Jonathan Alter Lashes Out at McCain, Pushes for Non-partisan Primaries
That damned closed primary system and its penchant for drawing conservatives to the polls!Newsweek's Jonathan Alter fixed blame for John McCain's newfound conservative streak and abandonment of the "maverick" status that drove the media gaga back in 2000 -- when he was a challenger on George Bush's left on taxes and campaign finance reform -- on the strong Senate primary challenge the senator is…
CBS's Week-Long Pressure on Republicans to Support Dem Financial Refor
On Friday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared that when it comes to financial reform legislation, "Democrats have all the leverage right now." Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer appeared on the show and observed that "They think this is the time to picture Republicans as trying to protect fat cat bankers, as it were." In her first question to Schieffer, Rodriguez wondered: "Do…
MRC-TV: Bozell on Hannity's 'Media Mash' Segment Discussing TEA Party
Last night, "back by popular demand," Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity interviewed Brent Bozell in a segment focused on media bias entitled "Media Mash."Hannity led off with the April 15 video of TEA Partier Darryl Postell being interviewed by NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, who asked him if, as a black man, he felt uncomfortable at the rally. "No, no, these are my people, Americans," replied Postell."Let'…
Pentagon Rescinds Franklin Graham’s Invitation, Al Sharpton is Welco
The Pentagon rescinded the invitation of evangelist Franklin Graham to speak at its May 6 National Day of Prayer event because of complaints about his previous comments about Islam. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation expressed its concern over Graham's involvement with the event in an April 19 letter sent to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. MRFF's complaint about Graham, the son of…
No Room at the Table For Orthodox Catholics From CNN's Kyra Phillips
During a segment on Wednesday's Newsroom, CNN's Kyra Phillips brought back two out of three heterodox Christians she had on almost a month earlier, both of whom endorse radical leftist "reforms" inside the Catholic Church such as the acceptance of homosexual behavior. Again, Phillips didn't bring on any guests who agree with the Church's teachings and practices.The CNN anchor led the 9 am Eastern…
CBS: 'Encouraging News,' GOP 'Changing Their Tone' on Dem Financial Re
Cheering some Republican support for Democratic financial reform legislation on Wednesday, CBS Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "encouraging news out of Washington, that after a week or so of attacking this financial bill that the Democrats are proposing to regulate Wall Street, Republicans are changing their tone and they seem to be wanting to come on board." Rodriguez turned to…
No Surprise: New York Times Readership Easily Most Liberal of Any 'Obj
Two University of Chicago researchers recently measured ideological segregation on the Web -- the idea that in this new media age, people can avoid news outlets that challenge their ideological presuppositions. Their report, “Ideological Segregation Online and Offline,” tracked how people of different political views move around the Internet. One finding: The New York Times is a liberal newspaper…
Crashing the Tea Party: A Step-by-Step Media Guide on How to Discredit
Over the past year since its inception, the media have worked hard to discredit and denigrate the tea party movement. News organizations employed various strategies, from dismissing the protests as astroturf, to using derogatory nicknames for participants, and finally labeling it as a violent extremist fringe. In their futile attempt to get something to stick, the media have become increasingly…
CNN's Brown Touts 'Rise in Right Wing Extremism;' Guest: SPLC 'Exagger
On her CNN program on Monday, Campbell Brown forwarded one of the Left's talking points about the tea parties by stating that "it does appear that we are seeing a rise in right wing extremism recently." However, her guest, historian Robert Churchill of the University of Hartford, downplayed her claim and claimed that groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center were "exaggerating" the threat.Brown…
NYT's Frank Rich Repelled By Criticism of His Sliming of Tea Partiers
One clue that health care is not being well received among the public: Liberal media members, instead of celebrating the wonderful era of health-care access to come, can't stop obsessing over unsubstantiated allegations of racism among Tea Party activists, as if trying to change the subject.New York Times columnist Frank Rich's super-sized entry on Sunday, “Welcome to Confederate History Month,”…
Study: Online Media Don't Polarize Like Critics Claim
Update - 12:48 PM | Lachlan Markay: David Brooks weighs in. See his thoughts below.One of the gripes about online journalism often aired by the Helen Thomases and the Chuck Todds of the world is that online news consumers will only consume news that reinforces their worldview or political beliefs. A new scholarly study challenges that assumption.The study, conducted by Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse…
Behar Links Racist Signs to Tea Partiers, Then Denies Mentioning Race
On Monday’s Joy Behar Show on HLN, when guest Mark Williams of Tea Party Express complained to Behar and fellow guest Ari Melber of the Nation about Tea Party activists being smeared as racist, the HLN host claimed that she had not brought up race during the segment, even though she opened the discussion by referring to stereotypes about Tea Party activists as she cracked that perhaps public…
CNN's Rick Sanchez Goes After 'Cheap Shot' From NewsBusters
CNN's Rick Sanchez named me and NewsBusters to "the very top" of his daily 'List That U Don't Want 2 Be On' on his Rick's List show on Monday. Sanchez criticized me for apparently not being able to tell he was "joking" during a segment on April 15 where he stated that "you think it's too cold to have a volcano" in Iceland [audio available here].I have been monitoring the anchor since September…
