Big 3 Nets' Evening News Audience Fails to Break 20 Million in Mid-Sep

September 21st, 2010 2:19 PM
They're out of excuses. Summer's over. It's after Labor Day. The kids are back in school. People are back into their routines. The trouble for the Big 3 broadcast networks is that those routines don't include watching their early-evening newscasts. Beyond that, last week was a pivotal week in Campaign 2010, with key primaries in New York, Delaware, New Hampshire, and several other states. As…

CBS: Americans 'Angry' Over Bad Economy, 'Taking It Out On' Obama

September 21st, 2010 12:56 PM
At the top of Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith proclaimed: "Angry Americans. A new report declares the recession officially over. But many of us are not feeling it. Even taking on the President himself." Later, he seemed to portray the President as a victim: "...a lot of Americans are still suffering its [the recession's] effects, and are taking it out on President Obama."In a report…

SEIU Activist: Local Networks 'Willing Partners' in Campaign Against W

September 20th, 2010 4:53 PM
Are the three news networks actively working to defeat the Republican candidate for Governor in Wisconsin? According to the far-left Service Employees International Union, yes, they most certainly are.SEIU spokesman John-david Morgan - also, incidentally, a former journalist - told a staffer (audio embedded below the fold) for GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker that local media affiliates…

CBS's Rodriguez: Will Christine O'Donnell 'Play Media Victim' Like Pal

September 20th, 2010 12:24 PM
Following a report on Monday's CBS Early Show that slammed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell for comments she made on Bill Maher's 'Politically Incorrect' in the 1990s, co-host Maggie Rodriguez suggested O'Donnell's response: "Well, she could do what Sarah Palin has done and which has worked so beautifully for Sarah Palin, and that is to play media victim." [Audio available here]…

MRC’s Notable Quotables: Watch Out, GOP — It’s 1964 All Over Aga

September 20th, 2010 11:53 AM
Just posted this morning over at MRC.org, our latest edition of Notable Quotables, a bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes in the liberal media. Topics this week include: CBS's Bob Schieffer absurdly suggesting Republicans could face a landslide defeat this year, "very much like 1964," while Katie Couric frets (again) how "moderate Republicans are becoming an…

Marc Ambinder Fulfills Own Prediction, Provides Messaging Assistance t

September 20th, 2010 11:37 AM
I didn't know about what follows when I posted last night (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog) on Atlantic politics editor and CBS Campaign 2010 "Chief Political Consultant" Marc Ambinder's September 15 prediction that "The media is going to help the Democratic Party's national messaging." Though drop-dead obvious, I still found it interesting that someone in Ambinder's position would admit it. It…

Marc Ambinder: 'Media Is Going to Help the Democratic Party's National

September 19th, 2010 10:22 PM
In a September 15 post-primary item at the Atlantic ("An Epic End to the Primaries: What It Means"), politics editor Marc Ambinder presented seven "different ways to look at the primaries of September 14, 2010." His final item reads as follows (bold is mine): 7. The media is going to help the Democratic Party's national messaging, which is that the GOP is a party full of Christine O'Donnells, a…

Schieffer Bashes White House's 'Snarky' Response to Boehner's Tax Cut

September 19th, 2010 8:04 PM
CBS's Bob Schieffer on Sunday bashed the White House for how it responded to House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-Oh.) tax cut comment uttered on "Face the Nation" a week ago.As readers are likely aware, Boehner made news - if not friends amongst conservatives! - by telling Schieffer that if the only thing that came out of the House was an extension of the Bush tax cuts for all but folks that…

Mark Levin: Christine O'Donnell is 'Smart to Bypass' Sunday Talk Shows

September 19th, 2010 11:14 AM
Conservative radio host Mark Levin thinks Delaware Republican senatorial nominee Christine O'Donnell is "smart to bypass" the Sunday talk shows she was scheduled to appear on this week.As the Associated Press reported Saturday, O'Donnell canceled her appearances on CBS's "Face the Nation" and FNC's "Fox News Sunday":Campaign spokeswoman Diana Banister cited scheduling conflicts and said O'Donnell…

CBS’s Stahl to Jimmy Carter: ‘You Blame Teddy’ for Killing Unive

September 18th, 2010 3:53 PM
Saturday’s The Early Show on CBS showed a preview clip of correspondent Lesley Stahl interviewing former President Jimmy Carter for 60 Minutes in which Carter blamed former Senator Ted Kennedy for derailing his universal health care plan in the 1970s. Stahl referred to former Senator Kennedy as "Teddy" as she asked Carter if he held Kennedy responsible. Stahl: "And you blame Teddy for the failure…

CBS: Even With Susan Boyle 'Warm-Up Act' Pope Still Couldn't Pull In A

September 17th, 2010 4:21 PM
Reporting on Pope Benedict's visit to the UK on Friday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Mark Phillips noted how 65,000 people attended a Thursday outdoor mass in Scotland, but observed: "...it was only about a quarter of the size of the crowd Pope John Paul drew to the same park on his visit 28 years ago. And this crowd had a much better warm-up act...TV talent show star...Susan Boyle."On Thursday…

CBS 'Early Show': Pope's Visit to UK Source of 'Criticism' and 'Contro

September 16th, 2010 5:01 PM
At the top of Thursday's CBS Early Show, fill-in co-host Erica Hill teased a report on Pope Benedict's visit to Scotland: "...it's a rather controversial visit for a number of reasons." Later, correspondent Richard Roth proclaimed the state visit "has more pomp and potentially more problems" and would "bound to be shadowed by controversy along with ceremony." Roth went on to tout a gaffe made by…

Networks Ignore Fired Koran Burner, Defended Teacher Who Compared Bush

September 16th, 2010 3:30 PM
Derek Fenton, the man who burned pages of the Koran while protesting the planned Ground Zero Mosque in New York City, lost his job at NJTransit because of his demonstration. The network news outlets couldn't care less. None of the networks - ABC, CBS, NBC - have mentioned Fenton's name, according to a review of show transcripts. Maybe they spent all their free speech-debate interest back in 2006…

CBS: Americans Support Dem Economic Policies, Just Upset With Incumben

September 16th, 2010 1:12 PM
While acknowledging bad news for Democrats in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll on Thursday's CBS Early Show, White House correspondent Bill Plante worked to find a silver lining: "But when it comes to who's at fault for the rotten economy there's a disconnect. 37% say the Bush administration is most to blame. Only 5% blame the Obama administration." Following Plante's report, fill-in co-…