From the MRC Archives: A Viewer's Guide to Election Night Spin
The actual voting results are just part of what makes for an Election Night in today’s mass media world. Perhaps as important — in some years, more important — are journalists’ first stab at interpreting the results, telling audiences what they voted for (and against).
If history is a reliable guide, listen for: smug journalists slamming “angry” or stupid voters; claims that there’s no…
George Stephanopoulos Lobbies GOP to 'Cooperate' With Dems, Wonders if
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday once again pushed Republicans who win on Election Day to "cooperate" with Barack Obama and also wondered if a defeat could be a "blessing" for the President.
Talking to Republican adviser Nicolle Wallace, the morning show host lobbied, "But [Republicans] have to make a choice, as well. Do they choose to cooperate with President Obama and…
What Were the Media Predicting Back in
Sixteen years ago, the Republicans picked up 54 seats in the House of Representatives, taking control of that chamber for the first time since the 1950s. So how good were the media’s predictions back then? Trolling through the MRC’s archives, I came across these quotes from coverage just before the 1994 vote:
FNC’s O’Reilly Factor Picks Up MRC Study Documenting Slanted Campa
On Monday’s O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly and former CBS News correspondent Bernie Goldberg talked about MRC’s study of the broadcast networks’ Campaign 2010 coverage, which has only talked about conservatives and Tea Party Republicans as “extremist” or “fringe,” not liberals or congressional Democrats.
Goldberg argued that the problem is that “too many liberal journalists they don’t…
ABC Shuns Hateful Signs at Jon Stewart Rally, Highlights 'Sermon' by C
Good Morning America on Sunday skipped the hateful signs at Jon Stewart's rally in Washington D.C., Saturday. Reporter David Kerley instead played a clip of the comedian and hyped, "Comedy on the mall, a little Daily Show with its star offering a bit of a sermon."
Although journalists were quite eager to play up extreme signs at Tea Party rallies, Kerley did not show a sign featuring Glenn…
'Early Show' Ignores Reporters at CBS Alaska Affiliate Smearing Miller
On Monday, while both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today covered the scandal involving reporters at CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA caught on tape discussing ways to attack Republican Joe Miller's senate campaign, CBS's Early Show failed to make any mention of the incident.
On Good Morning America, White House correspondent Jake Tapper reported: "In Alaska, some reporters with the local…
George Stephanopoulos Pushes Steele to Agree that Midterms Won't 'Vali
Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos on Monday cajoled Republican National Committee Chairman into agreeing that a GOP victory on Tuesday wouldn't be validation for the Republican Party, using half of a "startling" quote by Jeb Bush as proof.
Stephanopoulos began, "...The Republican Party, even though they do seem poised for pretty big gains, is no more popular than the Democrat…
Pre-Election Notable Quotables: 'The GOP's Agenda Has to Be Stopped
One day before Election Day, the MRC has a fresh new edition of Notable Quotables posted over at MRC.org. Topics this week include: the liberal media’s pre-election meltdown, with MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann frothing that the election of “unqualified, unstable” Tea Party Republicans “would destroy America from within,” and Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter engaging in open electioneering: “The GOP’s agenda…
Dick Armey and Cokie Roberts Make a Fool of Arianna Huffington
Liberal internet publisher Arianna Huffington on Sunday went on ABC's "This Week" to spout some of her typical left-wing nonsense about the significance of the previous day's Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally in Washington as well as what a Republican victory on Election Day means.
Fortunately, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and ABC's Cokie Roberts were there to refute her inanities…
ABC: Boehner ‘May Actually Meet With a Man Who’s Dressed Up in a N
On Saturday’s Good Morning America, ABC correspondent David Kerley not only made sure to assert that House Republican Leader John Boehner "may" meet with a controversial Republican congressional nominee who has a history of dressing in a Nazi uniform as part of World War II reenactments, but the ABC correspondent sloppily worded his statement on the matter as if the candidate, Ohio Republican…
Napolitano: We're Always 'Leaning Forward
Looks like the MSNBC-Obama merger is complete . . .
Janet Napolitano did double-duty on Good Morning America today, describing administration anti-terrorism efforts while serving as an MSNBC shill by parroting the liberal network's new marketing catchphrase, Lean Forward.
To complete the daisy chain, Napolitano was interviewed by ABC's Bianna Golodryga, wife of . . . former Obama…
ABC's Claire Shipman Uses No Liberal Label for Stewart Rally, Worried
Good Morning America's Claire Shipman on Friday used no liberal labels in a friendly piece to promote Jon Stewart's rally in Washington, Saturday. Yet, on August 28, she warned viewers about the "right-wing" Glenn Beck and his protest in the nation's capital.
Shipman credulously asserted of Stewart and fellow comedian Stephen Colbert: "But what are we to make of a couple of comedians who say…
Only ABC Notes Racial Element in Pressuring Meek to Quit Florida Senat
On Friday, the CBS Early Show and NBC's Today avoided any discussion of the Democratic Party's racial insensitivity in trying to get black Florida senate candidate Kendrick Meek to drop out of the race. On ABC's Good Morning America, co-host George Stephanopoulos quoted Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on that very issue.
All three network morning shows conducted…
Robin Roberts Grills Carly Fiorina on 'Too Extreme' Sarah Palin
Apparently one of the most pressing issues in the California senatorial race is whether or not Sarah Palin is "too extreme." Good Morning America's Robin Roberts on Friday pressed Carly Fiorina twice on that issue, insisting on knowing why the former Alaska governor hasn't been campaigning for the Republican.
She demanded, "We know that Sarah Palin has visited California recently, but she was…
