On Sunday’s Nightly News, Kristen Welker, NBC News White House Correspondent, scolded the GOP over their criticism of the Obama administration’s handling of the Ebola crisis. The NBC reporter maintained that “with public fears spreading faster than the disease itself, some Republican candidates eyeing wins in the upcoming midterm elections are stoking public fears.”
Kristen Welker
By Curtis Houck | October 13, 2014 | 11:49 PM EDT
On Sunday, NBC Nightly News took the unusual step of running a story that not only discussed the upcoming midterm elections but also President Obama’s unpopularity on the campaign trail as Democrats struggle to keep control of the Senate.
The problem with the story, however, was that it aired on Sunday night, when millions of Americans are watching football, spending time with family or at church and thus not watching the news.
By Jeffrey Meyer | September 28, 2014 | 10:07 AM EDT
On Friday night, Chelsea Clinton gave birth to her first child, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, and ABC and NBC predictably swooned over the event and hyped the impact this could have on Hillary Clinton’s political future. On Sunday morning’s Good Morning America, ABC’s Mara Schiavocampo gushed “while America waits for Hillary’s decision if she'll run for president, a more important duty calls for now, diaper duty.”
By Kyle Drennen | September 18, 2014 | 4:53 PM EDT
During a segment on Thursday's Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC, fill-in host Kristen Welker noted Joe Biden making a string of gaffes – which included using an anti-Semitic slur – during a trip to Iowa, but then she and her guests proceeded to excuse his offensive remarks as merely being part of his charm. [Listen to the audio]
The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza observed: "Joe Biden is probably the most 'real,' I suppose, politician you have these days. He does say what's on his mind. Unfortunately, what's on his mind often gets him in trouble."
By Jeffrey Meyer | August 17, 2014 | 10:38 AM EDT
Following the indictment of Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) for threatening to veto funding for the state’s public integrity unit after a Democratic District Attorney refused to resign for a drunk driving incident, ABC and CBS did their best to play up the charges against the Texas Republican.
CBS reporter Manuel Bojorquez provided the most hyperbolic commentary by proclaiming “even if he is eventually cleared of these charges, he may have to deal with the political embarrassment of a mugshot.”
By Jeffrey Meyer | August 14, 2014 | 11:30 AM EDT
On Thursday, August 14, all three network morning shows did their best to defuse the conflict between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama following Clinton’s criticism of the White House’s foreign policy.
The “big three” (ABC, CBS, and NBC) insisted that any dispute between the two Democrats had subsided with ABC and NBC pushing the White House line that when the two met for a birthday party on Martha’s Vineyard “a good time was had by all.” [See video below.]
By Brad Wilmouth | June 29, 2014 | 4:56 PM EDT
After Friday's World News on ABC ignored the White House report on the infamous problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Saturday's Good Morning America on ABC also ignored the scandal, while CBS This Morning Saturday and NBC's Today show -- both of which are two-hour programs - only ran short briefs, the one on CBS totaling 25 seconds and the one on NBC 19 seconds.
By contrast, the CBS Evening News on Friday led with the V.A. story and gave it a full report of more than two minutes. The NBC Nightly News, after initially giving the story 24 seconds on Friday, followed up Saturday evening and presented viewers a full report of almost two and a half minutes, making it the second story both evenings.
By Kyle Drennen | June 19, 2014 | 5:20 PM EDT
At the top of Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams seized on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office revoking the trademark of the Washington Redskins as part of the liberal crusade to force the team to change it's name: "Taking a hit. The feds go after the Redskins where it hurts the most, money from team merchandise, as the controversy over the team's name takes a surprise turn." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Introducing the later report, Williams proclaimed: "The pressure just increased on the Washington Redskins to change their team name. Starting with the fact that they may no longer have the exclusive use of their own name in the lucrative business of NFL merchandise." Correspondent Kristen Welker touted the government abuse of power as "A victory for Native Americans who say the name should go, calling it just as racist as the 'N' word."
Only NBC Nightly News Highlights Obama’s Failure to Notify Congress Prior to Releasing Prisoners from Gitmo
By Jeffrey Meyer | June 1, 2014 | 9:57 AM EDT The United States negotiated the release of five Afghan prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the Taliban freeing an American sergeant from captivity yet President Obama may have violated U.S. law by failing to notify Congress of his actions.
Despite the potential legal problems with releasing prisoners without notifying Congress, NBC Nightly News was the only evening news program on Saturday, May 31 to mention the controversy or the GOP's criticism. [See video below.]
By Jackie Seal | May 29, 2014 | 5:29 PM EDT
In an apparent effort to help bolster Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and her advocacy for revamping the menu of the nation's public school cafeterias, NBC's Today show plugged the first lady's May 29 New York Times op-ed on the subject.
The peacock network hailed Mrs. Obama as one who typically avoids playing politics, but who has courageously decided to step in and make her voice heard on this issue, taking on Republicans who oppose her fight to make America's kids thinner and healthier.
By Jackie Seal | May 28, 2014 | 10:29 AM EDT
Eight months before the 2006 midterm election, President Bush made a “surprise” visit to Afghanistan. On the March 1, 2006 edition of the Today show, hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer made sure to paint Bush’s visit as a publicity stunt due to his approval rating being at an “all-time low” and the controversy surrounding a bid by a United Arab Emirates-based company to run operations at various U.S. seaports. Couric touted it as an “important symbol.” Kelly O’Donnell cited the visit with all its baggage as a “difficult stretch for the president.”
At the time, the network insisted their viewers be absolutely clear about the president’s approval rating and scandals bedeviling his administration back at home. Not only that, Today's coverage included a guest who argued that it was simply impossible to “divorce how the war is going with the perception of how President Bush is doing as president.”
By Kyle Drennen | May 27, 2014 | 3:00 PM EDT
At the top of Saturday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Lester Holt proclaimed: "Abortion battleground. The newest state to impose tougher requirements on doctors who perform the procedure. Protecting women or denying them access?" In another tease of the upcoming story minutes later, Holt warned: "...the battle over abortion and a controversial new law about to take effect." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
In the report that followed, correspondent Kristen Welker revealed the supposed threat to the abortion agenda: "The legislation requires doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges to a hospital within thirty miles of where the procedure takes place. That change could force three of the state's five abortion clinics to close."