Critics Saluted Media Slams on Bush During Katrina Crisis; What About

The last time a major disaster threatened the U.S. Gulf Coast, journalists dropped any pretense of objectivity and openly scorned what they saw as the ineffective response of the Bush administration to Hurricane Katrina. And top media writers found it just wonderful that the press was taking a side, with New York Times’ critic Alessandra Stanley saluting “a rare sense of righteous indignation by…
Rich Noyes
May 1st, 2010 11:11 AM

Open Thread

NB Staff
May 1st, 2010 10:53 AM

New York Times Criticizes Obama's Slow Response To Gulf Oil Spill

On Friday, NewsBusters asked when media would start pointing fingers at the Obama administration for its slow response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.On Saturday, we got our answer as the New York Times published an editorial pointing a finger straight at Barack Obama.This came comically less than 24 hours after Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote about how absurd such an accusation would…
Noel Sheppard
May 1st, 2010 10:18 AM

Bozell Column: Superheroes and Slashers

When we think of comic-book superheroes, most of us who grew up in the last century think of mild-mannered reporters, or perhaps urbane millionaires with a secret identity, who fight crime heroically. They collar the bad guys and deliver them to justice. Even the supervillains they’d fight always seemed to escape so they could resurface in a later issue, and the struggle of Good vs. Evil…
Brent Bozell
May 1st, 2010 9:36 AM

Newsweek Tries to Sell Hillary and Obama as...Starsky and Hutch

Newsweek will go to some pretty silly lengths to paint Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as no liberal hippies on foreign policy. Their cover story promoted Hillary as "Obama's Bad Cop" and a "steely messenger." The cover story by Michael Hirsh went further, comparing Hillary and Obama to the 1970s TV buddy cops "Starsky and Hutch."Hirsh began at the Copenhagen global-warming summit, which most…
Tim Graham
May 1st, 2010 8:14 AM

Bill Maher: 'Why Isn’t Barack Obama Getting More S--t For This' Oil

HBO's Bill Maher on Friday asked an extraordinary question of his guest panel: "Why isn't Barack Obama getting more s--t' for the oil spill in the Gulf?Almost as surprising, the studio audience applauded after the "Real Time" host said this. "Okay, so I mentioned in the monologue I'm a little mad this week," Maher began after introducing his guests.  "I'm mad at the oil company who didn't…
Noel Sheppard
May 1st, 2010 4:20 AM

John Bolton After Maher's Audience Applauds Him: 'You Let Republicans

Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton had one of the best lines on Friday's "Real Time" when after he got some scattered applause from the typically liberal audience in attendance, he said to Bill Maher, "You let Republicans in."As the subject turned to America's military operations abroad, the HBO host told his guest, "You can't really believe that radical Muslim terrorists...need…
Noel Sheppard
May 1st, 2010 3:15 AM

Bill Maher Calls Rush Limbaugh 'The Louis Farrakhan of White People

Bill Maher Friday went on quite a little rant about conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.During the opening monologue of HBO's "Real Time," Maher mocked something Limbaugh mentioned on his show about the leaking oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico possibly having been attacked by environmentalists."That's right, a secret team of hippie frogmen snuck on board an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico and…
Noel Sheppard
May 1st, 2010 1:06 AM

NBC's Meredith Vieira Says 'Oh S--t' On Today Show

"Today" show co-host Meredith Vieira said "Oh s--t" Friday while in a simulator demonstrating the dangers of texting while driving.In an interesting segment about Distractology 101, a mobile classroom and driving simulator developed by Arabella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation to teach teenagers the risks associated with being behind the wheel of a car while using a cell phone, sending a…
Noel Sheppard
April 30th, 2010 10:09 PM

Ed Schultz, Criticizing Fox, Displays Odd Inability to Distinguish New

One of my favorite scenes from the eponymous Mary Tyler Moore sitcom of the '70s -- doofus anchorman Ted Baxter is on the air when producer Mary Richards rushs into the studio with breaking news.Baxter sees Richards from the corner of his eye as she waves the bulletin to get his attention. Laughing nervously, Baxter says, Can't you see I'm on the air, Mary?Richards hands the bulletin to Baxter…
Jack Coleman
April 30th, 2010 8:47 PM

CNN Finally Follows Through on CAIR 'Hate Plate' Theory; Driver Now Ra

On Friday's Rick's List, CNN's Rick Sanchez revisited a story he did on Tuesday where he forwarded Islamic group CAIR's publicity stunt about a Virginia license plate that apparently contained racist messages. The Washington Post, as well, updated their story on Friday, pointing to the driver's apparent Facebook page, which contained white supremacist messages, but CNN was unable to confirm their…
Matthew Balan
April 30th, 2010 6:51 PM

RFK Jr. Attacks Bush, Oil Industry for ‘Wild West’ Drilling, Gulf

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must be having trouble remembering who is president these days. Kennedy spent much of his April 30 CNN interview attacking the previous administration for last week's Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster and subsequent oil spill.  In an appearance on "Rick's List," Kennedy opined that as a nation "we should be moving away from our deadly addiction to oil. Not only because of…
Julia A. Seymour
April 30th, 2010 6:07 PM

MSNBC Suggests Guns in Church 'Crossing the Line'; Omits Fact Armed Ch

Updated with audio and video (18:25 EDT)Picking up on a story from Louisiana about a bill to allow concealed carry for firearms in houses of worship, MSNBC's Tamron Hall asked viewers of the network's live coverage shortly before 3 p.m. EDT today if the legislation was "Crossing the Line."True to the segment's formula, only one side of the controversy was represented in the form of a guest to…
Ken Shepherd
April 30th, 2010 5:47 PM

Again, N.Y. Times Highlights 'Dozens' of Pro-Amnesty Protesters -- But

One day after the New York Times hailed a grand total of four protesters of immigration enforcement, another tiny left-wing protest of “dozens” against Arizona’s new immigration law made The New York Times on Friday -- outside a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Reporters Monica Davey and Michael S. Schmidt never used a liberal label for the protesters, even as they cited organizer Leone Jose…
Tim Graham
April 30th, 2010 5:42 PM