Stephanopoulos Demands of Santorum: 'Where's the Evidence' That Americ

June 6th, 2011 1:03 PM
Offended by Rick Santorum's assertion that President Obama is not feared by America's enemies, ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos stuck up for the President Monday and pressed Santorum to give evidence to his claim. The former Pennsylvania senator was announcing his bid for the presidency on ABC's Good Morning America, and Stephanopoulos hit him early and often during the interview. "You've…

In Friday Morning Coverage of John Edwards Scandal, CBS Only Major Net

June 3rd, 2011 6:29 PM
In the Friday morning coverage of former Sen. John Edwards' indictment by a federal grand jury, only one of the three major networks, CBS, reported that he was a Democrat. Neither ABC nor NBC reported Edwards' party affiliation, simply calling him a "former presidential candidate." ABC's Good Morning America sympathetically called the morning "a difficult one" for Edwards as he faced…

ABC's John Berman: Sarah Palin Makes Mitt Romney Seem 'More Reasonable

June 2nd, 2011 12:39 PM
Good Morning America correspondent John Berman on Thursday offered a sarcastic take on Sarah Palin's tour, dismissing it as a "magical mystery bus." He also spun a possible 2012 run by Palin as making fellow Republican Mitt Romney appear "more safe, a more secure, a more reasonable candidate."

ABC, NBC Spotlight Growing Weiner Photo Scandal; CBS Punts

June 1st, 2011 6:39 PM
ABC's GMA and NBC's Today on Wednesday both did due diligence on the Rep. Anthony Weiner brouhaha surrounding a lewd photo posted on his Twitter site. ABC's Jonathan Karl noted how Weiner didn't give "the most convincing press conference" in response to the controversy. NBC's Meredith Vieira highlighted how "people are wondering why he is being so defensive." But CBS's Early Show didn't even…

Rahm Emanuel for President in 2016? ABC's Stephanopoulos Boosts Clinto

June 1st, 2011 11:21 AM
Continuing his cozy relationship with powerful Democrats, George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday interviewed his good friend, and newly elected mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel. The Good Morning America host hyped Emanuel, going so far as to seriously tout him as a successor to President Obama. [See video below. MP 3 audio here.]

ABC Gins Up 'Epic Political Showdown' Between 'Female Favorites' Palin

May 31st, 2011 12:19 PM
ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday offered a dismissive take on two conservative females, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. Reporter Jon Karl brushed aside Palin's bus tour as "another reality TV show" and wondered if the former governor is "just playing tourist." George Stephanopoulos, meanwhile, played up conflict between the two. He prefaced a question to Bachmann by admitting it may…

Nets Yawn at Obama's Patriot Act Renewal; Hyped Bush's 'Broad Powers

May 27th, 2011 7:31 PM
On Friday, the morning shows of the Big Three networks barely touched on President Obama approving the renewal of key provisions in the Patriot Act, avoiding the kind of criticism they launched during the terms of former President George W. Bush. During that time, the networks often expressed "concern...that civil liberties are threatened as never before" by the law, as CBS Evening News put it…

Morning Shows Tout White House Claim that 'Distraction' Sarah Palin Is

May 27th, 2011 12:49 PM
Covering the growing buzz that Sarah Palin might mount a 2012 presidential campaign, the morning shows on Friday repeated liberal talking points proclaiming that it would be a disaster. Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos insisted that the White House looks "at Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann as, basically, re-election insurance." CBS's Chris Wragge hinted that Palin…

Networks Skip Ed Schultz's Smearing of Laura Ingraham as a 'Right-Wing

May 26th, 2011 12:09 PM
The network evening news programs on Wednesday and morning shows on Thursday skipped covering the suspension of MSNBC host Ed Shultz for trashing Laura Ingraham as a "right-wing slut." Yet, these same networks eagerly jumped all over the story of Don Imus referring to college basketball players as "hos." On Wednesday, ABC's World News, CBS's Evening News and NBC's Nightly News avoided…

CBS Omits Party ID of Blagojevich, Emanuel in Trial Brief; ABC, NBC Pu

May 25th, 2011 2:51 PM
CBS's Jeff Glor failed to mention the Democratic Party affiliation of Rod Blagojevich, as well as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., during a news brief on Wednesday's Early Show. Glor's report was the only mention on the Big Three network morning shows of the former Illinois governor's lawyers calling the former Obama aide and the congressman to testify in his retrial for…

Networks Skip Democrat Label While Covering John Edwards Indictment, T

May 25th, 2011 1:40 PM
The network morning shows on Wednesday all avoided party labels for Democrat John Edwards in the wake of the announcement that the former presidential candidate will be indicted by the Justice Department. In February, however, the same programs could not wait to highlight a disgraced conservative and tout his party ID. ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Today and CBS's Early Show simply…

Nets Claim GOP Plan for 'Deep Cuts' in Medicare Led to 'Seismic' Dem W

May 25th, 2011 11:53 AM
All three network morning shows on Wednesday cheered Democrat Kathy Hochul winning the special election in New York's 26th congressional district and framed the outcome as a rejection of Republican plans to reform Medicare. On NBC's Today, news reporter Ann Curry proclaimed: "The race hinged on Hochul's opposition to a Republican-led plan to make deep cuts in Medicare." [Audio available here…

NBC Skips Supreme Court Ruling Freeing Thousands of Criminals and Scal

May 24th, 2011 12:37 PM
NBC's Nightly News on Monday and the Today show on Tuesday ignored a controversial, ideologically divided Supreme Court ruling that ordered California to release at least 38,000 prisoners. ABC, over two days, allowed a scant 11 seconds. Only CBS provided a full report. In a blistering dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia warned that "terrible things are sure to happen" if the action is…

Science Fiction: 5 Years After, Networks Celebrate Al Gore's 'Inconven

May 24th, 2011 10:26 AM
The cause for the end of the world has been imagined by screenwriters to include everything from giant insects and malevolent robots to asteroids the size of Texas. But five year ago in May 2006, Hollywood found a new menace: carbon dioxide. This scenario was different in another respect. It was supposedly true. The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" wasn't intended to be the blockbuster…