NBC, ABC Skip Skepticism of Obama as Video Shows Captive Sailors

Despite dramatic video of U.S. sailors with guns near their heads, the journalists at NBC and ABC failed to question the incident's handling by the Obama administration. Only CBS This Morning’s David Martin contrasted, “Although administration officials publicly described it as a rescue at sea, video released by Iran made it look like the American sailors had been captured.”
Scott Whitlock
January 14th, 2016 12:30 PM

Blogger Kevin Drum: ‘I'm Sick of Conservatives Being Such Babies’

Bing West was a Marine infantry officer in the Vietnam war and a frequent embedded reporter in Iraq, yet Drum likens him to a tantrum-throwing kid and lectures him, “It's time to grow up, Bing.” (West is 75 years old.) After West commented, “The lesson of Iraq is that after American troops achieved stability, Mr. Obama quit, leading to a larger war and more American deaths,” Drum vented, “Jesus…
Tom Johnson
January 14th, 2016 11:25 AM

NBC's 'Laura' Feels that Human Rights Almost as Important as a Lion's

Apparently stymied by the lack of real crime taking place in New York City, NBC’s The Mysteries of Laura resorted to incorporating the fake-crime, look-at-me, I’m-feeling-something-now antics of animal rights activists in Wednesday night’s episode.
Dylan Gwinn
January 14th, 2016 10:25 AM

Ed Schultz Nabs Nightly Show on Kremlin-Backed Cable Channel

The obvious joke is it's a lateral move from Air America radio and MSNBC to a Kremlin-backed show for Russia Today. CNN's Dylan Byers reports Schultz will host the simply titled News with Ed Schultz at 8 p.m. weeknights, where he will "focus on exploring issues that most affect working Americans, particularly within the context of the upcoming US presidential election," according to a press…
Tim Graham
January 14th, 2016 10:02 AM

CNN's Cuomo Gloats Ted Cruz 'Hoisted on His Petard' with Birtherism

On Thursday's New Day on CNN, during a discussion of whether GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz being born in Canada is responsible for hurting his Iowa poll numbers since last month, CNN co-anchor Chris Cuomo at one point gloated that the Texas Senator has been a "divider" who is being "hoisted on his own petard."
Brad Wilmouth
January 14th, 2016 9:57 AM

NY Times Finally Finds ‘Terrorists’ in Israel: Jewish Ones

The New York Times has long maintained a gross double standard of coverage when it comes to Israel’s security. Palestinian terrorists who target Jewish civilians are rarely if ever described as terrorists. Even violently anti-Israel groups like Hamas are at worst “militants” in the Times, or even noted for their “roots in charity.” The ultimate Palestinian terrorist, PLO leader Yassir Arafat, was…
Clay Waters
January 14th, 2016 8:18 AM

Nets Censor FBI Stating Cop Ambush Is Being Investigated as Terrorism

The “big three” networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC neglected to inform their viewers on Wednesday night that FBI Director James Comey announced earlier in the day that his agency is investigating the attempted execution of a Philadelphia police officer on January 7 by a convert to Islam as terrorism. Comey explained that his agency is “investigating that as a terrorist attack, and trying to understand…
Curtis Houck
January 14th, 2016 2:16 AM

MSNBC Guest: ‘Nothing Alarming’ in Video of Iran Holding Sailors

Discussing Iran’s seizure of 10 U.S. Sailors (and release) on Wednesday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Last Word, former UK Ministry of Defense official and foreign affairs correspondent Michael Kay declared that there was “nothing alarming” and instead “standard protocol” taking place in the video released by Iranian state TV of the nine men and one woman being boarded and held for one day.
Curtis Houck
January 14th, 2016 12:20 AM

AP Mystified by World Markets' Dive, With 'Economies on the Mend'

It would appear that Yuri Kageyama at the Associated Press has fallen into the trap of believing the rubbish her employer and much of the rest of the world's press has been pushing about how the world's economies really aren't performing all that poorly, that this "new normal" world isn't all that bad, and what we are seeing is all we have a right to expect. You see, Kageyama doesn't understand…
Tom Blumer
January 13th, 2016 11:58 PM

Chris Matthews Smears MSNBC Colleague Steve Schmidt as a Warmonger

GOP political strategist Steve Schmidt has taken considerable flak from conservatives for occasional Republican-In-Name-Only tendencies, but he held his ground well after taking a gratuitous shot across the bow from Chris Matthews. With Matthews and Rachel Maddow acting as anchors in covering last night's State of the Union address, Schmidt was one of three MSNBC commentators, along with Chris…
Jack Coleman
January 13th, 2016 10:42 PM

ABC, NBC Punt on Al Jazeera America Shutting Down, GE Moving HQs

On Wednesday, ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News neglected to cover two separate stories on the business and news media fronts as Al Jazeera America announced that it will cease operations while General Electric made clear that it will move its headquarters to Boston after 41 years in Connecticut because of high taxes. In contrast, the CBS Evening News offered dual news briefs on both…
Curtis Houck
January 13th, 2016 9:16 PM

MSNBC's Matthews More Upset at GOP Than Iranians for Capturing Sailors

MSNBC host Chris Matthews apparently is incensed at Republican outrage over the Islamic Republic of Iran's capture of 10 U.S. Navy sailors. In his mind, they need to chill out. They sounded as though we'd never get our boys (and girl) back, he harumphed.
Ken Shepherd
January 13th, 2016 8:32 PM

'WADR' Gets MSM 'Blowback' for Reporting Chelsea's Attack on Sanders

Yesterday, we noted With All Due Respect's report on Chelsea Clinton's absurd attack on Bernie Sanders, in which Chelsea claimed Sanders would "strip millions and millions and millions of people of their health insurance." John Heilemann rightly called Chelsea's line a "lie." Today, Heilemann reported that he and co-host Mark Halperin have received "a lot of blowback," i.e. criticism, from fellow…
Mark Finkelstein
January 13th, 2016 7:29 PM

NY Times: Iran's Release of Sailors 'a Sign of Warmer Relations'

Iran's increasing belligerence towards the United States in the wake of — or, more accurately, as a result of — the so-called nuclear "deal" between the two countries is unmistakable, as is the Obama's willingness — no, make that eagerness — to kowtow before that rogue regime. Thus, the facade created at the New York Times by reporters Thomas Erdbrink and Helene Cooper after Iran released ten U.…
Tom Blumer
January 13th, 2016 6:10 PM