CBS, ABC Point Out 'Very Troubled' HealthCare.gov is 'Far Short' of Si
ABC's Good Morning America and CBS This Morning on Tuesday both picked up the Wall Street Journal's Monday revelation about the HealthCare.gov website – that "fewer than 50,000 people had successfully navigated the troubled federal health-care website and enrolled in private insurance plans as of last week".
CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell zeroed in on the "newest blow to ObamaCare – how the…
ABC, CBS Hail 'America's Pastor,' Billy Graham: A 'Surprisingly Humble
CBS and ABC on Thursday and Friday offered respectful tributes honoring "America's pastor," Billy Graham. The networks, which are often hostile or dismissive of religion, all featured segments on the minister's 95th birthday and played clips of what has been announced as his final sermon. (However, NBC's Today allowed a mere 24 seconds to the topic.) World News correspondent Dan Harris…
ABC, CBS Acknowledge Obama's 'Broken Promise,' But Knock Americans' 'S
ABC and CBS on Thursday and Friday reacted to Barack Obama's health care apology by acknowledging his "broken promise." At the same time, both networks attempted to spin the NBC interview with qualifiers on the millions of Americans who will be losing their health insurance. After explaining what the President originally insisted and then showing his apology, CBS Evening News Anchor Scott…
Priorities: ABC Allows a Scant 21 Seconds for ObamaCare Grilling, Hype
ABC on Wednesday and Thursday managed a mere 21 seconds total for the latest revelations about the botched ObamaCare rollout, minimizing the grilling that Kathleen Sebelius took before Congress and the resignation of one of the people behind the website. Instead, Good Morning America focused on deeply irrelevant topics such as promoting "Thor's leading lady," star Natalie Portman. In…
Surprise: CBS Notices De Blasio's 'Very Liberal Campaign'; ABC, NBC Ou
In a move as rare as finding a four-leaf clover, Norah O'Donnell actually disclosed on Wednesday's CBS This Morning that New York City Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio ran a "very liberal campaign". Jeff Pegues also noted how the "52-year-old liberal" is a "proponent of...taxing the wealthy". The program was also the sole Big Three morning newscast to underline de Blasio's political ideology, and…
'Moving to the Middle': Networks Push 'Crushing' Win for Christie Vs
The three morning shows on Wednesday announced that a "crushing victory" for Chris Christie in New Jersey will force the Republican Party to "move to the middle" against Tea Party "firebrands." According to CBS This Morning's Chip Reid, Christie hoped for a big win to "show that Republicans who favor consensus over ideological purity can win – even in blue states like New Jersey." [See…
ABC Touts Jon Karl Going 'Toe-to-Toe' With White House Over Website's
ABC's World News on Monday night continued to highlight the network's exclusive that Barack Obama knew there was no real alternative to the ObamaCare website, even as he pushed options like mail and calling the hotline. Yet, on Good Morning America, the network's content-free morning show, the revelations were ignored.
World News anchor Diane Sawyer touted the story as all "about what the…
Jay Carney Mocks ABC's Jon Karl for Daring to Question Misleading Comm
A frustrated Jay Carney on Monday excoriated ABC's Jon Karl for exposing the fact that signing up for health care via phone or mail is just as difficult as signing up by the website. Karl began by quoting the President suggesting in late October that "you can bypass the website and apply by phone or in person." The journalist highlighted newly acquired memos admitting that "at the end of the…
Newly Obtained E-Mails Show Lerner Gave Tea Party Tax Info to FEC, Big
On October 31 the Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard reported the following: “The Internal Revenue Service shared highly confidential tax information of several Tea Party groups in the IRS scandal with the Federal Election Commission, a clear violation of federal law, according to newly obtained emails. The public watchdog group Judicial Watch told Secrets Thursday that it was former scandal…
Surprise: GMA Commits Journalism, Exposes 'Frustrating' 'New Troubles
After offering sympathetic coverage to the disastrous roll-out of the ObamaCare website, ABC on Monday actually uncovered "new troubles" and alerted viewers to misleading comments by the White House. Near the top of Good Morning America on Monday, co-host George Stephanopoulos trumpeted, "ABC News has obtained copies of internal administration memos revealing for the first time that…
ABC and NBC Sympathize With Sebelius For 'Falling on Her Sword' Agains
ABC and NBC journalists on Wednesday and Thursday hailed Kathleen Sebelius as "falling on her sword" and "taking responsibility" for the ObamaCare website debacle. On World News, reporter Jim Avila complained about the Sebelius grilling as a "rude grandstand" and a "three hour circus of a congressional hearing." He dismissed it as "official finger pointing day on Capitol Hill."
Yet, on…
ABC Wakes Up to ObamaCare 'Lie,' But Knocks Americans' 'Cheap, Underpe
The journalists at Good Morning America on Wednesday conceded that Barack Obama may have "misled the public" on the health care law, that "some call it a lie." But at the same time, reporter Jim Avila helpfully told viewers that Americans would be only be losing "cheap, underperforming insurance." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] Anchor George Stephanopoulos introduced the story on Kathleen…
1 Year Later: Media Link Climate Change, Sandy Every Single Time
During the 2008 banking crisis, then-Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel famously said, “Never allow a crisis to go to waste.” The broadcast networks certainly followed his advice when reporting on Hurricane Sandy since the storm became a hurricane one year ago, hitting the New Jersey coast on Oct. 29.
Network reporters and experts have repeatedly claimed that the storm was either caused or…
Hurricane Sandy Relief: Networks Attack GOP, But Mention Pork Only
Striking the Northeast on Oct. 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy tragically devastated communities causing an estimated $50 billion in damages. By the end of January 2013, a relief bill was passed for Sandy aid, after the bill was delayed because of wasteful spending.
House Republicans opposed a pork-ridden $60 billion Senate bill ($10 billion higher than damage estimates) and chose not to vote on it…