Networks Hype 'Bombshell:' Christie 'Thrown Under Bus'; Spotlight Call

The Big Three networks' evening newscasts on Friday jumped on the latest development in the traffic scandal surrounding Chris Christie. NBC and CBS both led with the accusation from the former Christie appointee, who claims that the New Jersey governor knew more about the lane closures than he previously asserted. CBS's Scott Pelley trumpeted how "Chris Christie just got thrown under the bus in…
Matthew Balan
January 31st, 2014 10:58 PM

Another Obamacare Horror Story Which Won't Get Further Than Local News

I suspect that more than a few readers have noticed, with likely little surprise, that there hasn't been a lot of national establishment press attention paid to how Obamacare has been working out in the real world since it officially went into effect on January 1. Non-existent HealthCare.gov security? Who cares? Patients turned away from emergency rooms voluntarily (because they don't want to…
Tom Blumer
January 31st, 2014 8:32 PM

NPR Exalts Waxman, Gives Him Platform to Bash Tea Party; Lets Liberal

NPR's resident ObamaCare booster, Julie Rovner, lionized outgoing liberal Congressman Henry Waxman on Friday's Morning Edition. Rovner trumpeted how "during his 40 years in the House, he focused on passing legislation – lots of legislation – the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Orphan Drug Act, nutrition labels, food safety, and the Affordable Care Act. Waxman played a major role in all…
Matthew Balan
January 31st, 2014 6:38 PM

Daily Texan Student Reporter Uses 'Pro-abortion' Label in Story; Edito

A reporter for The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas, got it right when calling abortion supporters what they are – “pro-abortion” – five times in an article about a counter-demonstration held during the annual pro-life Texas Rally for Life on January 24. The term even made the article’s headline. [see below page break for image]
Jill Stanek
January 31st, 2014 6:28 PM

New Poll: MSNBC Ranks Low in 'Trust List'; Fox News Comes in First Aga

For the past five years, the left-wing Public Policy Polling organization has asked a sample of TV viewers which news outlets they trust the most and the ones they believe the least. This year's version resulted in a low finish for MSNBC, far behind the Fox News Channel, which has topped the list ever since the annual poll got underway. This year's numbers show that 35 percent trusted the…
Randy Hall
January 31st, 2014 5:57 PM

Press Nearly Mum As VW Displaces GM As World's Number Two Automaker

In yet another negative milestone for the bailouts that supposedly saved the U.S. auto industry — already a hard-to-handle claim given that Chrysler, one of the two beneficiaries, is now 100% owned by an Italian company — Volkswagen has surpassed General Motors as the world's number two automaker behind Toyota. The reporting on this development has been quite sparse. It's not news at the…
Tom Blumer
January 31st, 2014 4:58 PM

NBC Edits Democratic Atlanta Mayor Out of Snowstorm Controversy, Blame

At the top of Thursday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams proclaimed that "the [Republican] governor of Georgia [Nathan Deal] chose to fall on his snow shovel" over how Tuesday's rare southern snowstorm "was handled, or better yet, mishandled" in the state. However, the coverage that followed failed to mention Atlanta's Democratic Mayor Kasim Reed by name even once. [Listen to the audio…
Kyle Drennen
January 31st, 2014 4:26 PM

Jake Tapper Asks Obama If He Was 'Naive' Back In

In an interview that aired on Friday, CNN's Jake Tapper asked President Obama if he was "naive" back in 2008 when he bragged that his presidency would be remembered as when "the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." "Do you think you were naive back then, or have you recalibrated your expectations and your ambitions?" Tapper pressed Obama. [Video below the break.…
Matt Hadro
January 31st, 2014 4:08 PM

Daily Beast Shouts Hallelujah Over 'Bible-Thumpers' Oscar Fail

Yesterday my colleague Scott Whitlock noted how the CBS This Morning program had sidestepped a controversy in Hollywood regarding the revocation of an Oscar nomination for a song featured in a Christian-produced motion picture titled Alone Yet Not Alone. Academy officials charge it was improperly promoted But apparently not every liberal media outlet is ignoring the story. Some, like the…
Ken Shepherd
January 31st, 2014 3:48 PM

Business Press Notes Increased Consumption in Govt. Report, Ignores Se

The Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters all focused on the supposedly positive news of increased consumption reported in today's "Personal Income and Outlays" release from the government's Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the process, two of the three ignored a particulary dreadful statistic about disposable income, while the third (Bloomberg) misinterpreted its meaning. The dire statistic…
Tom Blumer
January 31st, 2014 3:12 PM

PBS’s Ifill: Can GOP Be Viable When Tea Party Is ‘Party of Opposit

On Thursday’s PBS NewsHour, anchor Gwen Ifill fed the tired old stereotype that the Tea Party ruins everything. [Video below the break. MP3 audio here.] During a discussion about the nation’s political outlook for the coming year, Ifill posed this question to The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson:
Paul Bremmer
January 31st, 2014 2:32 PM

Pro-Life Leaders Slam Nets on March for Life Coverage

One week later, and the networks have long forgotten about their scant coverage of the March for Life – after all, they have a whole year before they have to ignore it again. The pro-life movement, however, has forgotten neither the March nor the unserious and insulting way the broadcast networks reported on it – or didn’t.  As CMI reported last week, ABC and NBC gave just 46 seconds of air…
Katie Yoder
January 31st, 2014 2:10 PM

MSNBC Tags Liberal Republican Party Defector as 'Conservative,' But Sh

On Thursday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, substitute host Ari Melber tried to hype former Nevada Lieutenant Governor Sue Wagner, who left office almost 20 years ago, as a "conservative" who recently left the Republican Party because of the Tea Party. But, as she appeared as a guest, Wagner quickly identified herself as having been "somewhat liberal my entire life," and…
Brad Wilmouth
January 31st, 2014 1:50 PM

Low Class MSNBC: Tasteless Ronan Farrow Compares War Hero's Struggles

What is wrong with the hosts at MSNBC? Ronan Farrow, who will begin anchoring a network program on February 24, made a tasteless joke on Tuesday night, comparing war hero Cory Remsburg's struggles to that of politicians in Congress. Farrow tweeted, "Cory 'struggles on the left side.' Congress relates.'" During the State of the Union, Barack Obama movingly recounted the difficulties of the 30-…
Scott Whitlock
January 31st, 2014 12:25 PM