John Walsh

CNN Ends 2014 With All-time Low Ratings, MSNBC Falls to Third Place Among News Channels
By Randy Hall | December 30, 2014 | 6:18 PM EST

Just when it seemed that things couldn't get any worse for the liberal Cable News Network and MSNBC channels, the Deadline website released a year-end review by reporter Lisa de Morales on ratings for CNN in prime time, which hit an all-time low of 516,000, and viewers in the vital 25- to 54-year-old demographic fell dramatically to 126,000, the second lowest number ever.

Meanwhile, the “Lean Forward” network lost 17 percent of its prime-time demographic audience to end 2014 with a viewership of 169,000 in the demographic and a total audience of 590,000. While these numbers outpaced CNN's ratings in this category, MSNBC fell far below its competitor in several other statistics.

CNN's Original Programs Draw Younger Viewers Despite Network's Poor Overall Ratings
By Randy Hall | December 27, 2014 | 3:55 PM EST

In yet another report on the continuing ratings disaster that is the Cable News Network, Nielsen data indicates that “CNN's overall prime-time audience for the year is trending at an all-time low.” However, there was one bright spot for the channel: The median age of an average CNN viewer during prime time fell from 60 to 58 years old.

At the same time, states Reuters reporter Rick Kissel, the Fox News Channel held steady at a median age of 68 while MSNBC skewed slightly older this year (61 versus 60 last year).

Liberals Behaving Badly: Political Scandals the Networks Are Hiding From You
By Geoffrey Dickens | August 19, 2014 | 10:12 AM EDT

The indictment case against Republican Governor Rick Perry, that even liberals have described as “weak,” is just the latest GOP controversy that the networks have jumped on to taint Republicans in this midterm election year. In the 2014 campaign season, the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) networks have filled their programs with one GOP scandal after another. Congressman Trey Radel’s drug possession, the “kissing congressman” Vance McAllister’s affair, Oregon GOP Senate candidate Monica Wehby’s alleged stalking of an ex-boyfriend and of course Governor Chris Christie’s Bridgegate were all controversies these networks made sure their viewers heard about.

But curiously, there have been other political scandals the networks have chosen to either bury or outright ignore. It just so happens the politicians in trouble, in those cases, are Democrats.

Networks Continue To Ignore Scandal-Plagued Democratic Senator Dropping Election Bid
By Jeffrey Meyer | August 10, 2014 | 9:55 AM EDT

On Thursday, August 7, Senator John Walsh (D-Mont.) formally announced that he will not run for a full term in the Senate following revelations that he plagiarized large portions of his master’s thesis from the Army War College.  

Despite Walsh’s announcement, the “Big Three” (ABC, CBS, NBC) have yet to cover the story during their 19 hours of air time from Thursday night through Sunday morning. In fact, CBS has been the only network to even cover the initial plagiarism story, giving it a mere 31 seconds during its CBS This Morning broadcast on July 24. 

Networks Avoid Scandal-Plagued Democratic Senator Dropping Election Bid
By Scott Whitlock | August 8, 2014 | 11:45 AM EDT

Despite a combined eight available hours of programming on Friday, all three network morning shows avoided the news that a scandal-plagued Democratic senator from Montana dropped a reelection bid. This move leaves the seat as a likely Republican takeover in the 2014 midterms. But viewers wouldn't know that on ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Today and CBS This Morning.  

John Walsh left the race on Thursday, two weeks after the New York Times reported that the Democrat plagiarized extensive sections of his master's degree from the Army War College. With the networks avoiding the story, it was left to CNN's New Day to offer a brief amount of coverage. John King wondered if the seat will "most likely" go to the GOP. Maggie Haberman of Politico retorted, "Oh, yeah...I mean, most Democrats that I talked to believe Montana is not winnable anymore." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

As Brent Bozell Predicted, Big Three Newscasts Ignore Plagiarist Dem Dropping Out of Senate Race
By Ken Shepherd | August 7, 2014 | 8:48 PM EDT

It looks like Shannon Bream of Fox News lost a friendly bet with Brent Bozell, the president and founder of the Media Research Center, NewsBusters's parent company.

On last night's Kelly File, the fill-in anchor argued that the liberal broadcast networks would have to devote time to covering John Walsh if he bowed out of his Senate race due to his plagiarism scandal. Bozell insisted otherwise and placed a dinner wager on the table [Watch that video in the embed below, fast forward to 2:48 into the video]. Well, this afternoon Montana Democratic U.S. Senator John Walsh did indeed announce he was dropping out of the race, and, alas, neither ABC's World News nor CBS's Evening News nor the NBC Nightly News even made a passing reference to the development.

Bozell, FNC's Bream Discuss Media Near-Blackout of Dem Senator's Plagiarism Scandal
By NB Staff | August 7, 2014 | 8:15 AM EDT

As pressure grows on Sen. John Walsh (D-Montana) to drop out of his election campaign in light of his plagiarism controversy, the liberal media are largely ignoring the story, despite the fact that "the Senate hangs in the balance" and "any one race can make or break it," Media Research Center president and founder Brent Bozell told the audience of Wednesday's edition of the Fox News Channel program the Kelly File.

By contrast, Bozell noted, in years past, particularly crucial election years, the media have obsessed over scandals in years gone by that plagued Republicans, making them household names in a less-than-flattering manner [LISTEN to MP3 audio here; WATCH the full segment by pressing play on the embed below the page break]:

ABC, NBC Ignore Montana Democrat Accused of Plagiarizing Masters Thesis
By Jeffrey Meyer | July 24, 2014 | 9:35 AM EDT

On Thursday, July 24, the New York Times revealed that Senator John Walsh (D-Mont.) plagiarized his masters thesis from the United States Army College and that at least 25 percent of his paper “was either taken without attribution from other authors’ works or improperly sourced.” 

Despite the embarrassing revelation, CBS This Morning was the only network morning news show to report on the plagiarism scandal whereas NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America ignored the story. [See video below.]

Obama Gets a Warm Embrace from Fox...Well Not FNC, But a Fox Show
By Brent Baker | March 7, 2010 | 2:44 AM EST
It wasn’t on the Fox News Channel (FNC) nor a Fox News production carried on Fox (such as Fox News Sunday), but President Barack Obama received a warm and appreciative session with John Walsh, marking the 1,000 edition of America’s Most Wanted, an entertainment program carried by the network which has failed to air the Obama press conferences shown by ABC, CBS and NBC.

Walsh began by offering Obama “congratulations on all the work you’ve been doing since you were President” and proceeded to praise “the work you’ve done with the Recovery Act,” aka the stimulus monstrosity, “but I know first-hand from the rank-and-file cops on the street what you’ve done for law enforcement on the local and state level.” After Obama recounted how the funding prevented layoffs amongst local police departments, Walsh reaffirmed: “I know first-hand the law enforcement community respects you and is appreciative of you getting that bill through in these tough economic times.”

The host of America’s Most Wanted on Fox also hailed Obama as “a very loud voice for victims, which is much appreciated from the victim community,” and admired him: “I know your daughters are proud of you, but you send a loud message and I feel the same way.”