NBC Nightly News: Mohammad Ali, Walt Whitman, Annie Oakley and Now...B

April 6th, 2010 2:47 AM
NBC News is certainly enthralled with David Remnick’s new book, ‘The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama.’ After giving him a guest slot on Meet the Press and an interview on Monday’s Today show, NBC Nightly News on Monday showcased Remnick in an “In His Own Words” segment to expound on his admiration for Obama’s racial identity journey, starting with how Obama follows in the tradition of…

Networks Praise New Fuel Standards, Call Them 'Nothing Short of Histor

April 3rd, 2010 9:32 AM
New fuel standards make both the left and the media happy. It's easy to tell. There wasn't a single voice of opposition criticizing the latest act of Big Government on major prime-time news outlets ABC, CBS or NBC. "Environmentalists are hailing the move as nothing short of historic," NBC's Lee Cowan said of the federal government's new fuel efficiency standards. The networks did much the same.…

Couric and Sawyer's Ratings Plummet as Williams' Rise

April 2nd, 2010 10:58 AM
The folks at ABC and CBS News are certainly not humming Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman" this morning given the plummeting ratings of their respective evening anchors Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric.Adding insult to injury, Brian Williams' numbers continue to climb.So reported the New York Times Friday in a piece destined to raise some liberal media eyebrows:

On NBC, Boy Scout Scandal Merits Story, But Club's 100th Anniversary D

April 1st, 2010 9:32 PM
When it comes to socially-conservative groups media outlets like to cover the scandals instead of the celebrations. That's exactly what NBC did to the Boy Scouts of America which had its 100th anniversary Jan. 25. NBC "Nightly News" completely ignored the anniversary, but did remember to cover Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day during that broadcast. But NBC will find time for scandal. On April 1, NBC'…

NBC's Brian Williams Knocks 'Hatred,' 'Venom' in Health Care Fight, To

April 1st, 2010 4:54 PM
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams appeared on the BBC podcast Americana on Sunday and asserted that "hatred" and "venom" were part of the health care debate. He then hyperbolically claimed, "I would sooner jab my hand into a food processor than take a side." [MP3 Audio available here.] The NBC journalist seriously trumpeted, "In my line of work I never engage in opinions, anyway." BBC…

NBC Nightly News Showcases Devotional Obama as Lauer Cracks: 'Spiritua

March 30th, 2010 8:12 PM
Out of the lengthy interview sessions Matt Lauer conducted with President Barack Obama which were played back over the first hour-and-half of Tuesday's Today show, Brian Williams decided to highlight on Nightly News only Obama's explanation for “why his family hasn't found a church to attend yet in their new adopted home of Washington, D.C.” Obama's reasoning satisfied Lauer, who quipped: “It's…

No Time for a Real Threat as ABC and CBS Skip Arrest of Man Targeting

March 30th, 2010 1:12 AM
NBC on Monday night squeezed in a few seconds for the arrest of “a Philadelphia man for threatening the life of the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric Cantor of Virginia.” Yet after the networks led last week with less-immediate threats against Democrats, they weren’t so interested in a real case of a death threat against a Republican as neither CBS nor ABC aired a word…

Victim Advocates Outnumber Church Defenders 13 to 1 in Evening News Co

March 26th, 2010 5:15 PM
All three broadcast networks reported allegations of abuse by Catholic priests during their nightly news programs on March 25. But none of them provided an objective report.ABC, CBS and NBC ran a combined total of 13 sound bites from victims and victim advocates, who claimed the Catholic Church, and Pope Benedict XVI in particular, covered up sexual abuse by Father Lawrence Murphy. They…

Nets Not So Excited About Violence and Threats Aimed at ObamaCare Oppo

March 25th, 2010 9:07 PM
An evening after all three broadcast network newscasts led by advancing the Democratic narrative of violent ObamaCare critics, a storyline intended to discredit conservatives as all gratuitously named Sarah Palin as a culprit, on Thursday night the same programs weren't so interested and only stumbled into the suddenly “bipartisan” victims – despite fresh revelations of threats and violence aimed…

Nets Lead with ‘Ugly’ and ‘Menacing’ ObamaCare Opponents Fuele

March 25th, 2010 9:48 AM
Sounding more like MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann than impartial newscasts, ABC, CBS and NBC all led Wednesday night by legitimizing Democratic talking points meant to discredit critics of the just-passed health care bill. “Opposition to health care turns menacing,” ABC’s Diane Sawyer warned. CBS teased with audio clips -- “Baby-murdering scumbag,”“You are a dirtbag” and “I hope you die…

Breaking News on NBC: Michelle Obama Is Not Anti-Twinkie

March 19th, 2010 7:39 AM
It's gooey enough that Newsweek awarded Michelle Obama its cover story this week, titled "Feed Your Children Well: My Fight Against Childhood Obesity." On Wednesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams added to the popularity-boosting effort by determining that she is not anti-Twinkie:  BRIAN WILLIAMS: On the same subject, first lady Michelle Obama today continued her campaign against…

Media Critic: Baier's Obama Interview Antidote to Brian Williams' Bow

March 18th, 2010 9:22 AM
Contrary to how most of the President's sycophants saw his interview with Bret Baier Wednesday, a media critic from the Baltimore Sun felt it was "a textbook encounter of how the press should engage the executive branch of government." "As much credit as I give Obama for taking his healthcare message to Fox News and staying on point, I also praise Baier for being thoroughly prepared and hitting…

Double Standard: Networks Hyped GOP E-mailer Mark Foley, Minimized Dem

March 17th, 2010 4:45 PM
With a disparity of five-to-one, the same network morning and evening news programs that displayed an eager interest in Republican Mark Foley's E-mail scandal minimized the groping and tickling of Democrat Eric Massa. In 2010, these shows offered a scant 30 stories to Democrat Eric Massa and details of how he engaged in naked shower fights. Over a 12 day period in 2006, 152 segments were devoted…

Kelly O'Donnell Advances NBC News Company Line On Obamacare Poll

March 17th, 2010 12:09 PM
NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, on Wednesday's Today, advanced the NBC company line on the results of a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll on Obamacare as she reported "Americans are evenly divided." O'Donnell, of course, was merely following the lead of her NBC News colleague Brian Williams, who on Tuesday's Nightly News, ignored the most negative news from the survey, as the MRC's Brent Baker noted…