Video
Flashback: MSNBC's Matthews's Odd Fixation on Joni Ernst
October 6th, 2014 10:20 PM
Managing Editor's Note (Jan. 15, 2015; 5:15 p.m. Eastern): I've republished this to the front page today given the news that Sen. Ernst will be give the official Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union Address next Wednesday. If Chris Matthews doesn't make repeated sneering references to hog castration on MSNBC next Wednesday night, look out your window. You'll probably see a…
AP-GfK Poll Rates GOP Leaders in 'Congress,' But Not Dems in Senate
October 5th, 2014 7:10 PM
The polling partnership of the Associated Press and GfK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications conducted its final pre-early voting survey of the American electorate during the five days ended September 29.
It would be pretty hard to argue against the idea that the polling effort searched for answers it could use, while avoiding getting — or at least publishing — answers it wouldn't like…
Video
CNN’s Cuomo on Biden After Gaffe: ‘I Still Love Biden For What He Is'
October 3rd, 2014 3:49 PM
At the conclusion of the 6:30 a.m. news briefing during Friday’s New Day on CNN, substitute news reader John Berman played video of Vice President Joe Biden jokingly asking Harvard University’s student body vice president if he finds his job “a b****” after the student introduced himself to ask a question.
Following the video and Berman iterating that Biden later clarified that he does indeed…
'60 Minutes' Audience Craters For Obama Interview
September 30th, 2014 2:37 PM
Steve Kroft's interview of Barack Obama was the focus of this past Sunday's episode of "60 Minutes" on CBS. It has become noteworthy primarily because of Obama's statement that U.S. intelligence agencies "underestimated what had been taking place in Syria." As several previous NewsBusters posts have shown (examples here, here, here, and here), the press is working mightily to minimize how the…
Reporter Who Broke Rotherham Abuse Story Feared Inflaming 'Far Right'
September 29th, 2014 3:55 PM
The reporter who broke the Rotherham sex abuse scandal, Andrew Norfolk of the Times (UK), first had to get over his misgivings that the awful facts would "be a dream story for the far right" in England.
Tech Titan Bezos' Wash Post: Trouble Reporting Tech
September 29th, 2014 11:02 AM
Jeff Bezos is a transcendent Internet entrepreneur. He understands the way the Web works in a way few others do. He sees around the curve of the Earth just a little further than do most of us.
To wit: Bezos started in 1994 Amazon.com.
HealthCare.gov Cost Surpasses the $2 Billion Mark; Press Mostly Yawns
September 26th, 2014 10:05 PM
It wasn't that long ago that Obamacare defenders were ridiculing those of us who pointed out that the fully loaded cost of HealthCare.gov would surely top the $1 billion mark.
Well, we were wrong — to be so conservative. The real number is "about" $2.1 billion and counting, according to a Bloomberg report which is mostly being kept out of the non-business press.
Politico's Gerstein: Both Obama, Bush Had 'Zig-Zag' Foreign Policies
September 24th, 2014 9:43 PM
The Politico's Josh Gerstein wants readers not to have a problem with President Barack Obama singing the praises of American exceptionalism when in front of U.S. audiences but deep-sixing it when speaking at the United Nations. Though Obama has almost always avoided actually using the E-word, he has recenlly taken to speaking of this nation's "unique" abilities and capabilities, and for some time…
AP WH Reporter Deletes Absurd Tweet Hyping Obama's Anti-ISIS Coalition
September 23rd, 2014 11:54 PM
Twitter users happening upon a Monday evening tweet by the Associated Press's Josh Lederman can be forgiven if they thought they were visiting a parody account.
Lederman is a White House reporter for the AP. His LinkedIn profile indicates that his journalism career began about three years ago. His education, up to and including "a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s…
Exercise in Fantasy: AP's Ludicrous Story on Davis-Abbott Debate
September 23rd, 2014 9:18 PM
This morning (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), I noted that Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis's awful performance in Friday's debate with Republican aspirant Greg Abbott was predictably ignored by the Politico, the New York Times, and the Associated Press's national site.
The AP did have a story it apparently limited to distribution within Texas. As I also noted this morning,…
Video
NYT, Politico and AP's National Site Ignore Davis's Debate Meltdown
September 23rd, 2014 10:17 AM
The two major-party Texas gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Wendy Davis and Republican Greg Abbott, debated Friday night. I knew it didn't go well for Davis, once a national media darling, when I searched on "Wendy Davis Abbott debate" (not in quotes) and found no coverage of the event at the Associated Press's national web site, the New York Times and the Politico.
Davis, trailing…
Politico Downplays Ohio Dem's Illegal Driving As 'Small Scoop'
September 22nd, 2014 7:08 PM
Politico's Kenneth Vogel and Byron Tau filed a long Friday article moaning about how influential opposition research has become in the conduct of this year's political campaigns. My takeaway is that they really don't like it this time around — not because the money involved has increased, and not because supposedly lax campaign-finance laws have accommodated this increase. No, they're really…
MSNBC.com: Inouye Was 'Advocate for Women,' 'Favorite' of Gillibrand's
September 22nd, 2014 4:10 PM
It turns out the politician who called colleague Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) "chubby" and admonished her not to lose too much weight is none other than the late Sen. Daniel Inouye. So naturally when covering the story, MSNBC.com's Michele Richinick made sure to soften the blow against the late Hawaiian Democrat by tagging him as a longtime "advocate of women."
NYT, AP Ignore Socialists and Far-Leftists in NYC Climate March
September 21st, 2014 11:46 PM
At Tea Party and conservative events, the press routinely seeks out any shred of evidence of far-right extremism, racism or even uncivil behavior exhibited by attendees. If found, it then tries to portray even one or a few such people out of thousands as somehow typical. Rallies in support of liberals' pet causes get a completely different treatment. The press almost invariably ignores rampant…