CNN was called the 'Clinton News Network' during the 90s for a reason. After letting Bill Clinton get away with his ridiculous excuse for supporting a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts, Wolf Blitzer kissed up to the former president by fawning over his daughter Chelsea in the Thursday interview.
And Blitzer had a sugary introduction ready. "[W]hen we spoke about the President's daughter, Chelsea, his face lit up with pride," Blitzer cooed.
Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawik on Sunday called NBC hiring Chelsea Clinton a "journalistically-bankrupt decision."
Talking to CNN's Howard Kurtz about Clinton's debut, Zurawik said if she's been preparing for this all her life "it's been a largely wasted life" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
"Either we're spoiled by TV's unlimited population of giant personalities or this woman is one of the most boring people of her era," observed Washington Post TV critic Hank Stuever regarding Chelsea Clinton's television journalism debut on last night's Rock Center.
"It's no surprise whatsoever that Chelsea Clinton didn't electrify broadcast journalism with her debut" on last night's Rock Center, but, "what was surprising" was "how someone can be on TV in such a prominent way and, in her big moment, display so very little charisma -- none at all."
It appears the folks at the National Organization for Women can't defend a conservative woman without attacking Rush Limbaugh.
As Big Hollywood reported Thursday evening, NOW President Terry O'Neill finally responded to the offensive song Jimmy Fallon's band played as Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) walked onto the set of NBC's Late Night Monday:
She hasn't accomplished a darned thing on television yet, but Chelsea Clinton is already being compared to the late Meet the Press host Tim Russert.
Such almost unthinkable praise emerged from NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight Monday (video follows with transcript and commentary):
ABC's Good Morning America touted Chelsea Clinton's appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative in a fawning segment Friday. Former Clinton advisor George Stephanopoulos termed it "that rare turn in the spotlight for Chelsea Clinton," and ABC did its level best to get the word out.
Correspondent Dan Harris lauded Bill and Hillary Clinton as "two of the most powerful people in the world" but made sure to note their daughter Chelsea's intelligence and growing profile. He even went so far as to report a Facebook comment saying she should run for President.
Liberals watching CNN Friday morning would have been pleased by the "Political Buzz" segment that targeted Republicans for criticism and hyped the possible political career of Chelsea Clinton.
CNN reported that the "crowd" at Thursday's GOP debate booed a gay soldier serving in Iraq. From the video they provided of the incident, it was clear that a couple of rogue crowd members booed the man, and not the audience in general.
Comedienne Sandra Bernhard called Bristol Palin a hooker on Wednesday's "The Joy Behar Show."
This was just a part of a televised hatefest reminiscent of the Lindsay Lohan film "Mean Girls" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
If you thought the media's obsession with Chelsea Clinton's July 31 wedding went a little overboard, you're not alone. A new poll has found that a majority of Americans think there was too much coverage of the wedding at the expense of real news.
The News Interest Index Survey, conducted July 29 through August 1 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, found that 58 percent of respondents felt there was "too much" coverage of the Clinton wedding.
As the Culture and Media Institute reported, the three broadcast networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - aired 87 stories about Clinton's nuptials between July 25 and August 1. That represented a 48-percent increase over coverage of former first daughter Jenna Bush's wedding in 2008. Networks had reporters on the scene in Rhinebeck, N.Y., and brought in gossip columnists and celebrity wedding planners to dish on the event.
But at what cost? Other news happened over the weekend, after all, including continued drama in the Gulf of Mexico and fallout over the leak of classified documents related to the war inAfghanistan, as well as economy and immigration issues.
Did you hear Chelsea Clinton got married over the weekend? If it seems like that's all the media talked about, you're not alone.
The broadcast networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - aired 87 stories about Clinton's July 31 nuptials between July 25 and August 1. Four major newspapers - The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today - printed 21 stories during the same time period.
Coverage of Clinton's wedding was decidedly enthusiastic. The "CBS Evening News" July 31 reported it at the top of the broadcast, ahead of the oil spill. Anchor Jeff Glor announced the "wedding of the century" that "has clearly captured the nation's attention."
NBC's "Saturday Today" show brought in "celebrity wedding planner" Colin Cowie and US Weekly Editor Lindsay Powers to dish on all the gossip surrounding the event. The show mentioned Clinton's wedding in seven stories on July 31.
Friday's CBS Early Show devoted a six-minute segment in its 7:30AM ET half hour to the Saturday wedding of Chelsea Clinton. Correspondent Elaine Quijano reported on the event having "Eva Longoria's florist" and "presidential party planners." Entertainment Tonight correspondent Diane Dimond added: "...they have porcelain port-a-potties for all of the guests....with music piped in."On Monday’s Joy Behar Show, when the topic of Chelsea Clinton’s upcoming wedding came up during a panel discussion, host Behar found it "ironic" and "over the top" that the Clinton family are spending $2 million on their daughter’s wedding, comparing it to the $100,000 spent by former President Bush on daughter Jenna’s wedding. After comedian Judy Gold noted the $2 million price tag, Behar responded: "I know, and, you know, George Bush spent only $100,000 on Jenna`s wedding."
Gold took a shot at Bush suggesting that he would have spent more if he could have made it taxpayer-funded: "Yeah, well, if he could have found a way for us to pay for Jenna`s wedding, he would have done that, okay, he likes to spend other people`s money."
Behar continued: "I mean, $2 million, doesn`t that sound like a little over the top, $2 million for one day," and soon added, "I mean, you know, it's ironic."