CBS's Harry Smith Snarks to O'Reilly, 'Couldn't Hold a Job at Any Othe

April 14th, 2009 3:59 PM
CBS anchor Harry Smith and Bill O’Reilly traded light blows with each other on Tuesday’s Early Show, as the Fox News Channel host marked his 100th consecutive month at the top of cable news ratings. Smith jabbed his guest about his 12 years on the same network: “Couldn’t hold a job at any other place?...Is this the longest continuous employment you have ever had?” O’Reilly didn’t take it lying…

A Whopper of a Problem: CBS Anchor Makes Light of Raunchy Fast Food Ad

April 10th, 2009 3:46 PM
“I’ll take an order of fries, a kid’s meal, and some sexy women with square butts, please.”CBS “Early Show” hosts Maggie Rodriguez and Harry Smith giggled at the new commercial for the Burger King kid’s meal featuring sexual images inappropriate for children, including sexy women in tight outfits dancing to a parody of the notoriously raunchy tune, “Baby Got Back.”Aimed to promote the new 99 cent…

Couric Campaigns For Gun Control, Tosses Softballs To A.G. Holder

April 9th, 2009 2:54 PM
Katie Couric is on the warpath, so to speak.In her "Evening News" interview with Attorney General Eric Holder last night, Couric pushed Holder several times to commit to heightened restrictions on access to firearms. This comes in light of her recent biased blog post on Couric and Co., which NewsBusters noted yesterday.First, Couric pressed Holder on reinstating the assault weapons ban, noting…

CBS's Rodriguez Sympathizes With Levi Johnston: 'Did You Get Your Hear

April 8th, 2009 4:15 PM
Wednesday’s Early Show picked up where The Tyra Banks Show left off in interviewing Levi Johnston, the ex-fiancé of Bristol Palin, as well as his sister and mother, and continued the media’s coverage of the “family feud” between the Palins and the Johnstons. Anchor Maggie Rodriguez asked Levi’s sister Mercede if the Palin family was “snobby.” She also asked the young man if the Palin family was “…

CBS Says Palin Popular 'Despite Latest News,' But Not One Substantive

April 8th, 2009 5:35 AM
This is just the sort of bias against Sarah Palin and her family that is de rigeur in the Old Media. CBS seemed taken aback in an April 6 report that Governor Sarah Palin could possibly still be relatively popular "despite the negative news" that she has been confronted with of late. But all the "negative news" that CBS is so sure should torpedo Palin is little else but the soap opera of family…

Is The CBS/N.Y. Times Poll Believable -- or Too Tilted

April 7th, 2009 1:48 PM
Conservatives have debates over whether they should cite Rasmussen poll data because it is too divergent from other surveys. If that's the case, then why accept the new CBS/New York Times poll, which is out of step with other recent polls? Keep in mind, Rasmussen polls "likely voters," where CBS/NYT interviewed "adults." The distinction is critical. The latest CBS/NYT numbers show a very wide 42-…

CBS Plugs McCarthy’s Call for Gun Control as She Frets: ‘All They

April 5th, 2009 10:49 PM
On Sunday's CBS Evening News, without providing a pro-gun rights view for balance, correspondent Randall Pinkston filed a report which featured the views of two public figures who support an assault weapons ban, including a clip of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, a New York Democrat and leading supporter of gun control in Congress, as she complained about her efforts being thwarted by the NRA.…

CBS’s Smith Praises the ‘Raw Realness’ of Michelle Obama

April 3rd, 2009 3:41 PM
Friday’s CBS Early Show continued its fawning coverage of Barack and Michelle Obama in Europe as co-host Harry Smith gushed over the First Lady: "I mean, there's a kind of just raw realness about her. That session with the schoolgirls yesterday...People were in tears." Smith made the comment while talking to executive editor of thedailybeast.com, Tina Brown, who had her own words of praise: "…

CBS ‘Early Show’ Fawns Over Obamas’ Royal Welcome in Britain

April 2nd, 2009 4:05 PM
Thursday’s CBS Early Show offered non-stop gushing over Barack and Michelle Obama in Britain as co-host Julie Chen spoke with royal watcher Ingrid Seward: "Well, what is the buzz so far about Michelle Obama, and is she overshadowing her husband's presence over there?" Seward replied: "No, she's not overshadowing her husband. I think we all find him very charismatic, very handsome, and almost with…

Pop Psychology on CBS ‘Early Show’: Obama the Explorer

April 1st, 2009 5:46 PM
On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-hosts Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez talked to biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, who defined four personality types and their compatibility with each other: "Well, it's all hormones -- yes, I mean, it's hormones, it's neurotransmitters, it's all kinds of chemicals and genes...I call them the explorer, the builder, the director, and the negotiator."…

Late Show Update: Letterman Calls O'Reilly A Goon -- To His Face

April 1st, 2009 11:07 AM
One would think it's bad host etiquette to call your guest a goon.Yet, David Letterman on Tuesday's "Late Show" did exactly that to Fox News's Bill O'Reilly.He also told the "Factor" host, "You're too smart to believe what you say."  All in all, it was a friendlier encounter than we've seen in the past with the following notable lowlights (video part I embedded right, part II below the fold):

Democratic President Goes to Europe, So ABC Touts Past GOP Goofs

March 31st, 2009 6:13 PM
"Good Morning America" reporter Yunji de Nies on Tuesday touted supposed gaffes of past Republican presidents in a segment on Barack Obama's trip abroad. De Nies intoned, "But one unlucky misstep and everyone remembers." As she said this, video of George W. Bush's 2005 trip to Beijing appeared onscreen. (In the footage, the then-President can be seen trying to go out the wrong door.) More…

CBS ‘Early Show’: Obamas ‘Have An Extra Je Ne Sais Quoi

March 31st, 2009 11:58 AM
In the 8:00AM EST hour of Tuesday’s CBS Early Show correspondent Elizabeth Palmer gave a gushing report on Barack and Michelle Obama’s upcoming trip to Europe, particularly focusing on the popularity of the new First Lady: "In 1961 when Jacqueline Kennedy came to Europe, she enchanted even the crustiest of world leaders. And she's remained a tough act to follow for every First Lady since. But…

CBS’s Rooney Dismisses Viewers Criticizing His Pro-Obama Bias

March 30th, 2009 6:04 PM
On Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes, commentator Andy Rooney read from some viewer letters: "It's always fun to read the letters people send, I get a lot of them, although, to be honest, if I took all the letters seriously I wouldn't ever say anything again. I get quite a few bad letters and, of course, I pay least attention to those. I don't want you to see me cry."Some of those "bad letters" came from…