Media Mash: Newsweek 'Queen of Rage' Smear of Michele Bachmann Edition

August 11th, 2011 10:43 AM
"I don't know what's worse," Tina Brown's selection of the wild-eyed Michele Bachmann cover photo for Newsweek or her "bold-faced lie" defending the choice, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Fox News's Sean Hannity on his program last night. "There's not a person in the face of this Earth that looks at that picture and says, 'she looks more presidential,' which is what Tina Brown"…

AP's Wis. Recall Coverage Desperately Seeks Silver Lining, Ignores Nex

August 11th, 2011 12:04 AM
Wednesday evening, the Associated Press's Sam Hananel, with predictable help from Scott Bauer, tried to do a Bing Crosby imitation ("Unions look for silver lining in Wisconsin recalls") in an attempt to "Accentuate the Positive" in reporting on the results of yesterday's attempts to defeat six Republican Badger State Senators in recall elections. Democrats, leftists, and public-sector unions…

Reuters Editor Chrystia Freeland Blames David Cameron's 'Really Radica

August 10th, 2011 5:54 PM
As rioters in England set buildings aflame, hurl stones into local shops, and rip flat screen TVs off of store walls, Reuters editor-at-large Chrystia Freeland viewed Prime Minister David Cameron's fiscal policies as the "really radical" culprit. "I think that this is the result of – directly the result of – the really radical austerity program that the Cameron government is imposing,"…

NBC Pushes Obama From Left, Worries Liberals Are Growing 'Angry' and

August 10th, 2011 5:08 PM
At the top of Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer declared: "President Obama faces new criticism from members of his own party, is he doing enough to manage the [economic] crisis?...Should he, for example, demand that Congress cut short its summer vacation to address the situation?" In the segment that followed, the headline on screen read: "Dems Urge Obama to Get Tough With GOP &…

Newsweek's Tina Brown Offers No Apology, Doubles Down on 'Crazy' Bachm

August 10th, 2011 12:05 PM
Newsweek editor Tina Brown defended her magazine's controversial cover portraying Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) as the "Queen of Rage" on the August 10 edition of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," offering no apology since the three-term congresswoman could become America's first "crazy" president. "Some people look at this picture and think, you know, Michele Bachmann looks crazy," remarked Brown. "…

NBC's 'Today' Decries 'End of Civility' in America, Alludes to Joe Wil

August 9th, 2011 6:13 PM
During a discussion on Tuesday's NBC Today of a nasty divorce custody case, psychologist Gail Saltz bizarrely shoe-horned in this observation: "This is reflective of a national problem....We have taken on this 'Do whatever feels good in the moment,' with no regard for a moral compass...calling the president a liar..." Co-host Matt Lauer declared: "The end of civility." The husband involved…

CNN Picks Up on Bachmann's Newsweek Cover Photo, Questions Media's Tre

August 9th, 2011 3:30 PM
Newsweek's embarrassing cover photo of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) garnered attention not only from conservative blogs, but also from the major networks and cable news. CNN ran Bachmann's wide-eyed picture on the latest Newsweek cover multiple times Tuesday morning, asking if the picture and harsh headline were examples of media maltreatment of conservative women presidential candidates…

NBC Gives Most Coverage to Newsweek Cover Controversy, But Uses it to

August 9th, 2011 12:42 PM
While anchor Brian Williams described Newsweek's controversial cover photo of Michelle Bachmann as "clearly a misfire" on Monday's NBC Nightly News, on Tuesday's Today, correspondent Andrea Mitchell saw an opportunity to portray Bachmann as "extreme." Meanwhile, CBS completely ignored the story and ABC only provided a news brief on the topic. On Tuesday's Today, while Mitchell described the…

Rubio No Savior, But Full of Common Sense

August 8th, 2011 5:09 PM
This was going to be a column insisting that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida run for president of the United States. Now. Even though he has ruled out the possibility; even though he is but a baby senator. (Neither of these considerations has invariably stopped people in the past.) But no: That's not this column. Not because I don't think it might be an excellent idea, but because I take a man at…

CBS Pushes Liberal Talking Point About Tea Party 'Downgrade

August 8th, 2011 1:45 PM
On Monday's Early Show, CBS's Norah O'Donnell promoted the left-of-center talking point that Standard & Poor's recent lowering of the U.S.'s credit rating is a "Tea Party downgrade." O'Donnell played three sound bites of notable liberals using this line of attack, versus only one opposing from a center-right politician. She also spun Treasury Geithner's decision to stay as "good news for…

On Saturday's 'Today,' GOP Blamed for Debt Downgrade and Washington Gr

August 8th, 2011 1:16 PM
At the top of Saturday's NBC Today, CNBC's chief Washington correspondent John Harwood told co-host Lester Holt that the downgrade of U.S. debt provided President Obama with "a tangible consequence to point to for Republican brinksmanship on the debt and deficit reduction deal." Harwood observed: "Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, always said, 'We don't want co-ownership of the economy…

NewsBusters Publisher Bozell to Media: Don’t Endorse John Kerry’s

August 8th, 2011 1:10 PM
John Kerry is on a crusade to destroy the Tea Party. To blame the Tea Party for the S&P downgrade is like blaming the Betty Ford Clinic for alcoholism. The entire existence of the Tea Party movement has been based on an attempt to stop the runaway spending of Washington – by the likes of John Kerry. Any media outlet that features his outrageous blame game remarks without challenging his…

NBC's Gregory Accuses GOP of 'Politicizing' Debt Downgrade, After Allo

August 8th, 2011 11:32 AM
On Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC, host David Gregory allowed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to blame Standard and Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt on the Tea Party without challenge. However, minutes later, in an interview with Arizona Senator John McCain, Gregory was quick to accuse Republicans of "politicizing" the issue by criticizing Democrats. After quoting a statement from House…

ABC Finds ‘Some Mainstream Christians Are Concerned’ About Perry R

August 8th, 2011 7:25 AM
On both Good Morning America and World News, two different ABC correspondents filed separate reports recounting that some Christians oppose Texas Governor Rick Perry’s prayer rally from the weekend, but, in both reports, clips of left-wing figures like the Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and Drew Courtney of People for the American Way were shown…