ABC Misleads About 'Demoted' Catholic Saints
April 29th, 2014 12:34 PM
Rheana Murray's Saturday article on ABCNews.com omitted key details about how the Catholic Church determines which saints' feast days are observed by Catholic parishes all over the world. Murray noted that the Church "removed 93 saints from the universal calendar and revoked their feast days in 1969," but two out of the four examples she gave still have "optional" feast days on the calendar…
ABC Buries Own Results, Allows 18 Seconds for Obama 'Facing Worst Poll
April 29th, 2014 12:15 PM
The news that Barack Obama is "facing the worst poll numbers of his presidency" warranted a mere 18 seconds of attention from Good Morning America on Tuesday. This scant coverage is despite the fact that ABC conducted the poll in question (along with the Washington Post).
Reporter Amy Robach briefly explained, "And President Obama is returning to Washington today, facing the worst poll…
Nets Hype George Clooney Engagement, Ignore Oregon Baby Incineration
April 29th, 2014 11:18 AM
ABC, CBS and NBC news should sit down and write George Clooney a thank you note for the timing of his engagement rumor. Oh, the networks weren’t ever going to report the horrific news that an Oregon plant burned aborted babies to fuel homes. But now they can credibly say they were busy with real, important news – the kind about celebrities.
The macabre story from Oregon, coming on the heels…
Kerry Warns Israel Could Become an 'Apartheid State;' Networks Silent
April 28th, 2014 10:59 PM
Monday evening's broadcast networks ignored Secretary of State John Kerry saying that Israel risks becoming an "apartheid state" if it doesn't adopt a two-state solution with Palestine. Kerry made the comments on Friday in a closed-door meeting, and the ensuing outrage extended to both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
"A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only…
ABC Reports GOP Congressman's Indictment, But Initially Ignored Jesse
April 28th, 2014 10:05 PM
Both the ABC World News and the NBC Nightly News reported GOP Congressman Michael Grimm's federal charges of tax evasion on Monday evening, but when former Democrat congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. was hit with campaign finance charges back in 2013, ABC ignored the story that evening and NBC failed to label him a Democrat.
On Monday's Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams reported "big trouble…
Hours Before John Paul II's Canonization, Networks Hype Priest Sex Abu
April 28th, 2014 7:57 PM
ABC, CBS, and NBC spotlighted the issue of child sex abuse by priests on their Saturday morning and evening newscasts – twenty-four hours or less before the Catholic Church canonized Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. CBS and NBC both uncritically turned to the president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), but didn't mention her controversial affiliations with prominent anti…
In 36 Hours, Nets Devote 70 Minutes to Racist NBA Owner; No Mention of
April 28th, 2014 12:56 PM
In just over 36 hours, the three network morning and evening shows have already devoted 70 minutes of coverage to racist comments apparently made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Yet, ABC, CBS and NBC have ignored Sterling's long history of supporting Democrats, including Senator Patrick Leahy, Bill Bradley and Gray Davis.
ABC offered the most coverage. Since Sterling was…
Nets Covered $1.4M Spike Lee Flick, Ignore $1.4M Gosnell Movie
April 28th, 2014 8:24 AM
Spike Lee and Phelim McAleer are both film-makers who’ve both achieved something unique: each has successfully raised $1.4 million to finance his movie through crowdfunding – a campaign seeking donations from the public. But Spike Lee is famous and established, with a net worth of $40 million. Phelim McAleer isn’t. So it’s a bit odd that the networks took note when Lee (a famous, if not…
George Stephanopoulos Doubles-Down on ABC’s Promotion of Elizabeth W
April 27th, 2014 2:11 PM
Following a glowing profile of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, sat down with the liberal senator on the Sunday April 27th This Week with George Stephanopoulos and heaped praise on his guest.
The ABC host hyped how Warren’s book was “The first step about having ideas drive the agenda right now in Washington now and in the future. How do you build on it?
Barbara Walters Suggests 'The View' Will Get Some Political Balance Ag
April 27th, 2014 1:43 PM
MRC's Scott Whitlock found a newsy tidbit from an April article in Variety magazine. Former Newsweek writer Ramin Setoodeh reported from a Barbara Walters interview that "The View" lost both its edgier political personalities -- right-leaning Elisabeth Hasselbeck and leftist insult comedienne Joy Behar -- due to network pressure on her and the show's producer Bill Geddie.
“These are not…
ABC Touts Elizabeth Warren's 'Middle-Class Manifesto,' While Channelin
April 27th, 2014 12:52 PM
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has been making the rounds on television promoting her new book “A Fighting Chance” and ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos was the latest to promote the liberal senator on Sunday April 27.
Prior to her interview with host George Stephanopoulos, ABC’s Jeff Zeleny narrated a report on Warren in which he gushed over how “Warren’s tough take on Wall Street…
CBS Covers Oregon 'Pulling the Plug' on Health Exchange, But Omits 'Ob
April 25th, 2014 10:17 PM
Friday's CBS Evening News was the lone Big Three evening newscast to spotlight how the State of Oregon decision to scrap its multimillion dollar health exchange website, and join the federal government's HealthCare.gov. ABC's World News was too busy covering violence over spots at mall parking lots to notice, while NBC Nightly News zeroed in on baby Prince George's first trip to Australia.…
Just Before Canonization, NBC Hypes John Paul II Critic Saying Many Fe
April 25th, 2014 2:38 PM
The Friday before the Catholic church would celebrate the canonization of two popes, NBC's Today hyped the "controversy" of the jubilant fans of Blessed John Paul II "drowning out dissent" from those who felt "stomped on" during his papacy.
Raining on the canonization parade, NBC's Anne Thompson said the crowds who chanted "sainthood now" at John Paul II's funeral were "drowning out dissent…
Sleazy: ABC Notes Sean Hannity's Support of Cliven Bundy, But Ignores
April 24th, 2014 9:48 PM
For the first time on their weekday evening newscasts, the broadcast networks picked up Cliven Bundy's standoff with the federal government – but only after Bundy's racist comments went viral and his conservative supporters denounced them.
Amidst what NBC called a "firestorm," the networks made sure to tie Bundy to the conservatives and Republicans who sympathized with his cause, but were…