China

The New York Times reported a scandal when a collection of Nazi memorabilia caused a senior Human Rights Watch analyst to be suspended in 2009. But collecting Red China Mao Zedong memorabilia is apparently much more charming. On Friday, Times culture reporter William “Biff” Grimes promoted “Quotations of Chairman Mao: 50th Anniversary Exhibition, 1964-2014,” at the Grolier Club, displaying “…

During Wednesday’s NBC Nightly News, NBC’s chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson enthusiastically promoted the global warming agreement between the United States and China that was announced earlier in the day, but fretted that Republicans were “already putting up roadblocks if congressional action is needed.” Anchor Brian Williams hyped that it was “[a] surprise announcement” …

All three networks on Wednesday offered excited descriptions about a global warming deal struck with China by the Obama administration. According to Good Morning America's Jim Avila, the President's Asian visit was supposed to end with "toasts to the landmark global warming agreement." In a follow-up story, Amy Robach parroted the President's claim that it is a "breakthrough climate deal with…

On Tuesday night, NBC Nightly News concluded its program by pushing an over four-minute-long fawning segment on Hollywood actor and activist Ben Affleck that included banter between anchor Brian Williams and Affleck on New York and Boston sports teams, gushing over Affleck’s life and “restless mind,” and his disappointment about the United States “nation-building elsewhere” when it should be …

On Monday’s ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, the program not only spent the fewest time covering the democracy protests in Hong Kong than fellow networks CBS and NBC, but it spent nearly twice as much time gushing over the newest member of the Clinton family than the protests that now number in the tens of thousands. ABC’s evening newscast ran a news brief on the Hong Kong protests for…

Thursday's CBS This Morning stood out for zeroing in on the plight of Catholics in China, as it covered Pope Francis's trip to South Korea. Seth Doane noted the Pope's overflight of the communist country, and pointed out how "that's significant, because the last time a pope wanted to fly through Chinese airspace was in 1989, and Beijing refused the request." The Pope at that time, St. John Paul…

NBC's morning and evening newscasts have yet to cover the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong on Tuesday. That day, ABC's World News labeled the demonstration "one of the largest marches in Hong Kong's history" during an 18-second news brief, but failed to mention that the communist Chinese government was the target of the participants. The network's morning show, Good Morning America, has yet…

On June 4, 1989, the communist regime in China cracked down violently on democratic protesters in Tiananmen Square. American networks had provided weeks of coverage of the protests, and the crackdown was a global outrage. But both then and later, some national reporters embarrassed themselves by making odd comparisons between the communist crackdown and allegedly similar outrages in America:

On Tuesday, New York Times reporter Coral Davenport nudged Obama from the left ("Governments Await Obama’s Move on Carbon to Gauge U.S. Climate Efforts") to show "how serious [he] is" in getting with the international program to stop global warming. The effort apparently involves the president shackling the coal industry of his own country. The article's upshot: Global warming will overwhelm…

It’s been nearly a week but it seems that someone in the press finally noticed the lack of American media traveling with Mrs. Obama across China. The Washington Post’s Krissah Thompson, who just yesterday gushed over the first lady’s trip, finally acknowledged in a March 26 piece that American media were shut out from the first lady's press pool.  Despite Thompson’s admission, the Post buried…

First Lady Michelle Obama is wrapping up her tour of China sans the American press. Despite American media being shut out from the visit, Mrs. Obama has received glowing coverage of her trip, most recently from The Washington Post’s Krissah Thompson. Writing on Tuesday’s March 25, Thompson puffed up “History and jump-rope as first lady visits Xi’an” before providing a glowing description of…

Ignoring the most important part of the story, CBS This Morning reporter Jan Crawford hyped Michelle Obama for promoting free speech in China. Yet, Crawford never mentioned that American journalists weren't allowed to travel with the First Lady on her trip. With no sense of irony, Crawford touted, "Michelle Obama hit a hot button issue in China by praising freedom of speech in America." [See…

National coverage of Michelle Obama’s trip to communist China has been overwhelmingly glowing and shamelessly quiet on Team Obama’s decision to allow no press contingent to follow along, because the trip was apparently “not political.” The networks dutifully repeated that with no protest, despite more than 30 tweets from the First Lady’s account touting her trip. But NPR’s Weekend Edition…

First Lady Michelle Obama is wrapping up her tour of China today and even though the American press was shut out from her trip, the First Lady has received glowing coverage of her taxpayer-funded visit. Despite the already over-the-top praise, NBC’s “Today” had a unique take on the trip. Appearing on Sunday, March 23, CNBC’s Eunice Yoon commented that both Mrs. Obama and the wife of the…