NBC's Williams Empathizes with the 'Human' in Obama
October 31st, 2008 9:22 PM
Just as he did in two earlier interviews with Barack Obama when he held up magazine covers and asked Obama to glow in the moment, in an excerpt from this week's session with Obama aired on Friday's NBC Nightly News, Williams cued up Obama with another visual image -- this time holding up a photograph of Obama in sandals in Honolulu when he went for a walk after visiting his dying grandmother --…
After Discrediting McCain, Williams Again Cozies Up to Obama
October 30th, 2008 9:40 PM
A week after NBC's Brian Williams spent his time with John McCain and Sarah Palin in Ohio discrediting the accuracy of their claims and pushing for assurance their campaign wouldn't mention Jeremiah Wright, Williams on Thursday night in Florida returned to the same cozy approach with Barack Obama, though without the memories of mom, he employed in earlier interviews with the Democratic candidate…
NBC Frets Obviously Fake Flyer Will Confuse Its Dumb Viewers
October 29th, 2008 8:57 PM
Suggesting Brian Williams and the producers of NBC Nightly News assume a significant portion of their viewership is pretty dumb, the newscast began a story about how, as Williams fretted, “number of rumors and myths and threats that might keep some people away from the polls this year,” by highlighting a flyer, riddled with glaring misspellings and non-words, which made a false announcement about…
New CMI Study Reveals Three Major Media Narratives about Sarah Palin
October 29th, 2008 9:00 AM
In a just released study, "A Study in Character Assassination: How the TV Networks Have Portrayed Sarah Palin as Dunce or Demon," CMI analysts found that ABC, CBS and NBC are airing 18 negative stories for every one positive story on Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Is it any wonder that polls revealed a 17 percent increase in Palin's unfavorability ratings in just one…
MRC's Worst of the Week: Brian Williams's Liberal Double Standard
October 28th, 2008 9:55 AM
Both in January and in May, "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams conducted softball interviews with Barack Obama, holding up a favorable news magazine and asking how his loved ones, like his late mother, would feel about the slobbery covers. In January, he asked: "How does this feel, of all the honors that have come your way, all the publicity?" In May, it was: "Last time we were together, I…
CBS Evening News Spikes Newly Found Obama 'Redistributive' Audio
October 27th, 2008 9:57 PM
YouTube postings over the weekend divulged a 2001 radio interview in which Barack Obama regretted that “the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society,” but though John McCain on Monday cited this new evidence of Obama's long-standing advocacy of redistributing wealth, the CBS Evening…
NBC's Williams Hits Palin With 'Abortion Clinic Bomber' Stereotype
October 26th, 2008 8:05 PM
NBC's Brian Williams surely made the abortion lobby smile this week when he asked Sarah Palin in an interview, "Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist?" There's few things that abortion defenders love more than painting pro-lifers as violent bombers, arsonists, and assassins. But reality paints a different picture. The facts (pdf):There have been zero murders of abortionists and abortion clinic…
Williams Piles on Palin: Confused, Wardrobe, Unqualified, Deposition
October 24th, 2008 9:17 PM
Friday's NBC Nightly News carried the third excerpt from Brian Williams' time Wednesday with John McCain and Sarah Palin and, unlike his challenging approach to basic McCain-Palin premises in segments aired Wednesday and Thursday night, Williams kept it light as he asked how she's “liking” the campaign trail, wondered, when she cited “lies” about her, if there's “anything you want to correct the…
Williams Pushes McCain & Palin on Ayers, Avoid Wright, Define 'Elite
October 23rd, 2008 9:22 PM
In the second excerpt of his interview with John McCain and Sarah Palin, NBC's Brian Williams continued, for the second night, to challenge the premises of the McCain-Palin campaign as he pushed back at describing William Ayers as a “domestic terrorist” since “it give it a vaguely post-9/11 hint” by associating terrorist with “domestic crimes,” so “is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist?”…
CBS Scolds McCain's Tactics, Sees Hypocrisy in Palin's 'Six-Figure War
October 22nd, 2008 9:55 PM
Consistency on the CBS Evening News: Wednesday night Dean Reynolds concluded his piece on Barack Obama's campaign day by asserting “McCain's campaign tactics...have drawn criticism even from some Republicans” and next Chip Reid ended his story on John McCain's day on the trail by highlighting how “Gordon Smith of Oregon,” otherwise unidentified, “today became the fourth Republican to urge John…
Bully-boy Matthews on Anti-Palin Warpath
October 22nd, 2008 8:59 PM
How over-the-top was Chris Matthews in his vituperation against Sarah Palin and McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer this evening? So much so that:Matthews twice berated an Obama representative for being insufficiently aggressive in going after Palin; Brian Williams, in the subsequent segment, chided Matthews on his emotionalism.The Hardball host was infuriated by Palin's description, in answer to a…
Drudge Notes Network News Nosedive
October 22nd, 2008 9:36 AM
Matt Drudge, with some apparent glee, given the black and white picture he used, reported something yours truly has followed for some time: The Big Three networks' evening newscasts continue to lose viewers.He reports that the numbers, even in a presidential election year, are down from last year: ELECTION REJECTION: NETWORK NEWS SLUMPS; VIEWERSHIP FADES ..... All 3 evening news shows experienced…
