Priya David

'Candorville' Strip Mocks CBS Early Show's Taste for Fluffy News
By Ken Shepherd | January 12, 2011 | 10:55 AM EST

Cartoonist Darrin Bell is no conservative. His syndicated comic strip "Candorville," when it does get political, often skews to the left.

But Bell's January 10 strip caught my eye the other day for mocking a dreadfully dopey line uttered by CBS correspondent Priya David-Clemens on the January 3 "CBS Early Show."

"Gandhi likely never had a year like [Lindsay] Lohan's 2010," David-Clemens noted in a report on the actress that began by noting the celebrity's New Year's Day 2011 tweet which quoted Mahatma Gandhi.

Bell's strip depicts Candorville's main character Lemont lying in bed, wishing to skip 2011, asking his friend Susan to wake him up when it's 2012.

Last week my colleague Scott Whitlock noted that the January 3 network morning shows devoted 52 minutes to Lohan coverage and only 20 seconds to a controversial recess appointment by President Obama.

Below you'll find the comic strip and the video in question from the 7:30 a.m. EST hour of the January 3 "Early Show":

CBS Mocks Palin: ‘Resign from Office? You Betcha’
By Brad Wilmouth | July 4, 2009 | 1:17 PM EDT

On the Saturday Early Show on the morning of July 4, CBS anchor Priya David mocked Sarah Palin’s famous phrase, "You betcha," as she introduced a report by correspondent Nancy Cordes on the Alaska governor’s decision to resign from office. David: "Resign from office? You betcha. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin dropped a political bombshell Friday, announcing that she's leaving her post, but her future plans remain a mystery."

Unlike her report on the CBS Evening News from the previous night, this time Cordes refrained from referring to Palin’s speech as "rambling" and "confusing," but she did run a soundbite of the Politico’s Mike Allen calling Palin’s decision "odd." Allen: "If you’re trying to promote yourself as a steady leader, this is an odd way to run for President." On Friday night, Cordes had run a soundbite of Allen calling the announcement "bizarre." Allen: "This is very unusual, even bizarre. Governors just don't stop in the middle of their terms when there’s no clear reason."

Below is a complete transcript of the relevant report from the July 4 CBS Early Show:

CBS, NBC Use 'Woman's Right to Choose' Euphemism
By Brad Wilmouth | May 27, 2009 | 3:50 PM EDT

During a news brief on the Saturday, May 23, The Early Show, CBS’s Priya David used that famous euphemism of liberals, “woman’s right to choose,” to refer to the legal right to an abortion, as the show gave attention to Liberty University’s recent decision to withdraw recognition of the school’s club for young Democrats. She also incorrectly exaggerated Liberty's action by claiming that the Democratic group "won't be allowed on campus anymore" when in reality, according to the school, the group can still hold meetings, but just cannot use the school's name or money.

On the Monday, May 18, Today show, NBC’s Ann Curry also used the term in a story about President Obama’s speech at Notre Dame, which allowed the pro-choice President to speak despite being a Catholic university.

Below are complete transcripts of the relevant news briefs from the Saturday, May 23, The Early Show, on CBS, and the Monday, May, 18, Today show, on NBC:

Sotomayor Prompts More 'Conservative' Than 'Liberal' Labels
By Brent Baker | May 26, 2009 | 10:13 PM EDT
Amazingly, after showing no reluctance in 2005 to describe John Roberts and Sam Alito as “conservative” or worse, the Tuesday network evening newscasts, particularly ABC and NBC, applied more “conservative” tags to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's critics than “liberal” labels to her, as the coverage suggested calling her a liberal was a hasty judgment from accusatory partisans. In total, ABC's World News and the NBC Nightly News combined for a piddling two uses of the “liberal” term while issuing a “conservative” tag eight times. (CBS viewers heard “liberal” four times and “conservative” just once.)

Setting up a look at Sotomayer's record, ABC anchor Charles Gibson fretted about how conservatives had “already” assessed her: “Even before the President announced his decision, conservatives were reviewing Judge Sotomayor's judicial record and were already saying she would be an activist on the court.” Jan Crawford Greenburg then framed any notion of Sotomayer as liberal as based on accusations from conservatives: “...which conservatives have called code for,” “...conservatives today seized on this comment” and “already, conservatives have jumped on the decision.”

Over on NBC, Pete Williams presumed a conflict between her rise from poverty and being liberal: “Despite her remarkable personal odyssey, Judge Sotomayor is already being called a liberal activist by some conservative groups.” (That sentence included NBC's only liberal label utterance during four segments.)
CBS ‘Early Show’ Congratulates Couric On Award For Palin Interview
By Kyle Drennen | April 16, 2009 | 4:09 PM EDT

Priya David, CBS On Thursday’s CBS Early Show fill-in co-host Priya David offered a news brief congratulating CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on a recent award for the broadcast: "And we at CBS News are pleased to report that our own Katie Couric has received the coveted Walter Cronkite Award for excellence in television political journalism. At a ceremony last night, Katie was cited for her coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign, from the Iowa caucuses through election night, on the CBS Evening News and in prime-time."

David went on to remark that: "You know, her interviews with Sarah Palin were really something that stood out in this campaign." Co-host Maggie Rodriguez added that the interview was "Game-changing." On March 14, NewsBusters’ Noel Sheppard reported that the Palin interview was a key factor in Couric receiving the award.

After David’s and Rodriguez’s comments, co-host Harry Smith chimed in: "Well, I think all -- by and large -- all of the coverage on the Evening News, they devoted more time night, by night, by night, remember all those presidential questions for all of those candidates, all of those minutes that I think they really performed an important public service." David added: "Well deserved, Katie."

CBS Lines Up Three Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Against One Opponent
By Matthew Balan | April 9, 2009 | 2:59 PM EDT

[Update, 3:34 pm Eastern: Please read Erin Brown's analysis of the CBS segment on the Culture and Media Institute's website.]

In a promo on Thursday’s Early Show, CBS asked if same-sex “marriage” is “inevitable in all 50 states,” and during their segment on the issue, seemed to answer this rhetorical question affirmatively. The network also lined up four sound bites from three individuals who supported the legalization of such unions against one from a leader of a conservative organization. Additionally, correspondent Priya David made one factual error about California’s Proposition 8 during the report.

David began the segment by outlining which states had passed same-sex civil unions, which states permit domestic partnerships, and which states “offer full marriage rights for same-sex couples.” She continued by actually using a political label for the “marriage” states: “In allowing same-sex marriage, Vermont has joined its neighbors in the north, Massachusetts and Connecticut, which are traditionally liberal states. But now there’s support in a place you might not expect.”

The Biz Flog Highlighted Export Boom Weeks before GDP Jump
By Paul Detrick | August 28, 2008 | 1:58 PM EDT

That “Made in America” sticker is looking more attractive.

Second-quarter (2Q) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was revised up from 1.9 percent growth to a higher than anticipated 3.3 percent, according to reports on August 28.

Rising exports played a significant role in the expansion. According to the Commerce Department, real exports increased 13.2 percent in the 2Q of 2008, compared with an increase of 5.1 percent in the first. Real imports of goods and services decreased 0.8 percent in the first quarter and 7.6 percent in the second.

The good news on exports has been falling by the wayside in the media. The Business & Media Institute's video blog, The Biz Flog, pointed out the positive news about exports back on August 6.

Thanks to a weak dollar, it is now cheaper to export goods from the U.S. to other countries. But the story hasn't caught on in the mainstream media just yet.

CBS: People Stealing Manhole Covers In Tough Economy
By Kyle Drennen | August 12, 2008 | 4:11 PM EDT

Priya David, CBS If any further evidence was needed to prove that the country is in a recession, the CBS Early Show found it, as co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "Coming up this morning, during hard times in some U.S. cities, they're as good as gold. Manhole covers being stolen and sold for scrap." Co-host Harry Smith later introduced the segment on this desperate trend: "Across the country thieves are stealing metal objects like manhole covers because the price of scrap metal has sky rocketed."

Correspondent Priya David reported on the problem: "That's right, thieves are literally stealing the street right out from under you. One area of the nation hardest hit by these thefts is Philadelphia. Typically they'd lose about a hundred manhole covers or grates a year to theft. But in the past year, 2,000 have gone missing." She went to describe how: "When you look at this street, you probably see a manhole cover. But to a thief, this looks like free money." As David later mentioned, that "free money" isn’t much: "Each cover nets a thief a grand total of about $10."

David detailed how the crime wave was starting to take it’s toll: "In Philadelphia, this girl is one of two children who suffered minor injuries from falling into open holes." She then turned to Democratic Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter: "That can be a very dangerous situation. But, you know, you can never be too surprised at the creativity and the lengths that people will go, you know, when facing, you know, a financial challenge, trying to take care of themselves."

CBS ‘Early Show’ Highlights Left-Wing Housing Group
By Kyle Drennen | July 31, 2008 | 6:21 PM EDT

Priya David, CBS On Thursday’s "Early Show," correspondent Priya David reported on homeowners in Philadelphia trying to avoid foreclosure: "Yajaira Cruz-Rivera thought she was choosing a responsible mortgage plan. But dreams of remodeling crumbled just days after her family moved in...Yajaira fought with her loan company, saying her new mortgage was unfair and unaffordable." However, David then introduced the hero of the story: "That's when she saw an ad on TV for ACORN, a community organization committed to helping homeowners fight foreclosures. Together they rallied the city for change."

ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, in reality, is a left-wing activist organization that seeks to implement radical socialist policies. According to an August 6, 2006 article in the Wall Street Journal by Steven Malanga:

While ACORN now operates in more than 100 cities with a national budget of $37 million, it never truly left behind the welfare-rights mentality. One is hard-pressed to find in the organization's many antipoverty initiatives any programs that address social dysfunctions like illegitimacy and single parenthood. Instead, as ACORN's executive director, Steven Kest, said several years ago, "We are more focused on irresponsible behavior in the corporate sector. I don't think [illegitimacy] comes anywhere close to the irresponsible behavior of people running the largest businesses in this country."

In addition, Stanley Kurtz outlined Barack Obama’s involvement in ACORN in a May 29 article on National Review Online.

CBS News Portrays $7 Gas as Positive
By Jeff Poor | June 27, 2008 | 1:58 PM EDT

Expensive gas isn't so bad to the "CBS Evening News," as long as it promotes an agenda that caters to left-of-center sensibilities and makes Americans behave more like Europeans. 

Economists from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (NYSE:CM) forecasted $7-a-gallon gas prices by 2010, which according to some analysts would force 10 million vehicles off U.S. roads over four years. CIBC based its prediction on $200-per-barrel oil by 2010.

"In fact, by 2012, higher prices could send an additional 10 million vehicles off the road," CBS correspondent Priya David said June 26. Although $7 gas would do the most harm to low-income Americans, David praised the effects it would have in easing congestion.

CBS: Obama’s ‘Fist Bump’ with Michelle ‘Is Generating A Lot of Buzz’
By Kyle Drennen | June 6, 2008 | 1:34 PM EDT

On Friday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez highlighted Barack Obama’s "fist bump" with his wife Michelle during his victory speech on Tuesday night: "A simple fist bump between Barack Obama and his wife Michelle the night that he secured the Democratic nomination is generating a lot of buzz." [audio available here]

Correspondent Priya David then reported: "It was a historic night for Barack and Michelle Obama, there was the hug, the kiss, and then this. You can call it a 'fist bump,' a 'fist pound,' a 'knuckle buckle,' a 'dep'..." However, David also acknowledged: "...but whichever phrase you use, some are using it to call Obama out" and quoted one woman who though it was Obama: "Trying to be a little too cool."

Then David moved on: "Others say it's a symbol of love." She quoted CBS political analyst Jeff Greenfield, among others, who said: "To me it was a kind of little light moment, maybe a moment of kind of intimacy. It certainly didn't reach the level of Al and Tipper Gore's record breaking kiss at the 2000 convention. And it is what it is. And you know, Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, said sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes a fist bump is just a fist bump." David then added: "It's not the first time Obama bumped with the younger generation. While bowling in Pennsylvania, this is how he congratulated an 8-year-old boy."

CBS Morning Show: Middle Class 'Facing Hunger'
By Paul Detrick | April 28, 2008 | 4:06 PM EDT