Latest Blogs
CJR Worries Conservative Health Care Ideas Might 'Seep' into Coverage
Journalists, consider yourselves warned. Columbia Journalism Review worries government-run health care might not come to pass; indeed, ideas for consumer-driven health care could "seep" into media coverage. CJR's Trudy Lieberman announced it was "ominous news" that a government health insurance plan might be delayed: "Ezra Klein over at The American Prospect’s blog was right on point last week…
Eleanor Clift: Wright Had 'Prophetic Theology', Rick Warren 'Extremely
Rev. Jeremiah Wright was a voice crying in the wilderness that the mainstream media and middle class America weren't quite ready for and megachurch pastor Rick Warren is an ignorant evangelical rube who isn't totally without hope, given his awareness of AIDS and other favored liberal causes. That's essentially what Eleanor Clift preached to her choir in her December 19 "Capitol Letter" column, "…
He's Thrilled: MSNBC's Chris Matthews Wins MRC’s 'Quote of the Year
The Media Research Center today announced its Best Notable Quotables of 2008: The 21st Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews "won" the dubious honor of Quote of the Year for gushing over a Barack Obama speech back in February: "I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often….And that is an objective assessment."Top runner-up for Quote of…
Children's Book Depicts Santa Fighting Global Warming
'Tis the season ... to be green. No, not even the traditions of Christmas are immune to the efforts of global warming activism. No, it's not Al Gore's, "How Greenhouse Gases Stole Christmas," but a children's story is pushing a similar green agenda. The recently published book by Anne Margaret Lewis called "Santa Goes Green" is about a boy who writes Santa and asks him to help raise awareness…
ABC: Barack Obama Tops Newsweek’s List of 50 Elite People
At the end of Monday’s ABC Good Morning America, co-host Chris Cuomo talked to Newsweek editor Jon Meacham about the magazine’s ‘Elite 50' list of influential people, as Cuomo put it: "People who will literally be able to shape our lives in many different ways." Meacham explained: "Our goal with this was, you know, elite got a bad rap this year. It wasn't a good thing to be an elitist. But there'…
ABC’s GMA Looks At Obama’s Hawaiian Christmas Vacation
At the top of Monday’s ABC Good Morning America, co-host Chris Cuomo teased a story on Barack Obama’s Christmas vacation plans: "And Aloha, President-elect Barack Obama says Mele Kalikimaka on a bright Hawaiian holiday. We'll take to you to the $30 million retreat where the future first family is spending Christmas." Later, fill-in co-host Elizabeth Vargas introduced the segment: "Barack Obama…
Reports: Chris Matthews Unlikely to Run for Senate
Well bias busters, looks like we are probably still going to have Chris Matthews to kick around.Two reports out today indicate that the liberal MSNBC host does not seem likely to be pursuing that Democratic Senate run that he's been flirting ever so coyly with.First this one from Reuters:
Shoe Tossing Media Darling Also Improves Bleak Shoe Economy
CNN, which long ago abandoned the concept of credible journalism, ran a story today regarding the attack by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi on our nation's President as a feel good story about the shoe industry.The title itself reveals that CNN reporters simply can't contain their giddiness when it comes to covering someone attacking the President:Bush assailant kick-starts sales for…
Will Media Report Baghdad's First Public Christmas Celebration
An astonishing thing happened in Baghdad on Saturday: Christians, apparently for the first time in the city's history, publicly celebrated Christmas.CNN's Jill Dougherty published an article about this extraordinary event at the network's website Sunday which included a video of her interviewing Iraqis of varied religious beliefs at the scene.However, from what I can tell, this extremely charming…
Dallas News Religion Blogger: Did You Hear the One About the Priest
...who pulled President-elect Obama's books from a Catholic school library? "Hey, at least he didn't burn them!" goes the punchline. Wocka, wocka, wocka!That was Dallas Morning News religion blogger Bruce Tomaso's take on a Missouri Catholic priest's decision to yank Obama's tomes from the shelves of St. John LaLande Catholic School's library (see screencap at right).Tomaso noted that Fr. Ron…
Mitchell to Buchanan: You Wouldn't Say Caroline 'In Miers Country' If
The people just don't know Caroline like I do. That was the essence of Andrea Mitchell's defense of the would-be senator after Pat Buchanan analogized her to another nominee who famously flopped. Appearing on Morning Joe, Buchanan unleashed a merciless metaphor.PAT BUCHANAN: It's not only entitlement. It appears–we are getting close to Harriet Miers country, where Bush put her out there, and…
New Scientist Names Liberal Wingnut a ‘Science Hero’ of
It would seem New Scientist magazine recently decided to sacrifice credibility in the field of research. Journalistic research, anyway. In their recent article titled, "Science heroes and villains of 2008," New Scientist has taken the liberty of naming some noteworthy individuals in the field. As their opening salvo states (emphasis mine): The collective brain of New Scientist has come up…
Dear NY Times: Was Keynes Right About Excessive Savings
According to The Times' favorite economist, savings is the problem.
Time's Joe Klein Pats McCain on Back for Ignoring Rev. Wright
Don't get me wrong. I love Christmastime. But in many other respects it can be the most dreaded time of the year for us media watchers. It is, after all, the time when liberal journalists decide to assign their year-ending accolades on everything from movies and music to politicians. It's doubly dreadful when we're talking about Time magazine's Joe "Anonymous" Klein.In a December 17 piece doling…