All Three Networks Skip Possible 2016 Dem Candidate's 'Gaydar' Gaffe

June 19th, 2014 5:05 PM
All three networks on Wednesday morning skipped a gaffe by a possible 2016 Democratic presidential candidate. In an interview with National Journal, former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer asserted that Republican Congressman Eric Cantor set off his "gaydar" and that southern men are "effeminate." The silence contrasts greatly to how the networks pounced on a gaffe by Todd Akin in 2012. …

Networks Censor Coverage of Lois Lerner's Destroyed Hard Drive, Cover

June 19th, 2014 3:24 PM
Wednesday night, word came out via Politico that the hard drive to the computer of former IRS official Lois Lerner was destroyed and recycled. This follows the news that emails from Lerner and six other officials that were being investigated for the IRS' pointed targeting of conservative non-profits were lost. Without a doubt, this revelation is big news. But not in the minds of ABC, CBS, and…

Nets Cover ’22 Jump St’ More Than Two Times That Devoted to Americ

June 19th, 2014 9:43 AM
An American teenager, along with two Israeli teens, has been kidnapped in Israel. “[T]wo jihadist groups had posted claims of responsibility for kidnapping the teens,” according to The Washington Post. Israel is in an uproar as the government tries to find them. But in America, the broadcast networks are breathlessly covering the new movie “22 Jump Street.” In fact, ABC, CBS and NBC have…

Networks Offer Scant Coverage of Dick Cheney 'Blasting' Obama on Iraq

June 18th, 2014 12:35 PM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney co-authored a blistering op-ed, deriding Barack Obama's handling of Iraq. But you wouldn't know it from the network coverage. ABC's Good Morning America completely ignored Cheney speaking out. Yet, the program devoted three minutes to the deeply irrelevant story of jump suits and fanny packs making a comeback. On NBC's Today, Savannah Guthrie managed a scant…

Networks Ignore Report Claiming Clintons Trying To Avoid Paying Estate

June 18th, 2014 9:29 AM
On Wednesday, June 17 Bloomberg reported that Bill and Hillary Clinton are taking advantage of financial planning strategies to avoid paying a hefty estate tax, even though the Clintons are prominent supports of the tax.  Despite the report, ABC, CBS, and NBC have all ignored the story on both their morning and evening newscasts. According to Bloomberg: “The Clintons are using financial…

CBS Puffs Pot as an Empowerment Tool for Women: 'Breaking the Grass Ce

June 17th, 2014 12:30 PM
CBS This Morning on Tuesday continued its role as the biggest cheerleader of legalized marijuana. Reporter Barry Petersen hailed the role of women in Colorado's expanding pot industry. A network graphic touted, "Breaking the Grass Ceiling." Except for one throw-away line, the entire segment avoided the health dangers of marijuana. Instead, Petersen hyped women and pot: "And as in other…

CBS Holds Obama Accountable for Iraq Chaos, NBC and ABC Avoid

June 17th, 2014 10:55 AM
While all three network morning shows covered the ongoing terrorist invasion of Iraq on Tuesday, only CBS This Morning made the connection between President Obama's foreign policy and the chaos in the country. In an interview with former U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, This Morning co-host Charlie Rose wondered: "Has the United States and the Obama administration failed to pay sufficient…

Watergate-Obsessed Journalists Mourn the Loss of 'World's Most Famous

June 16th, 2014 4:40 PM
The journalists at ABC and NBC on Monday couldn't manage to cover the revelation that the IRS lost two years-worth of Lois Lerner's e-mails. Yet, reporters on all three networks mourned the loss of a parking garage connected to the four decade-old Watergate scandal. Sunday CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor pronounced, "The world's most famous parking garage will be destroyed." [See video below…

Only CBS Covers IRS Losing Two Years of Lois Lerner Emails

June 16th, 2014 12:20 PM
On Monday, only CBS This Morning reported Friday's stunning revelation that the IRS somehow lost two years worth of emails from Lois Lerner, the official at the center of the agency scandal in which conservative groups were unfairly targeted. At the top of the morning show, co-host Norah O'Donnell wondered: "How did the IRS lose emails in the scandal targeting conservatives after the government…

Donald Trump Blasts Chicago Tribune's 'Third-Rate Architectural Critic

June 13th, 2014 4:30 PM
UPDATE [06/16]: Monday's Today offered a correction on Trump's claim that Blair Kamin had been "fired" from the Chicago Tribune. At the top of the 8 a.m. ET hour, news anchor Natalie Morales explained: "Well, in fact, that critic, Pulitzer Prize winner Blair Kamin, has been with the Chicago Tribune for more than twenty years and also spent the 2013 academic year as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard."…

Only CBS Notices NPR Host Grilling Hillary Over Her Flip-Flop on Gay M

June 13th, 2014 11:55 AM
On Friday, CBS This Morning was the only one of the Big Three network morning shows to cover Hillary Clinton's testy Thursday exchange with NPR host Terry Gross over Clinton's shifting position on gay marriage. Neither NBC's Today nor ABC's Good Morning America bothered to mention the unflattering incident for the potential 2016 presidential candidate. [Listen to the audio or watch the video…

Networks Mostly Ignore Obama's Rapid Iraq Withdrawal When Discussing I

June 12th, 2014 12:11 PM
Al Qaeda-affiliated militants have seized control of two cities in Northern Iraq, including Mosul the nation’s second largest and Tikrit, the hometown of Sadaam Hussein. Despite the increased violence, all three network morning shows did their best to downplay or ignore the Obama Administration’s Iraq policy for potentially contributing to the violence.  On Thursday, June 12, ABC, CBS, and…

Lois Lerner Sent Confidential Taxpayer Info to FBI Right Before 2010 M

June 11th, 2014 4:41 PM
On Monday, the House Oversight Committee investigating the IRS targeting scandal released new e-mails that showed Lois Lerner sent a database of tax exempt organizations to the FBI right before the 2010 midterm elections. So what was the reaction of anchors and reporters at the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC ) networks to the release of federally protected confidential taxpayer information? A big…

After Cantor Loss, Frank Luntz Declares: 'We Republican Pollsters Suck

June 11th, 2014 4:30 PM
Appearing on Wednesday's CBS This Morning, Republican pollster Frank Luntz attacked his own profession following the surprising primary defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: "Right now there are 230 House Republicans who are waking up praying that they do not have Eric Cantor's pollster. Honestly – and I'm one of them – we Republican pollsters suck. We have no ability to be able to…