CBS Downplays Obama-Ayers Connection, Attacks McCain Campaign’s ‘B
At the top of the CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith described how the McCain campaign was criticizing Barack Obama for his connection to domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, but avoided any such label: "...dredging up of a character that Barack Obama knows from Chicago named Bill Ayers, who was one of the founders of the Weather Underground. So it's really getting crazy..." Smith offered no…
Finger-Wagging Smith Scolds McCain Rep Over NYT Ayers Article
Good thing Nancy Pfotenhauer wasn't in the same studio with Harry Smith this morning. The Early Show anchor might have broken out his hickory stick. Like a hectoring school marm, Smith scolded McCain adviser Pfotenhauer for what he deemed her insufficient citation of a New York Times article tracing Barack Obama's affiliation with unrepentant terrorist William Ayers.Wagging a stern finger at…
CBS's 'Dangerous' Cough Medicine Segment Hard to Swallow
So what "dangerous" product should you not give your children now? Cough syrup, if you were watching the October 3 "Early Show." "They're safe if they're used properly, but so often they're not and so I consider them to be dangerous," said Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician based in Englewood Hospital in New York. The CBS segment focused on new regulations of over-the-counter cough and cold…
'Surprise' Palin 'Did Not Embarrass Herself,' Upset She Didn't Answer
align="right"Two themes in post-VP debate coverage Thursday night: First, “surprise” that Sarah Palin wasn't a “car wreck” and “did not embarrass herself.” Second, distress that she failed to answer moderator Gwen Ifill's questions. On NBC, Chuck Todd observed “those that were tuning in looking for some sort of car wreck, probably came away disappointed.” CBS's Katie Couric proposed, without…
Will Gwen Ifill Challenge Joe Biden’s Iraq ‘Expertise
While the networks scrutinize Republican Sarah Palin’s every comment for evidence that she’s a dimwit unqualified for the vice presidency, there’s been barely any discussion of how alleged foreign policy expert Joe Biden was dreadfully wrong in 2006-2007 in his fierce objection to the troop surge strategy in Iraq, which has led to a massive reduction in U.S. and Iraqi casualties and prevented a…
CBS ‘Early Show’ Tough on Palin, But Mentions Biden Gaffes
At the top of Thursday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Jeff Glor reported on the upcoming vice presidential debate by declaring: "35-year Senate veteran Joe Biden versus the upstart from Alaska, Sarah Palin, the surprise VP pick, whose credentials have been questioned after a series of attention-grabbing interviews." Despite referring to Palin as an "upstart," Glor also pointed out Biden’s…
How Can Americans Be So Smart But Maggie Rodriguez So
For someone who doesn't know something as obvious as the fact that—given her upcoming book—Gwen Ifill has a financial stake in an Obama win, Maggie Rodriguez has an awfully high opinion of the knowledge level of ordinary Americans. Rodriguez interviewed a feisty Fred Thompson on today's Early Show. During the course of the contentious exchange:Questioning Thompson on Sarah Palin's inability to…
CBS’s Smith: ‘Republicans and Conservatives Question’ Palin on T
While talking to CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric about her interview with Sarah Palin, on Wednesday’s Early Show, co-host Harry Smith asked: "...there is a -- I won't say growing -- but there are a number of Republicans and conservatives have started to question whether or not she's good for this ticket. What -- what is the feeling in the McCain camp about that?" Couric actually defended…
Media Aired Dubious Anti-Israel Video, Not ‘Even-Handed’ to Expose
It was eight years ago this week that France 2 TV introduced the world to Mohammed al-Dura, the Palestinian boy who was allegedly shot and killed during a gunfight between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen, in a video whose authenticity has increasingly been called into question years after it inspired anti-Semitic violence around the world. The American news media not only highlighted the…
CBS ‘Early Show’ Uses Domino Props to Explain Financial Crisis
In case viewers did not understand the concept of a domino effect caused by the financial crisis, on Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen offered a visual representation as she declared: "What happens on Wall Street affects all of us on Main Street. It's the classic domino effect." At that point, six giant dominos where displayed in the studio, each one labeled with a different phase of…
Couric: 'Palin Makes No Apologies for Her Pro-Life Views
It's the kind of liberal media bias that is perhaps the most telling of all. The unconscious sort, revealing an MSMer's world view. On today's Early Show, introducing the portion of her interview with Sarah Palin dealing with abortion, Katie Couric states: "Palin says she makes no apologies for her pro-life views."Can you ever imagine Couric introducing an interview with a Dem and saying "so-and…
Big Three Nets' Evening News Programs Still in Collective Decline
You might think that a presidential election year might give the Big Three networks' evening newscasts a shot in the arm. You would be wrong. Full-year figures released last week and available MediaBistro's TVNewser showed yet another audience decline. The comparisons that follow are of the 2007-2008 ratings year just ended (each ratings year begins of fall season premieres) to 2006-2007:
CBS’s Smith Asks Palin’s Parents About Criticism of Daughter
On Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith aired the second half of his interview with the parents of Sarah Palin, Chuck and Sally Heath, and described how: "From mayor of Wasilla to governor of Alaska, and now a vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin's sudden appearance on the national scene has been celebrated, and increasingly criticized." Palin’s father responded: "They're digging and…
