In Fawning Virtual Press Release, AP Avoids Calling John Edwards a Dem

In the annals of fawning coverage of scandal-plagued Democrats, Michael Biesecker's Saturday morning report on John Edwards's illness and its effect on his upcoming trail on campaign finance violations surely must be among the worst. Biesecker missed at least a half-dozen natural opportunities to tag Edwards as a Democrat, finally doing so in cryptic fashion in his 15th of 17 paragraphs. He…
Tom Blumer
January 16th, 2012 11:58 AM

Video: NB Publisher Brent Bozell Hits the Media's 'Purposeful Characte

While the news media has a professional "obligation to get it right," liberal network news anchor last week set out to "purposefully" take Mitt Romney's "fire people" comment out of context, Fox News host Sean Hannity complained on his January 13 program. But it's not only "purposeful distortion" but "purposeful character assassination" by the liberal media added NewsBusters publisher Brent…
NB Staff
January 16th, 2012 11:08 AM

NBC's 'Today' Touts Colbert Spoof Calling Mitt Romney a Serial Killer

At the top of the 8 a.m. ET hour of NBC's Today on Monday, fill-in news anchor Tamron Hall promoted a fake campaign attack ad created by comedian Stephen Colbert which argues that if Mitt Romney believes corporations are people, "Then Mitt Romney is a serial killer. He's Mitt the Ripper." The ad follows with a woman screaming. [Audio available here] Hall explained to viewers: "Colbert is…
Kyle Drennen
January 16th, 2012 10:27 AM

NYT Public Editor Responds to Koch Industries, Laments Paper's One-Sid

There was a fascinating exchange last week between Melissa Cohlmia, spokesman for Koch Industries, and New York Times public editor (or ombudsman) Arthur Brisbane. Koch Industries, which engages in arts philanthropy and conservative-libertarian causes, is a target of obsession and hostility both by left-wingers and reporters and writers for the New York Times, as Times Watch has shown. While…
Clay Waters
January 16th, 2012 9:59 AM

Schieffer Warns Viewers DeMint is ‘South Carolina’s Very Conservat

CBS’s Bob Schieffer decided his viewers needed a special warning about how far out of the mainstream an upcoming guest dwells, plugging at the top of Sunday’s Face the Nation how he’d have as guests Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich – and then: “for context on how it’s going, we’ll bring in South Carolina’s very conservative Senator, Jim DeMint.”
Brent Baker
January 16th, 2012 9:15 AM

Russell Simmons and Dylan Ratigan: War on Drugs Is a Racist Conspiracy

Hip-hop millionaire Russell Simmons and MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan aren't only outspoken supporters of the Occupy movement. On the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the pair published an article at the Huffington Post claiming that our decades-old war on drugs is a racist conspiracy designed to unfairly incarcerate blacks to profit government agencies and corporate America:
Noel Sheppard
January 16th, 2012 9:10 AM

Morning Joe: In Rejecting Huntsman, Republicans 'Turned Their Back' On

Tuning in Morning Joe today, I half expected to discover on the set some professional mourners imported from North Korea, keening and crying over the political demise of Jon Huntsman. Huntsman had had the Morning Joe crowd from hello.  The overwhelming winner of the bien-pensant MSM primary was amazingly popular—except with actual Republican voters, who didn't dig his moderate positioning…
Mark Finkelstein
January 16th, 2012 7:21 AM

NPR Host Smears Romney As 'Michael Vick of Presidential Candidates

On Saturday, the NPR-distributed show On The Media recycled “The Story That Continues to Dog Romney" – a 1983 anecdote where Mitt Romney strapped his Irish setter Seamus to the top of his car in a carrier on a trip to Canada. Somehow, On The Media host Bob Garfield found it wry to compare Romney to Michael Vick, the NFL quarterback who pled guilty to hanging or drowning six to eight dogs. “So…
Tim Graham
January 15th, 2012 10:19 PM

Ex-NYT's Frank Rich Defends Obama Foreign Policy, Believes Should Be R

On the Monday, January 9, Imus in the Morning, as he was interviewed by phone, New York magazine's Frank Rich - formerly of the New York Times - argued that he believes President Obama should be reelected, and seemed befuddled when host Don Imus, who plans to vote for Mitt Romney, asserted that Obama's foreign policy has been "disastrous." The liberal columnist then tried to give President…
Brad Wilmouth
January 15th, 2012 9:55 PM

Madonna Slams Ricky Gervais: 'I Haven't Kissed a Girl in a Few Years

While introducing Madonna at Sunday’s Golden Globes, controversial host Ricky Gervais mocked her as being “just like a virgin.” Madonna quickly struck back saying, “If I’m still just like a virgin, Ricky, then why don’t you come over here and do something about it? I haven’t kissed a girl in a few years – on TV” (video follows):
Noel Sheppard
January 15th, 2012 9:44 PM

Advisory Board: LightSquared, GPS Can't Coexist; Bland News Stories Av

On Friday, two Deputy Secretaries, one at the Department of Transportation and the other at Defense, in their capacities as co-chairs of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Executive Committee, released a one page letter concluding that the modified broadband deployment plan of LightSquared could not coexist with current GPS devices and their spectrum. That's…
Tom Blumer
January 15th, 2012 8:50 PM

Newsweek Cover Story: 'Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb

It seems almost impossible to believe, but the upcoming issue of Newsweek has a cover story entitled "Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?" If you think we're kidding, the following picture was tweeted by @Newsweek three hours ago:
Noel Sheppard
January 15th, 2012 8:05 PM

Gregory Tells Reid 'Democrats Haven't Put Together a Budget in a Year

The lack of current events knowledge demonstrated by today's anchors and political commentators is often breathtaking. On Sunday's Meet the Press, host David Gregory actually told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), "Democrats haven't put together a budget in a year." Actually, it's been almost three years (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Noel Sheppard
January 15th, 2012 5:59 PM

FNC's Rivera Slams Romney as 'Hypocrite' & 'Most Virulent Anti-Illegal

As he appeared on Friday's The O'Reilly Factor, FNC's Geraldo Rivera complained that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney never mentions that his father, George Romney, was born in Mexico while campaigning as the "most virulent anti-illegal immigration person ever," and ended up calling the former Massachusetts governor a "hypocrite." (Video below)  
Brad Wilmouth
January 15th, 2012 5:56 PM