How ABC Stacked the Deck for Obama

June 25th, 2009 4:10 AM
With the very first question of its prime time special, Questions for the President: Prescription for America, ABC set the tone that essentially confirmed for viewers that the president was right in his desire to radically remake America's healthcare system. As the infomercial began, "moderator" Charles Gibson asked a seminal question of the doctors and other participants that were about to hear…

Chris Matthews Attacks: Joe and Mika 'Pussyfoot' Issue of Health Care

June 24th, 2009 4:43 PM
Chris Matthews got into a heated exchange with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on Wednesday, accusing them of "pussyfooting" the issue of health care and its cost. He also attacked conservatives in general, deriding, "You know, it seems to me that the right-wing will fight any war and say, 'Don't look at the cost,' because they want to fight the war."The Hardball host fretted, "And…

ABC's Diane Sawyer Tosses Tough Queries to Obama; No GOP Voices Featur

June 24th, 2009 11:45 AM
ABC's Diane Sawyer on Wednesday hit Barack Obama with some refreshingly tough questions about his plans for health care reform, quizzing the President on potential rationing, reduction of services and whether Americans would really be able to keep their current plan. However, the program also devoted 13 minutes and two segments to Obama, neither of which featured any Republican opposition.  …

David Westin Reacts Testily to Congressional Critics of ABC News Obama

June 24th, 2009 9:03 AM
It seems that congressional criticism about the fairness of the ABC News Obamacare show tonight has struck a nerve in the president of that organization, David Westin to such an extent that he has responded via letter in a less than pleased manner. What sparked this testy reaction was a letter signed by 40 members of Congress that was sent yesterday by the Congressional Media Fairness Caucus to…

Big 3 Nets' Evening News: It's Summertime, and the Viewers Are Leaving

June 24th, 2009 12:27 AM
Media Bistro broke it Tuesday morning, and gave us all of the details shortly after noon. The news: CBS and ABC's evening newscasts both came in with record low viewerships during the week of June 15.ABC's fall to less than 6.5 million total viewers is probably more of a surprise than CBS's plunge below 5 million. Is there a health care propaganda backlash? But the biggest news, as usual, is the…

ABC's Jake Tapper Hits Obama for Specifics on Health Care Plan

June 23rd, 2009 3:31 PM
During the June 23 White House press conference, ABC News reporter Jake Tapper sparred with Barack Obama over the details of the President's universal health care plan, bluntly observing, "...If the government is offering a cheaper health care plan, then lots of employers will want to have their employees covered by that cheaper plan, which will not have to be for-profit, unlike private plans."…

ABC Gushes Over Gardening Gusto of Michelle Obama; Hit Laura Bush on B

June 23rd, 2009 12:06 PM
ABC's Robin Roberts conducted two fawning interviews with Michelle Obama on Tuesday and repeatedly reminded viewers that the First Lady would be tending to the White House garden as soon as the segment was completed. Roberts breathlessly explained, "I caught up with Michelle Obama for an exclusive interview as she was heading outside to work in the White House garden..." In a second Good Morning…

ABC Continues Plugging Obama's Health Care Plan

June 22nd, 2009 1:43 PM
On the June 22 “Good Morning America,” ABC gave a preview of what it’s “Questions for the President: Prescription for America Health Care” special on June 24 will be like: unbalanced interviews and softball questions for the administration. ABC has promised that the heavily promoted special will feature “tough questions.” But GMA’s interviews with members of Obama’s health care team weren’t what…

ABC's Sawyer Swears Health Care Special 'Not an Infomercial'; Touts Ne

June 22nd, 2009 11:15 AM
Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer popped up on Sunday's Reliable Sources and swore that ABC's much-scrutinized health care special with President Obama "won't be an infomercial." She also seriously touted the objectivity of the network, cheering, "I know that our network has worked very, very hard to be completely- completely responsible and fair and serious about big issues." [Audio available…

Sawyer Defends ABC Health Care Special: 'It is Not an Infomercial

June 22nd, 2009 11:09 AM
It's a supposedly objective news outlet, yet ABC News is cozying up with the White House for a health care special to assist President Barack Obama in selling his plan. But according to ABC's "Good Morning America" co-host Diane Sawyer, there's nothing wrong with it. In fact, she's proud of ABC. Sawyer appeared on CNN's June 21 "Reliable Sources" by phone in an interview with host Howard Kurtz,…

Stephanopoulos 'Struck By' Obama's Obsession With Fox News

June 21st, 2009 4:09 PM
"I’ve always been struck by how -- and it’s not too strong a word -- how obsessed the President and the White House are with Fox News." So said ABC's George Stephanopoulos during the Roundtable segment of Sunday's "This Week."I kid you not.With an on-screen chyron shockingly asking, "Free Media Ride For Obama?" the former member of the administration exceedingly paranoid of what it declared was a…

ABC Promises 'Tough Questions' for Obama in 'Television Event

June 19th, 2009 9:01 PM
Friday's World News carried a 15-second promo, the first I've seen, for Wednesday night's controversial prime time special, “Questions for the President: Prescription for America.” Over video of President Barack Obama, ABC exulted in how “Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer take you inside his house” for “a television event” where “President Obama answers all of your tough questions about your health…

Why ABC Goes OBC on Health Care: Follow the Presidential Campaign Mone

June 19th, 2009 12:01 AM
Earlier today, Julia A. Seymour of the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute (BMI) pointed to a fact-check done by her group showing that "from January 20 to June 16 those quoted in health care stories on ABC's morning and evening news shows favored ObamaCare by a 3-to-1 margin (55 supporters to 18 critics)."You think that margin is bad; wait until you see the ratio at ABC of…

ABC Highlights Archival Footage of Sotomayor Complaining About Discrim

June 18th, 2009 3:05 PM
Good Morning America on Thursday unearthed archival footage that featured Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on the show in 1986 complaining about discrimination against women. The clips highlighted her fretting, "There are different styles. And because of those styles, I think that's what affects the ability of women to get ahead in the workplace." In the video, Sotomayor can be seen talking…