Scott Pelley: CBS Evening News 'An Island of Calm in a Sea of Absurdit

CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley comes across as a very serious, stoic person. This seemed hardly the case in his Wednesday interview with the Hollywood Reporter when he uttered this howler concerning his program's coverage of last year's presidential campaign: "I think the viewer saw us as an island of calm in a sea of absurdity."
Noel Sheppard
April 10th, 2013 3:59 PM

Piers Morgan Invokes Texas College Stabbing to Champion Gun Laws

CNN's Piers Morgan used the stabbing of 14 people at Lone Star College on Tuesday to argue that gun laws prevented what could have been a massacre. On Tuesday's Piers Morgan Live, Morgan hosted two students from the college who said they could have prevented the stabbing had they been allowed to carry guns; he replied that that would create "total Wild West madness" and argued that gun laws…
Matt Hadro
April 10th, 2013 2:59 PM

NY Times Critic Happy Country Music Finally Shedding Its Conservatism

Music critic Jon Caramanica reviewed country star Brad Paisley's latest album "Wheelhouse," in "Taking Country Less Conservative" for the Arts section of Wednesday's New York Times. Caramanica gave Paisley backhanded compliments for "openmindedness" while insulting the genre of country music as rigidly conservative (Caramanica has previously given backhanded praised to country music itself, for…
Clay Waters
April 10th, 2013 2:30 PM

No Escape: 'Serious' NYT Weiner Profile Includes Hilarious Joke

There is just no escape from the Weiner jokes. Apparently former congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, granted the New York Times Magazine a long interview with the intent of preparing the public for a new post-tweet exposure scandal campaign for public office, most likely for New York mayor. However, if Weiner  thought he could put the scandal, and the jokes, behind him he…
P.J. Gladnick
April 10th, 2013 1:31 PM

MSNBC’s Finney Pushes Democratic Talking Points on Budget

Karen Finney’s days as a Democratic National Committee spokeswoman are over, but you would never know that by listening to her speak in her current role as MSNBC contributor. On Saturday’s Weekends with Alex Witt, Finney essentially reprised her role as DNC press secretary during a discussion with former Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) about President Obama’s proposed budget. Host Alex Witt asked…
Paul Bremmer
April 10th, 2013 1:29 PM

NBC: With 'Provocative Move' to Oppose Gun Restrictions, GOP 'Sensing

On the eve of a proposed deal on a limited expansion of background checks for guy buyers, Tuesday's NBC Nightly News went after Republicans for opposing gun restrictions, with Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O'Donnell proclaiming: "In a provocative move, more than a dozen Republicans are threatening to use Senate rules to block a vote on new gun restrictions....Sensing public disdain, a rift…
Kyle Drennen
April 10th, 2013 12:45 PM

Like in Chicago? CNN's Amanpour Says Stricter Gun Laws Equals Less Gun

On Tuesday's Piers Morgan Live, CNN's Christiane Amanpour claimed that states with strict gun laws have "lower gun crime" and argued for more gun control. By citing "states" she ignored cities like Chicago, which has strict gun laws along with alarming homicide numbers. "The fact of the matter is that in states inside the United States where there are tougher gun laws, there is lower gun…
Matt Hadro
April 10th, 2013 12:33 PM

ABC Insists Gun Bill Is a 'Significant' 'Major Breakthrough,' But NBC

The journalists at Good Morning America on Wednesday could barely contain themselves, hailing the compromise over gun control legislation as a "major," "big, significant breakthrough." Guest host Elizabeth Vargas marveled, "Boy, is that big news." Yet, the reporters on NBC offered less effusive coverage. Today's Kristen Welker conceded, "Democrats had been hoping for background checks to be…
Scott Whitlock
April 10th, 2013 12:19 PM

Bloomberg Contributor Urges Government Regulation, Ownership of Broadb

“We need to recapture the regulatory ideal. That ideal is that regulation of infrastructure, government intervention, makes free markets and free speech possible.” Susan Crawford said at the National Conference for Media Reform. The gathering of left-wing media activists and media ran from April 5-7 in Denver. The group Free Press, which sponsored the conference, has received over $1.6 million…
Mike Ciandella
April 10th, 2013 11:58 AM

Lindsay Lohan Drinks From Letterman’s Coffee Mug: ‘I Thought This

Lindsay Lohan appeared on the CBS Late Show Tuesday and besides being rather contrite was also willing to joke about her problems as well as her next stint in rehab. At one point she took a drink out of host David Letterman’s coffee mug and said, “I thought this was going to be vodka.”
Noel Sheppard
April 10th, 2013 11:11 AM

Do Your Part to Help Save NewsBusted

Liberals absolutely hate being mocked. They love to ridicule and deride people who think differently from them but they can't stand it when they are the target. But NewsBusters's own comedy show, NewsBusted, is the one comedy show where socialism isn't worshiped and where American values aren't derided. A place where, for once, the joke writers weren't afraid to serve up the ridicule that…
NB Staff
April 10th, 2013 11:06 AM

FDA Still Says BPA OK; Networks Continue Criticism

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its public statement on bisphenol A, a chemical commonly found in some plastics as well as can linings, in March 2013. The FDA’s “current perspective on BPA” is that the chemical is “safe” at the exposure levels from product packaging. Their position is based on “hundreds of studies including the latest findings from new studies initiated by the…
Julia A. Seymour
April 10th, 2013 11:00 AM

Five States to Tax Guns, Three Networks Silent

On April 8, President Obama spoke yet again on the issue of gun violence in Connecticut, only an hour away from the Newtown massacre. NBC, ABC, and CBS all ran stories on this speech. While the media have continually attacked the gun industry and promoted stricter gun control than even the administration, they conveniently ignored new tax plans being implemented and proposed in five different…
Liz Thatcher
April 10th, 2013 10:16 AM

AP's 'Big Stories' About Gosnell Don't Use 'Abortion' Keyword Tag

In online journalism, blogs and related endeavors, a "tag" is a " keyword or term" which "helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching." At the Associated Press, aka the Administration's Press, it appears that "tag" has been redefined as "a keyword or term selectively used to ensure that only certain items will come in in future searches." Let's take a look…
Tom Blumer
April 10th, 2013 9:47 AM