MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Pleads 'Guilty' to Barney Frank for Media Scru
The Treasury Department oversees the Internal Revenue Service. But if the Secretary of the Treasury - or any other political appointee being considered for the Treasury Department - didn't pay his income payroll taxes, it doesn't matter. That's the message from House Banking Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and he blamed the fourth estate for acting like it does matter. On MSNBC's…
Brits Officials Can't Get Obama Folks on Phone, U.S. Media Not Picking
If the snub of British PM Gordon Brown at the hands of President Obama and his wife weren't enough, now British Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell is saying that Downing Street is finding it "unbelievably difficult" to get hold of officials from Obama's administration. British officials can't seem to ever get past the administration's answer machines as they call here to try and coordinate plans…
Nets Celebrate Obama's 'Whirlwind' and 'Whirling Dervish of Activity
NBC and ABC on Tuesday night marked President Barack Obama's first 50 days -- not by pointing out all his unfilled executive positions, failed nominations or the long wait for the stimulus spending in the “stimulus” bill -- but by heralding his “whirlwind” of action and “whirling dervish of activity,” though both noted criticism that the administration is trying to do too much. “The President's…
CNN's Martin: Women and Blacks Paid Less 'For the Exact Same Job
On CNN's absurdly named Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull program yesterday, network political analyst Roland Martin again tailored his "facts" to support his liberalism. He, former Bush staffer Ron Christie, and CNN political analyst Gloria Borger were discussing Attorney General Eric Holder and his America is "a nation of cowards" speech:MARTIN: Ron, in the Black History Month -- Ron, in the…
ABC Losing Faith in 'Wonky' Tim Geithner
Perhaps signaling media impatience with the Obama administration's economic policy, Tuesday's "Good Morning America" featured a challenging look at the performance of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who the show had previously described as "wonky." Reporter Jake Tapper observed that "to some, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's stock has dropped." Citing the various economic problems that have…
Kernen Asks Buffett: 'You Might Not Have Fixed Global Warming' After D
The U.S. is at war with the failing economy, according to Warren Buffett, who told CNBC viewers that it had "fallen off a cliff."In September 2008, Buffett compared the market turmoil to "an economic Pearl Harbor," and on March 9 he returned to that metaphor in a "Squawk Box" interview that began at 6 a.m. and continued through the 7 and 8 a.m. program hours. Buffett also criticized the…
New York Times: 'Some Conservatives Have Implied' Obama's a Socialist
In The New York Times today appears "The President Is on the Line to Follow Up on Socialism," by Jeff Zeleny. The article's first three paragraphs:Less than 90 minutes after Air Force One landed, the telephone rang. President Obama was on the line, wanting to add one more point to a response he gave during an interview with The New York Times.On a flight from Ohio to Washington on Friday, Mr.…
Tea Parties? What Tea Parties? Predictably, Established Media Coverage
Coverage of "tea party" protests in various cities around the country (this March 4 Pajamas Media press release, HT to FreeRepublic, cited 22 locations on February 27 and seven this weekend) has been sparse to non-existent, especially at major establishment media outlets. Most notably, based on a seach on "tea party" (not in quotes) at its ap.org home page at about 10:00 a.m., there has been no…
Reich: Obama Critics Stoking 'Angry Right-wing Populism
On Friday, NewsBusters asked, "When Will Media Blame Economy and Bear Market on Obama?"Don't expect Bill Clinton's former labor secretary Robert Reich to ever do so, for in an article published at Salon Thursday, the UC-Berkeley professor claimed "every major policy that led to this collapse occurred under George W.'s watch."Not only that, but the man who recently told Congress that jobs created…
CNN's Heidi Collins: Monstrous Spending Bill 'Is a Hold-Over From the
On this morning's CNN Newsroom, anchor Heidi Collins gave Barack Obama some cover by characterizing the omnibus spending bill, larded with thousands of earmarks, as left over from the Bush administration:A controversial $410 billion spending bill hits a snag in the Senate. This is the bill we've been talking about with about $8 billion in earmarks. Republicans and a few Democrats are mad about…
When Will Media Blame Economy and Bear Market on Obama
A consistent media meme since Election Day has been that Barack Obama was inheriting a recession that some believe began as far back as December 2007. Since then, despite various rescue plans from his Administration, and the passage of a $787 billion stimulus package, the stock market has continued to plummet while employers shed payrolls in a fashion rarely seen in history.This all raises an…
GM's Auditor Issues 'Going Concern' Warning; Press Ignores Post-Bailou
An early review of press coverage relating to this morning's warning by General Motors that "there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern" shows no coverage of the reason why, despite $13.4 billion in taxpayer money (NOT counting bailout money going to GMAC), things have gotten so much worse so quickly.The reason is that sales in the two full months since the Bush-…
