Starting Point

Farewell, Pope Benedict: Soledad O'Brien Promotes 'Riveting' Anti-Catholic Documentary
By Matt Hadro | February 11, 2013 | 3:14 PM EST

Only an hour after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the papacy, and not ten minutes into Monday's Starting Point, CNN's Soledad O'Brien hosted the director of an anti-Catholic documentary who has called Pope Benedict a "criminal" and a "deeply flawed human being."

Director Alex Gibney was O'Brien's first guest on her show. His new film on the clerical sex abuse scandal has been criticized as distorted and misleading and "an anti-Catholic broadside masquerading as a documentary." O'Brien praised it as "riveting, absolutely riveting," however, and let him criticize Pope Benedict. 

CNN Implies Boy Scout Ban 'Discriminatory,' Supporters 'On the Wrong Side of History'
By Matt Hadro | February 6, 2013 | 12:13 PM EST

CNN anchors dropped journalistic integrity and went into full attack mode against supporters of the ban on gay Boy Scouts on Wednesday morning.

When the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins questioned why the Scouts should change their long-standing policy, anchor Soledad O'Brien blurted out "Because it's discriminatory," before adding "Because they think it's discriminatory." She then asked "My final question for you, do you worry you are on the wrong side of history on this?"

CNN Cancels Soledad O’Brien Show, Says It Wasn’t Due to ‘Ethnic’ Viewership
By Randy Hall | January 31, 2013 | 11:21 PM EST

The tumult at CNN that has seen several contributors leave the cable news network continued on Wednesday, when Soledad O'Brien's morning show, “Starting Point,” was canceled because her program's small audience was “too ethnic, based on the high concentration of minority viewers.”

Despite ending O'Brien's morning show, a CNN spokesman told Politico on Thursday that "Soledad is very important to the network, and we're discussing various options with her.”

Soledad O'Brien Challenges GOP: Do Minorities 'Know You and They Decided They Don't Like You?'
By Matt Hadro | January 29, 2013 | 3:53 PM EST

CNN's Soledad O'Brien, well known for her documentaries on race "Latino In America" and "Black In America,"  questioned the GOP's credibility among minority voters on Friday's Starting Point.

Quoting an RNC committeeman who said minority voters and the youth vote "simply don't know" the GOP, O'Brien asked former RNC chair Mel Martinez "is it that they don't know you? Meaning you as the GOP. Or is that they know you and they decided they don't like you?"

CNN Fawns Over 'Love Fest' Between 'Political Superstars' Obama and Clinton
By Matt Hadro | January 28, 2013 | 5:45 PM EST

CNN joined the networks in giving outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a cushy send-off after Clinton's syrupy 60 Minutes interview alongside President Obama. The network gushed over the "chummy" affection between the "political superstars" on Monday morning.

"Well, it's the exit interview everybody is talking about," hyped anchor Soledad O'Brien. "Hillary Clinton, the President, sitting down together, laughing, chummy, chummy," she added. "They really seem to really like each other," said correspondent Brianna Keilar.

CNN's O’Brien Tries to Liken Critics of Women in Infantry to Opponents of Racial Integration
By Paul Bremmer | January 25, 2013 | 5:29 PM EST

With the recent news that outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has lifted the ban on women serving in front-line combat roles, it is no surprise that CNN is cheering the decision. On Friday’s Starting Point, host Soledad O’Brien attempted to undermine those who disagree with the decision by comparing them to opponents of racial integration of the military during the 1940s. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Speaking to author Kingsley Browne, who opposes women serving in combat, O’Brien tried to set a clever trap. She read Browne a quote from a man she identified only as “this colonel”:

CNN's Soledad O’Brien Can’t Understand What’s Wrong With a National Gun Registry
By Paul Bremmer | January 24, 2013 | 3:49 PM EST

CNN continues to push for stricter gun control, and the network doesn’t have much patience for opposing viewpoints. On Wednesday’s Starting Point, anchor Soledad O’Brien hectored a conservative guest who spoke out against creating a national gun registry.

Former Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) said he believes the government would use a national registry to intimidate gun owners, thereby punishing law-abiding citizens and failing to solve the problem of violent crimes committed with guns. O’Brien then jumped on him: “Hang on, wait a second. What evidence is there of that? I mean...to me, sometimes that just seems like a common-sense measure. Let’s just know who’s ordering lots of guns.” [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

CNN Asks Steve King If GOP Is 'Chastened' By Election Losses
By Matt Hadro | January 21, 2013 | 2:45 PM EST

During CNN's inauguration coverage on Monday's Starting Point, correspondent John King helped bolster President Obama's image as he asked Tea Party Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) if Republicans were "chastened" by Democratic electoral victories.

"The President won an election that many historians say he shouldn't have won, given the high unemployment rate, given the sluggish recovery. He beat your party. Your majority in the House is a little smaller. Democrats gained a bit in the Senate. Are Republicans chastened now?" he asked the Tea Party congressman.

Despite CNN's Gun Control Advocacy, Polls Show Drop In Support
By Matt Vespa | January 17, 2013 | 3:48 PM EST

Despite CNN waging a crusade for gun control over the past month, and host Piers Morgan drawing attention with his incessant activism and bullying of his opponents on the gun issue, CNN’s own poll shows that support for some gun control measures has dropped over the past month.

CNN.com reported on its poll Wednesday: "According to the survey, 56% support a ban on semi-automatic guns, but that's down from 62% in a CNN poll taken in the days after the shooting at Sandy Hook. The same is true for a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips - 62% in December, down to 58% now - as well as a requirement for all gun owners to register their firearms with the local government - 78% last month, down to 69% now."

Soledad O'Brien Insults CNN Guest; 'Some People Make Your Head Hurt When They Speak'
By Matt Hadro | January 16, 2013 | 12:15 PM EST

CNN continued its trend of marginalizing gun rights advocates on Wednesday. Anchor Soledad O'Brien derided a CNN guest who had cited her fear of tyrannical government as reason to own a semi-automatic rifle.

"Some people make your head hurt when they speak. Wow. And that was one of those moments," O'Brien sneered in front of Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (Ill.).

'Centrist' News Network? CNN Loads Newscasts With Gun Control Advocates
By Matt Hadro | January 14, 2013 | 6:45 PM EST

One month after the Newtown shooting, CNN "commemorated" the atrocity by hosting a string of gun control activists and Democratic politicians pushing for stricter gun laws.

From the 5 a.m. through the 3 p.m. news hours, CNN hosted five guests who had participated in the "Demand a Plan" campaign put on by the anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. In addition, two Democratic congressmen and one Democratic senator appeared on the network and pushed for more gun laws. Only one Republican made an appearance to argue to the contrary.

Ten Outrageous Anti-Gun ’Journalists’
By Liz Thatcher | January 8, 2013 | 11:01 AM EST

The media agenda against guns is nothing new. But recent mass shootings have encouraged supposedly neutral journalists to push for gun regulation instead of reporting the facts surrounding the tragedies.

One thing the media seldom mention is that both the Newtown and Aurora shootings occurred in gun free zones. In the Clackamas Town Center Shooting in Oregon, however, a gunman was stopped when someone with a concealed carry permit intervened. There were only two casualties in this shooting which received little media attention. If this incident was mentioned, the concealed carry part of the story was almost completely ignored.