CBS’s Schieffer Compares Obama to Lincoln
January 19th, 2009 1:21 PM
On Monday’s CBS Early Show, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer shared his thoughts on Barack Obama’s inauguration and made this comparison: "Well, people just want to be a part of it. It's like who wouldn't want to be a part of it if you could have been there when Lincoln gave one of his addresses or something...People really do feel this is a moment in history. And they want to be part of it."…
CBS’s Smith Climbs Aboard the Obama Train
January 19th, 2009 11:41 AM
On Monday’s CBS Early Show co-host Smith recounted being a passenger on Barack Obama’s inaugural train on Saturday: "On a freezing cold Saturday, people stood for hours just to get a glimpse. They wanted to be able to say in the years to come, ‘I was there that day when the train went through.’ In his fawning report, Smith used poetic language to describe the train ride from Philadelphia to…
NBC's 'Today' Show Touts 'Obama Thongs'; Skimps on Bush Farewell
January 16th, 2009 12:40 PM
The three network morning shows on Friday almost totally skipped any coverage of President Bush's farewell address to the country on Thursday. Despite having a combined eight hours of air time, NBC's "Today," CBS's "Early Show" and ABC's "Good Morning America" devoted only 55 seconds total to reporting on Bush's speech. Instead, important topics such as "Obama thongs" and cheddar biscuits were…
Media Reality Check: The Media’s Inauguration Day Double Standards
January 15th, 2009 1:50 PM
The news media are giddy with excitement as Barack Obama’s Inauguration Day approaches — CNN’s Jim Acosta on Tuesday’s American Morning touted how "Obama has some big shoes to fill, roughly the size of the ones up on the Lincoln Memorial....Barack Obama’s inaugural address may be more than the speech of his lifetime. Historians and speechwriters say it could be one for the ages."But it would be a…
CBS ‘Early Show’ Unveils Barack Obama Mural on Set
January 15th, 2009 12:04 PM
Near the end of Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith unveiled the latest painting by artist Peter Max, a mural of 44 portraits of Barack Obama. Max has created numerous paintings for the Early Show set and Smith praised the artist’s latest work: "Okay, wow. That is really, really, really cool...Wow. Well, that is pretty impressive. I hope somebody in the President-elect's transition…
CBS: Obama Inauguration Gives Hope to Less Fortunate
January 14th, 2009 3:35 PM
On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Thalia Assuras reported on a down-trodden family who had their spirits lifted by an invitation to the Obama Inauguration: "...struggling Americans like Telisha and Kenny Brown...Unable to pay their rent, they turned to an interfaith shelter for families, with their boys, Donovan, 12, and Dylan, 9. They had planned to celebrate the inauguration in their…
Barnicle: Blogging's Not Journalism—It's Therapy
January 14th, 2009 8:05 AM
My therapist told me to take two shots at Chris Matthews and call him in the morning . . . Mike Barnicle is back to looking down his nose at bloggers. After Mika Brzezinski claimed on today's Morning Joe that "blogging isn't journalism," the former Boston Globe columnist declared that "95%, 99% of blogging isn't journalism. It's therapy for the blogger."The predicate was a provocative one. …
CBS’s Smith: No ‘Job Well Done’ on Bush Report Card
January 13th, 2009 4:59 PM
Reacting to President Bush’s Monday press conference, on Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith remarked: "Not going to get a 'job well done'...on the report card, on the final report card." That observation was prompted by Republican strategist Ed Rollins declaring: "I think to a certain extent, we have a lot to be thankful to this president for his service, but he's not going to get a ‘…
MRC’s Notable Quotables: Drooling Over Obama’s ‘Chiseled Pecs
January 13th, 2009 2:17 PM
Starting this week, MRC’s Notable Quotables newsletter is evolving from a printed hard-copy product to an all-electronic Web and e-mail publication, complete with audio and video clips of the worst quotes from each issue. Every two weeks, Notable Quotables offers a concise summary of the liberal media’s most outrageous and/or humorous eruptions, and the very best quotes are harvested once a year…
CBS, NBC Show Plight of Israelis with ‘Siege Mentality’ from Hamas
January 12th, 2009 1:50 PM
One bright spot last week in CBS’s coverage of the war between Israel and the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas came on Wednesday’s CBS Evening News as correspondent Richard Roth filed a story exploring Israeli life under a "siege mentality." Roth: " Spend a while in earshot of an air raid siren or cramped in a shelter, and it's hard not to have some sympathy. Or, if you want to understand what…
CBS Cites Liberal Historians to Label Bush ‘Worst President in Ameri
January 12th, 2009 1:25 PM
On CBS’s Sunday Morning, correspondent Thalia Assuras examined President Bush’s historical legacy: "On January 20th, 2001, George Walker Bush took the oath of office as the 43rd president of the United States. His presidency and the future, a blank slate...Before the Iraq war. Before Katrina swept ashore. Before the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression." Assuras cited two historians…
CBS Airs Accusations Israelis ‘Targeted’ Civilians, Implies Both S
January 9th, 2009 9:33 PM
On Friday’s CBS Evening News, correspondent Mark Phillips treated with credibility accusations by Palestinians, "supported by UN officials," that the Israeli military was "targeting" civilians in Gaza, and played a clip of a woman accusing Israeli troops of "herding" her family into a house and shooting her husband. And, without informing viewers of the blockade’s importance in preventing Iran or…
NBC’s Gregory Describes Hamas as ‘Terrorist Group Bent on Destruct
January 9th, 2009 6:39 PM
Among the anchors and correspondents on the broadcast networks, NBC’s David Gregory has been unique in conveying to viewers the nature of Hamas as, on two occasions during the opening weekend of the airstrikes by Israel in Gaza, Gregory referred to Hamas as a "terrorist organization that is bent on the destruction of Israel." He also recently gave attention to the Hamas doctrine that the purpose…
CBS’s Chen Slams Sarah Palin for Criticizing Media
January 9th, 2009 12:34 PM
On Friday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen reacted to a recent interview Sarah Palin gave to film maker John Ziegler for his new documentary about media bias in the 2008 election: "Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is lashing out at the media. She says she was treated unfairly on the campaign trail, and as part of a documentary called ‘Media Malpractice.’" After airing a brief report on the…