Nets Highlighted Newsweek's 15 Point Obama Lead, Yawn When it Plummets
July 12th, 2008 7:48 PM
Three weeks ago when a Newsweek poll put Democrat Barack Obama 15 points ahead of Republican John McCain, the ABC and CBS evening newscasts highlighted the out of sync finding. But when a new Newsweek survey released Friday placed Obama a mere three points in front of McCain, neither ABC's World News nor the CBS Evening News mentioned it on Friday or Saturday night. “A startling new poll,” fill-…
GMA: Hot Dogs Will Take 'Big Bite' Out of Wallets
July 3rd, 2008 1:41 PM
Thursday’s "Good Morning America" used the Fourth of July holiday to exaggerate the effects that food prices are having on consumers. In its "Hitting Home" segment, reporter Sharyn Alfonsi reported on the price increases of certain Fourth of July barbecue staples, claiming that "Americans are gonna eat 110 million pounds hot dogs and that could take a big bite out of their wallets."…
ABC Launches PC Investigation Into Obama 'Sweetie-Gate
May 16th, 2008 3:33 PM
On Friday's "Good Morning America," various ABC reporters fretted about the political implications of Barack Obama referring to a female reporter as "sweetie." GMA co-host Diane Sawyer nervously asked, "When do 'honey,' 'sweetie,' cross the line?" Guest host David Muir introduced an investigation into "the debate over what words we can use and can't use when we're talking to members of opposite…
ABC Showcases Hapless Woman Who Skips Breakfast to Afford Gas
May 13th, 2008 9:09 PM
A week after ABC focused a story on two pitiable Minnesota families living in the dark because higher energy and food prices mean they “can no longer afford to pay for electricity,” Tuesday's World News highlighted the replies from sad case stories solicited on ABCNews.com, starting with a woman who says she must skip breakfast to put $4 a day toward gas. ABC displayed “FEELING THE PAIN” on…
NYT's Friedman in 2006: $100 Oil, Ethanol - Now Causing Food Riots Wor
April 11th, 2008 6:11 PM
ABC’s April 11 “World News with Charles Gibson” is showing they finally get it – ethanol production and high energy costs are causing food shortages worldwide. “[P]rices are rising across Africa, pushed up by the cost of oil and demand for biofuels,” ABC correspondent Jim Sciutto said. “Those biofuels are in fact a large part of the equation,” ABC correspondent David Muir added. “Many…
‘World News’ Leads With Hillary’s Uninsured Pregnant Woman Fib
April 6th, 2008 1:34 PM
On Saturday, NewsBusters asked, "Will Media Pounce on Hillary's Lie About Dead 'Uninsured' Pregnant Woman? Hours later, ABC's "World News" certainly did, actually leading the program with yet another example of how candidate Clinton loves to play fast and loose with the facts when delivering stump speeches. Anchor David Muir began the program:
ABC Touts One-sided, Positive Take on Pregnant 'Man
April 4th, 2008 12:50 PM
On Friday's "Good Morning America," for the second day in a row, and the third time in a little over a week, the ABC program promoted the story of a transgendered man who is having a baby via artificial insemination. At no time did GMA feature any guest to challenge or question the psychological ramifications for a child who was born from a pregnant "father." [Audio available here]During the…
ABC Eager to Sound 'Stagflation' Warnings
February 27th, 2008 6:47 PM
Nothing like the cheery decade of the 1970s - disco dancing, "Animal House," Farrah Fawcett and the buzz word reincarnated by the media - stagflation. After a disappointing spike in inflation, the producer price index (PPI), by 1.0 percent in January, and a rise in core inflation (with food and energy costs excluded), rising 0.4 percent on Tuesday, the media have deemed it necessary to sound…
Media Coverage Gives Recession 4:1 Odds
January 16th, 2008 3:43 PM
In spite of recent polls of economists by leading financial publications predicting a less than 50-percent chance the U.S. economy will enter a recession in 2008, the media's coverage of "recession" since the beginning of the year makes it seem inevitable.ABC, CBS and NBC reported "more signs of a looming recession," "deepening troubles," "new fuel for recession fears," "rattled consumers," "an…