AP's Bauer Continues to Claim That Wis. Legislation Would 'Eliminate C

From all appearances, the Associated Press's Scott Bauer has a story, and he's sticking to it -- never mind the facts. On February 17 (covered at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), in an item which mostly told readers that pending legislation would "eliminate collective-bargaining rights," Bauer let a kernel of truth slip into his second-last of nearly 40 paragraphs: Unions still could represent…

You Read It Here, First: Noteworthy Media Coverage of NewsBusters’ I

Tuesday’s NewsBusters’ piece documenting the broadcast networks’ incredible double standard on protests — how reporters zeroed in on inflammatory signs to try and discredit the Tea Party while ignoring similar or worse signs at the left-wing union protests in Wisconsin — garnered national media attention. On Tuesday evening, nationally-syndicated radio host Mark Levin cited the NewsBusters’…

'Power' More Important Than 'Purity' in Complying With Law, Ed Schultz

Ed Schultz is a firm believer in the law. Most of the time. On his radio show yesterday, Schultz demonstrated how he's willing to be flexible when it comes to legalities, especially if it helps those sharing his politics. Schultz was talking with Democratic state senator Jon Erpenbach, one of the so-called "Wisconsin 14" who have fled the state to avoid voting on what they consider union-…

NBC Jumps on Prank Call to Scott Walker, But Ignored Video Sting of Pl

While NBC was quick to cover a prank phone call to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker by a left-wing website on Wednesday, it did not give one word of reporting to a video sting earlier this month that showed Planned Parenthood employees agreeing to abortions for hypothetical underage girls involved in sex trafficking. Wednesday's NBC Nightly News featured a report by correspondent Michael…

Media Mash: Wis. Protest Edition; Bozell and Hannity Analyze Media's B

"It's like they have the same writer!" Fox News' Sean Hannity marveled after watching a montage of liberal journalists comparing the labor union protests in Madison, Wisconsin, with the anti-Mubarak demonstrations weeks ago in Cairo. "Sean, this is really goofy. These reporters should be embarrassed," NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell agreed on last night's "Hannity." "If you want to find…

NYT's Paul Krugman, Inspired By Leftist Paranoia, Sees 'Shock Doctrine

Paul Krugman’s New York Times column for Friday, “Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.,” used for both headline and text fodder a book of far-left paranoid propaganda by Naomi Klein to push Krugman’s pet idea: That Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker is trying to make a “power grab” in order “to destroy the last major counterweight to the political power of corporations and the wealthy.” Here’s a…

NBC and CBS Tout Prank Call on Gov. Walker as 'Evidence' He Wants to

On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, correspondent Michael Isikoff claimed a prank phone call on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker "provided his critics with evidence that his real motivation is what they've been saying all along, to crush public unions." On Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Erica Hill declared the "embarrassing" call revealed Walker's "plan for putting pressure on the big unions…

Networks Stand with Wisconsin Unions, Ignore $1-3 Trillion Pension Def

For roughly a week, a battle has been raging in Madison, Wis. Evening news programs on the three broadcast networks framed these as "citizen uprisings" over pay cuts and "eliminating unions' collective bargaining powers to negotiate wages and benefits." Reporters also portrayed this as a national union issue, but mostly failed to point out the national problem of pension underfunding…

Proposed Wisc. Voter ID Law Would Make Registering to Vote 'Really Har

Curse those wascally Wepublicans in Wisconsin, you'll never believe what they're up to now. Bad enough for the Badger State GOP to abet Gov. Scott Walker in his nefarious scheme to prevent public-sector unions from bankrupting the state. Worse, they are hatching even more diabolical plots while Dem state senators continue their courageous evasion of the law to avoid voting on Walker's…

Irony: Lefty HuffPo Becomes Target of Union Wrath

Being consistently pro-union puts one in an awkward position when unions start making some very inconvenient demands. The Huffington Post is learning that lesson the hard way. On the heels of AOL's $315 million HuffPo buyout - the largest such acquisition in the blogosphere's short history - the Newspaper Guild said the following in a letter to Arianna Huffington (h/t Joe Pompeo): As we…

MSNBC's Brzezinski Hits Gov. Walker From Left, Wonders Why He's Not Ra

"Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski and regular guest John Heilemann both pulled the class warfare card and pressured Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) Tuesday on why he did not raise taxes on the wealthy to cover the state's budget shortfall, rather than pushing to require union members pay into their pensions. "You're receiving a lot of criticism for only asking the other side to give,…

Bob Schieffer Wonders if Union Protests Make Wisconsin 'The Tunisia of

On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, host Bob Schieffer interviewed Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan and compared union protests in that state to the democracy movements spreading across the Middle East: "There are also reports that this could spread to at least nine other states....Is Madison, Wisconsin, Congressman, the Tunisia of American politics now?" At the top of the…

ICYMI: MRC's Graham Discussing Wisconsin Protest Bias on Feb. 21 'Your

The liberal media have virtually ignored the scandal of medical doctors handing out fraudulent sick notes to labor union protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, NewsBusters senior editor Tim Graham noted on yesterday's "Your World with Neil Cavuto." What's more, while the media have been quick to portray Wisconsin public sector employees as victims, media outlets have ignored the perspective of…

Carl Bernstein Rips Gov. Walker for 'Demagogic' Stand Against Collecti

On MSNBC's "Jansing & Co." Tuesday, liberal journalist Carl Bernstein criticized the continued stance of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) against the right of public unions to collectively bargain. The liberal Watergate journalistic "legend" labeled the governor's efforts as "ahistorical" and "demagogic." When the governor cut into benefits and pensions of state employees to solve a…