During CNN’s live coverage on Wednesday of the tragic shooting in San Bernardino, California, CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes surmised with “no information” to back himself up that it was likely “an anti-government domestic militia group” that carried out the attack. Just over 20 minutes later, however, former FBI Special Agent and Navy SEAL Jonathan Gilliam denounced Fuentes for jumping to conclusions so early because he doesn’t “like to use the word militia or any other term right now because I just don't want people specifically looking for specific people.”
The Lead
By Matthew Balan | November 10, 2015 | 6:12 PM EST
On Tuesday's The Lead, CNN's Jake Tapper zeroed in on University of Missouri Professor Melissa Click's attack on a student journalist, after he tried to cover anti-racism protests on campus. Tapper bluntly stated, "I have to say that I found this video shocking — not just this mob of students trying to intimidate this student journalist — but they had faculty help!" The anchor later asked Professor Tom Warhover, who also teaches at Mizzou, "Do you think she should be stripped of her courtesy opportunities?" Warhover replied, "I think that's probably a reasonable response."
Tapper to Cruz: Are You ‘Endorsing Conservative Intolerance’ by Attending Event with Activist Pastor
By Curtis Houck | November 5, 2015 | 6:23 PM EST Wrapping up his interview with 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz on Thursday’s edition of The Lead on CNN, host Jake Tapper asked Cruz about the upcoming National Religious Liberties Conference he’s attending in Iowa this weekend and if Cruz is “endorsing conservative intolerance” since it's organized by an activist pastor named Kevin Swanson.
By P.J. Gladnick | November 3, 2015 | 2:07 PM EST
Remember when, not so long ago, much of the Mainstream Media was mocking people who stocked up on emergency supplies ("preppers") in case of a catastrophe as a bunch of "rightwing" survivalist kooks wearing tinfoil hats? Well, it now appears that Ted Koppel is wearing a tinfoil hat because he is warning about a possible apocalyptic catastrophe that could knock out the nation's power grid for up to two years and is recommending that people stock up on emergency supplies.
Such recommendations are made in his recently published book, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. We shall get to Ted Koppel, survivalist, but first let us examine the mockery such people were subjected to in the MSM as exemplified by this article by Neil Genzlinger in the March 2012 New York Times:
By P.J. Gladnick | October 30, 2015 | 8:48 PM EDT
CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux was shocked, SHOCKED that anybody could dare interrupt Hillary Clinton. In fact, Malveaux acted as if the Black Lives Matter protesters interrupting Hillary's speech in Atlanta today was a unique historical event that was completely unprecedented. You have to check out the video below to get full enjoyment of Malveaux's unintentional comedy performance as she registers extreme shock for The Lead.
By Curtis Houck | October 16, 2015 | 5:45 PM EDT
Finally getting his chance to interview Hillary Clinton on Friday’s The Lead, CNN anchor Jake Tapper didn’t exactly measure up as while he did what other reporters failed to do in asking Clinton about her relationship with Sidney Blumenthal, he cozied up to her on the recent marking of her and Bill’s 40th wedding anniversary plus sarcastically asking he could “get your e-mail address.”
By P.J. Gladnick | August 15, 2015 | 2:20 PM EDT
As Kyle Drennen pointed out yesterday, the major networks almost completely avoided any coverage of dissidents when reporting on the American flag being raised at the newly-reopened U.S. embassy in Havana. However, there was one report at CNN that stood out in sharp contrast to their reticence to criticize the Castro regime. That was the report by Jake Tapper on The Lead in which he provided an in-depth interview with one of the leading Cuban dissidents.
By Matthew Balan | August 5, 2015 | 12:31 PM EDT
CNN's Jake Tapper went after Josh Earnest on Monday's The Lead, after the White House press secretary admitted that he hadn't seen any of the undercover Planned Parenthood videos released by the Center for Medical Progress, and was "relying on news reports that I've seen" about the controversy. Tapper pointed out that "the whole video is put up on the website of this anti-abortion group that put them out." When Earnest blasted the pro-life group for their "ideological games," the anchor retorted that "somebody at the White House should maybe watch the videos in full."
By Matthew Balan | July 29, 2015 | 5:41 PM EDT
As of Wednesday morning, ABC, CBS, and NBC's morning and evening newscasts have yet to cover the third video from the Center for Medical Progress, which featured a whistle-blower's account of "picking" through the remains of aborted babies in order to find organs that could be sold for medical research. The Big Three networks have actually devoted more time to the slaying of a lion in Zimbabwe than all three videos from pro-life organization. CNN's The Lead on Tuesday actually stood out for covering this latest video.
English, Spanish Networks Censor Third Planned Parenthood Video, But Cover Shooting Death of African Lion
By Curtis Houck | July 28, 2015 | 11:06 PM EDT On Tuesday night, the decision by the major broadcast network to erase the Planned Parenthood scandal from their newscasts continued with the release of a sickening third video by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) that again discussed the selling of body parts from aborted babies. As the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC were ignoring this third video, the trio spent six minutes and 26 seconds teasing and reporting on the shooting death of a high-profile African lion in Zimbabwe by an American dentist.
By Tom Blumer | July 23, 2015 | 3:18 PM EDT
The press's favorite abortion questions usually have nothing to do with the 700,000-plus terminations of preborn babies' lives which take place each year in the U.S. (Note: The real figure is likely quite higher, because reporting is voluntary.) Especially when the person interviewed is a Republican or conservative, abortion questions focus heavily on the fewer than 1% of all abortions which are performed because of rape and incest. This is the equivalent of a news organization focusing all of its attention on a single house fire while an entire city a few miles away burns out of control.
2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina had no interest in playing this game with Jake Tapper on Tuesday. In the process, she put on a clinic which should be mandatory viewing for any Republican or conservative who is in or wants to have a career in politics.
By Tim Graham | July 16, 2015 | 10:44 PM EDT
On Wednesday, CNN.com posted a report from Steve Almasy and Eliott C. McLaughlin on the sting video on Planned Parenthood selling the body parts of aborted babies. A new angle emerged within the story when CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen talked to liberal medical ethicist Arthur Caplan.
He suggested from watching the videotape that Planned Parenthood was unethically putting its plans for harvesting intact organs ahead of the health of the women seeking abortions. That’s “a big no-no.” So it’s not surprising that Caplan didn’t make the cut for CNN on air in the two stories Cohen appeared in on Wednesday and Thursday.