'Mystique' Means 'Audacity of Hope' Has 'Rendezvous with Destiny
January 28th, 2008 9:49 PM
The broadcast network anchors and reporters were almost as giddy as Barack Obama over liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy's endorsement of the presidential candidate. ABC, CBS and NBC all led Monday night with it and ABC's David Wright adopted campaign slogans as he enthused about how “today the audacity of hope had its rendezvous with destiny. The Kennedy clan anointed Barack Obama a son of Camelot.”…
Networks Report Economic Stimulus Proposal as if it is Free Money
January 25th, 2008 8:39 PM
Nothing like going on the air and reporting the government is going to give you a check for x dollars - depending on your income - to please your viewers. But reporting about it as if there were no strings attached isn't straightforward. However, the glowing reception the $150-billion taxpayer-funded stimulus plan got from each of the network newscasts gave that impression last night. "Cash…
Video
20 Years Ago Tonight: Dan Rather’s Failed Ambush of George Bush
January 25th, 2008 10:40 AM
Exactly 20 years ago tonight, January 25, 1988, millions of Americans saw one newsman’s liberal agenda laid bare, as CBS anchor Dan Rather attempted to ambush then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, in a live TV interview on his CBS Evening News. But Bush held his own during the on-air confrontation, and the lasting effect was to reveal…
'Evening News' Plays up Recessionary-Caused Unemployment
January 24th, 2008 5:05 PM
Worried about finding employment after losing your job because of this gosh-awful recession we're having? Oh, you haven't lost your job yet? Yeah, we aren't actually having a recession yet, but that's just details. But the show must go on, and so goes the January 23 "CBS Evening News." "It's a bumpy ride for the American worker as well. As the economy slows the unemployment rate is rising…
U.S. News & World Report Editor Compares Credit Crisis to the Great De
January 21st, 2008 5:06 PM
It's no longer enough to say the economy is heading into or already is in a recession. Invoking the memory of the Great Depression has become the latest way to dramatize the economic turmoil caused by the credit markets. "[I] think we are facing the worst financial crunch and crisis since the Great Depression," Mort Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report, said on the…
Schieffer: Republicans Anti-McCain Because He Challenges Authority
January 15th, 2008 8:56 PM
Asked by Katie Couric Tuesday night why having Republicans dominate the Michigan GOP primary, as opposed to independents and Democrats, is bad for John McCain, CBS's Bob Schieffer didn't cite any of McCain's views -- such as on immigration, tax cuts and freedom of speech -- where he's out of sync with most Republicans. Instead of realizing how McCain is too liberal for many conservatives who are…
AP Writer Omits Fake Documents, Panel Finding from Rather Lawsuit Stor
January 13th, 2008 10:15 AM
Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS may go forward. By omitting key facts of the original "Rathergate" story from his report Thursday, Associated Press Writer Samuel Maull managed to give the former CBS news anchor's contentions an appearance of credibility. Here is how Maull's report began (HT Little Green Footballs; more permanent link to same story used here): A judge said Wednesday that he…
Couric Encourages 'Humanized' Clinton to 'Reveal More of Yourself
January 10th, 2008 6:39 AM
Telling Hillary Clinton “some observers believe” that when she got “emotional” -- as “your voice cracked and your eyes welled up” -- that “humanized you and made you much more attractive to women voters,” CBS's Katie Couric on Wednesday night cooed: “Will you be willing now to reveal more of yourself and be less reserved?” As if the “emotional” moment Monday in New Hampshire exposed the real,…
‘CBS Evening News’ Does 180 on Thimerosal/Autism Link
January 8th, 2008 1:57 PM
It’s better late than never, might be what vaccine manufacturers are thinking right now. The pharmaceutical industry had maintained all along that there’s no proven link between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism. CBS had been unwilling to concede that notion until last night. “In health news tonight, new research finds no link between mercury in vaccines and autism in…
Williams Slobbers Over Obama; Couric Counters McCain on Surge
January 7th, 2008 10:23 PM
In interviews aired Monday night, NBC's Brian Williams slobbered over Barack Obama while CBS's Katie Couric told John McCain the surge in Iraq has not been a success and pressed Mitt Romney to apologize for his negative ads. Riding on a bus in New Hampshire the day before the Granite state's primary, Williams showed Obama the Newsweek with the Democratic candidate on the cover and wondered: “How…
Only Couric Notes Hsu Sentencing, 'Looming Recession' Leads CBS
January 4th, 2008 8:45 PM
Of the three broadcast network evening newscasts on Friday, only the CBS Evening News squeezed in a mention of how a California judge sentenced Norman Hsu -- the fugitive donor to many Democrats including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- to three years in prison on a 16-year-old fraud conviction. Unlike ABC and NBC, CBS's Katie Couric didn't lead with the Iowa caucus results, but with “more…
FNC Cites MRC Quotes, Matthews Has 'Man Crush' on Clinton
December 31st, 2007 8:44 PM
FNC's morning anchors highlighted a few of the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2007" on the Monday edition of "Fox and Friends." Included were a quote of MSNBC's Chris Matthews comparing Bill Clinton's speaking ability to that of "Jesus at the temple" when the former President spoke at Coretta King's funeral, and a quote of comedian Bill Maher commenting that if [Vice President Cheney] died, "…