For First Time, All Three Networks Cover Gosnell
May 14th, 2013 11:09 AM
“In Philadelphia today,” anchor Scott Pelley said on the May 13 CBS “Evening News,” there was a verdict in a murder trial that got national attention.” He was talking about the murder trial of Kermit Gosnell, and whatever “national attention” it received was given grudgingly by the media – including Pelley’s own network.
In fact, it took 56 days, multiple letters from members of the House of…
TIME's Kluger Warns Manhattan Residents Could Soon Be ‘Swimming’ D
May 13th, 2013 5:30 PM
Jeffrey Kluger showed up on Saturday’s CBS This Morning to do what he does best: clang the alarm bells over global warming. The TIME magazine senior editor even went so far as to warn that Manhattan may soon be underwater.
Kluger was brought on to discuss a recent reading -- atop an observation station on a dormant volcano -- finding that atmospheric carbon dioxide is at its highest level in…
CBS's Scott Pelley at Quinnipiac Luncheon: 'We Are Getting Big Stories
May 12th, 2013 12:03 PM
Scott Pelley deserves grudging credit for recognizing something obvious at a Friday luncheon in New York. Readers tempted to go beyond that point would be advised to visit the archive of Pelley-related posts at NewsBusters on his brand of so-called journalism, a few of which will be identified later in this post.
At said luncheon, Pelley received the 20th annual Fred Friendly First Amendment…
Presidents of ABC and CBS News Have Siblings Working at White House Wi
May 11th, 2013 5:09 PM
"CBS News President David Rhodes and ABC News President Ben Sherwood, both of them have siblings that not only work at the White House, that not only work for President Obama, but they work at the NSC on foreign policy issues directly related to Benghazi."
So stated political consultant and media commentator Richard Grenell on Saturday's Fox News Watch (video follows with transcript and…
CBS Touts 'Vocal Opposition', 'Anxiety' Surrounding Koch Brothers' Pos
May 10th, 2013 4:44 PM
Friday's CBS This Morning played up the "vocal opposition" of liberal activist groups who are railing against the possible sale of several newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, to the libertarian Koch Brothers. Charlie Rose trumpeted that "critics fear politics could get in the way of journalism" if Koch Industries purchases the media outlets.
Jan Crawford…
Letterman: Christie Got His Stomach Stapled, Limbaugh Should Get His M
May 10th, 2013 11:00 AM
Is it possible for David Letterman to get more partisanly petty?
On the CBS Late Show Thursday, the host said, “So Chris Christie had his stomach stapled, and now if we can get Rush Limbaugh to have his mouth stapled” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
NB's Bozell: Maybe Media Should Pretend Obama's a Republican, Then The
May 9th, 2013 3:05 PM
The revelations made during the May 8 Benghazi hearings "open up a new can of worms with even more serious questions," NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell argued today.
"Five major bombshell revelations emerged that have, so far, only been given lip service by the three broadcast networks," the Media Research Center (MRC) founder noted. They are:
Morning Shows Binge on Tabloid Criminal Trials: 56 Minutes vs. 7 for B
May 9th, 2013 12:29 PM
The network morning shows on Thursday went into tabloid overdrive for the Jodi Arias verdict and an abduction case in Ohio, offering a staggering 56 minutes of coverage. In contrast, NBC, CBS and ABC allowed just under seven minutes combined to hearings on the 2012 terrorist murder of a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya. This is a disparity of eight-to-one.
Good Morning…
Letterman: ‘I’ve Always Enjoyed Lesbians
May 9th, 2013 10:30 AM
CBS Late Show host David Letterman made a comment Wednesday that would almost certainly evoke criticism from the LGBT community if he weren’t a liberal.
In a discussion with morning talk show host and former football player Michael Strahan about the recent self-outing of NBA player Jason Collins, Letterman said, “I fancy myself a big supporter of the gay community, and I've always enjoyed…
Sharyl 'Benghazi Campaign' Attkisson Hadn't Reported About the Attack
May 8th, 2013 6:36 PM
CBS's Sharyl Attkisson is apparently viewed by network executives as "wading dangerously close to advocacy" in her coverage of the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, as Politico's Dylan Byers asserted in a Wednesday item. Byers reported that "Attkisson can't get some of her stories on the air, and is thus left feeling marginalized and underutilized."…
NBC and CBS Promote Michelle Obama's Year-Old Book With Softball Inter
May 8th, 2013 4:12 PM
On Wednesday's NBC Today, news reader Natalie Morales touted a "Today exclusive" with Michelle Obama, playing a clip of a "wide-ranging conversation" between the First Lady and Kelly Wallace of the NBC-owned iVillage website that amounted to little more than a friendly chat about current events and Obama's 2012 book, American Grown.
On CBS's Sunday Morning, correspondent Lee Cowan conducted…
Politico: CBS News Execs See Attkisson As ‘Dangerously Close to Advo
May 8th, 2013 12:45 PM
Politico media writer Dylan Byers sought to add context to Paul Farhi’s “glowing profile” of CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson in Wednesday’s Washington Post.
Byers suggested Farhi painted it as a David and Goliath story with Team Obama as Goliath. But there’s another Goliath, he wrote: CBS News executives who aren’t happy with Attkisson’s “Benghazi campaign” that’s “wading…
The Power of Media Bias: Most Americans Wrongly Believe Gun Violence H
May 8th, 2013 12:31 PM
The extent of the media's influence to shape public opinion was on full display in a new Pew Research Center poll that shows, even though gun crime has dropped by half since its peak in the mid '90s, most Americans (56 percent) wrongly think gun violence has increased.
In an L.A. Times article that highlighted the poll, Emily Alpert posited "It's unclear whether media coverage is driving the…
CBS Helps Democrat Boost Gun Control Bill; Asks Republican About Obama
May 7th, 2013 6:18 PM
On Tuesday's CBS This Morning, Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell pressed Senator Joe Manchin about a possible new push for gun control in Congress. Rose wondered how Manchin and his allies could make legislation "more palatable to those people who may be afraid of it", while O'Donnell bluntly asked the Democrat, "Are you frustrated with the NRA?"
Manchin was their only guest on the gun issue…