Kevin Tibbles

NBC Mislabels Dem Mayor as ‘R’ After Providence Fires All Its School Teachers
By Brad Wilmouth | February 28, 2011 | 7:29 AM EST

 On Sunday’s NBC Nightly News, a report filed by correspondent Kevin Tibbles mislabeled the Democratic Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, Angel Taveras, as a Republican during the piece which recounted that the city’s school board had fired all its teachers with the intent to hire back some of them to help solve the city’s budget problems.

Anchor Lester Holt briefly referred to protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, as he introduced the report:

In Madison, Wisconsin, protesters who’ve camped out at the state capitol for more than a week were under orders to clean up and get out today, meaning remove their sleeping bags, their signs, and themselves. Tonight, hundreds have done so. Wisconsin is one of many states public employees find themselves under fire, and there’s one profession getting hit surprisingly hard as NBC's Kevin Tibbles reports.

After a clip of Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith complaining about the city’s action, Tibbles moved to the soundbite of Mayor Taveras that had him misidentified as a Republican:

Nets Tout Supporters of 'Historic' Repeal of DADT, ABC Quotes 'Stain on Our Nation Lifted'
By Brad Wilmouth | December 19, 2010 | 5:39 PM EST

 As all the broadcast network evening newscasts on Saturday used words like "historic" and "landmark" to describe the Senate vote in favor of repealing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy on homosexuals serving in the military, the networks also provided substantially more soundbites to supporters of the measure than to those who opposed changing the policy.

On ABC, the lead report filed by correspondent David Kerley used soundbites from five supporters of lifting the ban, while only two soundbites featured opponents. Kerley began his report by quoting an unnamed "civil rights leader" calling Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell a "stain on our nation," and, after quoting President Obama’s statement supporting the measure, immediately highlighted a former military service member who is gay. Kerley:

"A stain on our nation has been lifted," is how one civil rights leader put it tonight, and President Obama says, quote, "No longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans just because they are gay." This Senate vote was very personal for thousands of service members. Major Mike Almy served in Iraq but was discharged when the Air Force learned he was gay. He's been battling Don't Ask, Don't Tell ever since.

CBS’s John Dickerson also brought up civil rights as he called the vote a "civil rights victory for the President," although he also uniquely used the term "liberals" to refer to some of the President’s supporters who advocated the policy change. Dickerson: " Well, it's definitely a civil rights win for him, and it’s a win politically with liberals in his party, and they’ve been angry with him. They were angry with him on this issue in particular because they felt like he wasn’t pushing hard enough.

NBC Showcases Martin Short Championing How Being 'Progressive' Makes Canada 'Very Hip'
By Brent Baker | February 12, 2010 | 12:57 PM EST
People around the world view Canada as “very hip” because of its “progressive” health care and environmental policies, actor/impersonator Martin Short contended in a soundbite featured in a Thursday NBC Nightly News story looking at how, on the eve of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canadians perceive themselves.
Here We Go Again: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (?)
By Brent Baker | March 21, 2008 | 8:27 PM EDT
The week after it took the NBC Nightly News until the fourth day of coverage to inform viewers that disgraced then-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is a Democrat, Friday's NBC Nightly News ran a full story on the scandalous behavior surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, but never identified his political party. Naturally, given the lack of a party identification by the mainstream media journalists, he's a Democrat. Anchor Brian Williams set up the story:
The city of Detroit is in a crisis over government and leadership. The current Mayor is just the latest Detroit Mayor elected on a promise to clean up and revitalize the city. Now he's been caught in a sex scandal, a trail of electronic messages reportedly provides the evidence, it threatens his career and then some.
Reporter Kevin Tibbles, also sans any mention of a party affiliation, outlined:
The Detroit city council votes overwhelmingly to ask the Mayor to resign. 37-year-old Kwame Kilpatrick, in his second term of the Mayor of the Motor City, is mired in financial, political, and personal scandal, but refuses to budge.
NBC Rains on Rate Cut: ‘Beware of the Downside of Any Economic Upturn’
By Noel Sheppard | September 19, 2007 | 10:32 AM EDT

In case you were out of the country and missed it, the Federal Reserve on Tuesday surprisingly cut two key interest rates by a half percentage point - twice what most analysts expected - causing one of the largest one-day rallies on Wall Street in years.

Yet, the folks on the "NBC Nightly News" seemed a tad unhappy with the Fed's move, as anchor Brian Williams wondered "is it good for everyone," and correspondent Kevin Tibbles cautioned, "But experts say beware of the downside of any economic upturn."

I kid you not.

The News began Tuesday evening mostly with the positive side of the rate cut, bringing in CNBC's Maria Bartiromo to discuss the day's events on Wall Street. However, as Williams introduced Bartiromo, he foreshadowed the gloom to come (video available here, h/t NB reader Tim O'Donnell):

NBC: Garden for Global Warming
By Julia A. Seymour | August 1, 2007 | 6:49 PM EDT

Are you getting sick of all those global warming reports on the network news? Well, now on NBC you'll know when to change the channel.During global warming reports "NBC Nightly News" changes the color of the signature peacock logo to green. That's the color it was during the "fresh" urban garden segment on July 31.

NBC: 'Green' Vehicles Could Save Detroit
By Julia A. Seymour | July 25, 2007 | 6:00 PM EDT

Going green is the simple solution to Detroit's woes, according to NBC "Nightly News."