CBS, NBC Evening News Continue to Gloss Over Terror Attack in Germany

March 4th, 2011 11:38 AM
For the second consecutive day, the CBS and NBC evening newscasts failed to devote more than fleeting news briefs to the fatal terror attack against a bus full of US airmen in Germany. ABC, which covered the story in more detail on Wednesday, did not even mention the tragic attack on the Thursday "World News." Arid Uka, described as a 21-year-old "radical Muslim," opened fire Wednesday on US…

CBS Sees Too Much 'Personal Baggage' for Gingrich; Other GOP 2012 Cand

March 3rd, 2011 3:40 PM
Discussing the possibility of Newt Gingrich running for president in 2012, on Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge touted "big negatives" for the former House speaker: "...baggage that he brings with him...the government shutdowns back in the '90s, to being forced out as speaker, to the fact that he's on his third marriage, which is probably going to alienate some social…

CBS, NBC Newscasts Give Scant Coverage to Muslim Terror Attack at Germ

March 3rd, 2011 12:45 PM
Two US airmen were killed by a Muslim terrorist in Germany yesterday, but neither CBS nor NBC thought it worthy of more than 30 seconds of coverage on their evening newscasts Wednesday night. While ABC devoted a full segment of the March 2 "World News" to the issue, the CBS "Evening News" and the NBC "Nightly News" offered only scant news briefs and buried the story deep into their broadcasts…

Broadcast Nets Barely Touch on Islamist Assassination of Only Christia

March 3rd, 2011 12:28 PM
Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's federal minister for minorities and that government's only Christian, was assassinated yesterday on the streets of Islamabad. Bloomberg News is reporting that the Pakistan Taliban is claiming responsibility for the shooting: As many as four men ambushed Shahbaz Bhatti, a 42-year-old Christian, yesterday as he left home without a security escort, Geo television…

Big Three Networks Herald New White House Women's Report

March 3rd, 2011 12:15 PM
ABC and NBC touted the Obama administration's new report on women by leading their evening news shows with it on Tuesday. Diane Sawyer gushed over the "huge new report," while NBC's Savannah Guthrie trumpeted the "first comprehensive White House report on women since...Kennedy asked Eleanor Roosevelt to lead a study." CBS also highlighted the report on Evening News and on The Early Show the…

CBS: Fugitive Wisconsin Dems Have 'Become Heroes' to Union Protestors

March 2nd, 2011 4:59 PM
During a report on the latest developments in Wisconsin for Wednesday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Cynthia Bowers proclaimed that the 14 Democratic state senators who fled to Illinois to block Governor Walker's budget proposal from passing have "become heroes to protesters." She lamented: "Now comes word, albeit from a Republican, some may be ready to come home and concede." Bowers used…

Speak No Evil- Networks Obscure Deadly Extremism of Muslim Brotherhood

March 2nd, 2011 10:42 AM
ABC, NBC and CBS news programs have mentioned the Muslim Brotherhood 135 times in 17 years, but only linked them to fundamentalist Islam 37 percent of the time. Just since the unrest in Egypt began in January, they've mentioned the Brotherhood 85 times, and decreased how often they report the nature of the group - just 32 percent of those stories mentioned the group's extremism. Declaring "…

CBS Touts Skewed Poll Showing Majority Support for Unions

March 1st, 2011 12:16 PM
On Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Chris Wragge touted a new poll claiming people support unions over Republican plans to cut state deficits: "A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows that a majority of Americans, 56%, are opposed to cutting the pay and benefits of state workers to balance budgets while just 37% are in favor of it." While Wragge called them "state workers," the actual poll…

Networks Link Bush to 'Skyrocketing' Gas Prices 15 Times More Than Oba

March 1st, 2011 11:05 AM
As gas prices rose in 2008, network reporters mentioned President Bush in 15 times as many stories than they brought up President Obama in a similar period in 2011. Bush drew gallons of coverage in 2008. Comparing a 20-day span of rising gas prices in 2008 to 24 days of rising prices in February 2011, the Business & Media Institute found the networks did more than 2 ½ times as many…

Missing Wisconsin Dems Rely Heavily on Union Campaign Dollars - Where

February 28th, 2011 7:33 PM
Since the budget battle began in Wisconsin, so-called journalists have attacked Governor Scott Walker as a union-busting shill representing big corporate donors such as the Koch brothers. The much bigger story media have ignored - that the 14 Democrat senators who fled the state all have serious financial connections to public employees and unions - was revealed Monday by the Milwaukee…

CBS Proclaims: 'Workers of the Nation Unite' in MoveOn.org-Backed Unio

February 28th, 2011 1:28 PM
At the top of Saturday's CBS Early Show, co-host Russ Mitchell cheered unions protests across the country: "Workers uniting. 50 rallies are planned in 50 states today, as organizers show solidarity with Wisconsin state workers, fighting to preserve their right to collectively bargain for benefits and work conditions." Introducing the segment later, fellow co-host Rebecca Jarvis noted how the…

Despite Poor U.S. Evacuation Efforts in Libya, CBS Gives Response an

February 28th, 2011 11:15 AM
While even the liberal National Public Radio blog highlighted how the "U.S. Struggles to Evacuate; Others Don't" in Libya, on Saturday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Harry Smith gave the effort high marks: "If they were handing out a report card, as far as the embassy is concerned, it would be an A+." [Audio available here] Co-host Rebecca Jarvis implied some displeasure with the evacuation…

You Read It Here, First: Noteworthy Media Coverage of NewsBusters’ I

February 26th, 2011 11:36 AM
Tuesday’s NewsBusters’ piece documenting the broadcast networks’ incredible double standard on protests — how reporters zeroed in on inflammatory signs to try and discredit the Tea Party while ignoring similar or worse signs at the left-wing union protests in Wisconsin — garnered national media attention. On Tuesday evening, nationally-syndicated radio host Mark Levin cited the NewsBusters’…

CBS Notes Ex-President Bush Boycotting Conference Because of Julian As

February 25th, 2011 8:54 PM
 On Friday evening, uniquely among the broadcast network evening newscasts, the February 25 CBS Evening News briefly gave attention to former President George W. Bush’s decision to cancel a planned appearance in Denver at the Global Leadership Summit because of his disapproval of the same group’s plan to allow Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to address the event. Quoting the former President…