." Wouldn't this have been a good point to stop and inform viewers that the First Lady did just that? Crawford even used Michelle Obama to report on Michelle Obama. 

CBS Hypes Michelle Obama's Latest 'Fashion Milestone,' Skimps on Health Care Setback
By Scott Whitlock | January 14, 2014 | 12:30 PM EST

 

The journalists at CBS This Morning on Tuesday hyperventilated over the latest "fashion milestone" for Michelle Obama, donating four minutes to the First Lady's second inaugural dress appearing at the Smithsonian. In contrast, the latest setback for ObamaCare warranted only a minute and 19 seconds.

Co-host Charlie Rose enthused, "First Lady Michelle Obama is marking another fashion milestone. The Smithsonian Institution decided two dresses are better than one." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] Jan Crawford appeared at the American History Museum to update the breaking news that Mrs. Obama's red dress will be on display. Crawford promoted, "Mrs. Obama's shoes also will be on display. But they're a little different than the shoes she wore four years ago."

As Liz Cheney Drops Senate Bid, Networks Replay 'Divisive,' 'Family Feud' Over Gay Marriage
By Scott Whitlock | January 6, 2014 | 12:23 PM EST

 

All three networks on Monday morning hyped the news that Liz Cheney is dropping her bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming. ABC, CBS and NBC used the opportunity to replay the "divisive" "family feud" Mrs. Cheney had with her gay sister, Mary, as she defended traditional marriage. On CBS This Morning, Jan Crawford again quoted Mary Cheney publicly lecturing, "You're just wrong, and on the wrong side of history."

On the Today show, Kelly O'Donnell opined, "Her campaign was brief and divisive." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] She added, "But then her campaign exposed a stunningly public family feud over same-sex marriage, when sister Mary Cheney, and Mary's wife Heather Poe, criticized Liz's opposition to gay marriage." In addition to focusing on gay marriage, NBC highlighted this as a failure for the Cheney brand. O'Donnell concluded that a "famous name and fierce ambition wasn't enough."

CBS News’s Crawford Cheerleads for ObamaCare, Touts White House Talking Points
By Jeffrey Meyer | December 31, 2013 | 11:43 AM EST

CBS must have decided that their 2014 New Year’s resolution was to be a little nicer to President Obama. Acting more as a White House stenographer than an actual journalist, CBS News’s Jan Crawford went to bat for the Obama Administration on December 30th, doing her best to spin a positive light on the disastrous ObamaCare rollout.   

In a piece that was better suited for MSNBC, fill-in anchor Maurice DuBois hyped the White House line that, “enrollment for healthcare insurance under ObamaCare are picking up.” In total, the CBS report was no more than a White House press release that could have come directly from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s mouth.

Jan Crawford: Religious Objection to Contraception Mandate 'Could Scale Back' ObamaCare
By Matthew Balan | November 27, 2013 | 3:52 PM EST

On Wednesday's CBS This Morning, Jan Crawford zeroed in how President Obama "has got another fight on his hands" over the Supreme Court case challenging the federal government's controversial ObamaCare abortifacients and contraceptive mandate, just as "his administration is trying to get that website up and running".

Crawford pointed out that this "legal battle in the Supreme Court could scale back some of what he was trying to accomplish with the law in the first place". She also underlined that "all this comes as many Americans are feeling forced into this law". [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]