ABC, CBS & NBC Hype Kennedy's 'Cover-Up' Charge Over CIA Video
Taking their lead from liberal Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy, the three broadcast networks all screamed “cover-up” Friday night as ABC and NBC led with Democratic complaints about the CIA destroying video of some interrogations of terrorists while CBS made it the second story -- though Katie Couric teased it with “Cover-Up?” on screen under video of Kennedy. “Tonight, charges of a cover-up by…
NBC Showcases Tehran Newspaper's Caricature of Bush as Pinocchio
Checking in Wednesday night from Tehran with Iranian reaction to what anchor Brian Williams described as the new intelligence assessment that “Iran is not developing nuclear weapons after all,” NBC correspondent Ali Arouzi held up a newspaper to show how it portrayed President Bush “as Pinocchio.” Arouzi described crowds cheering President Ahmadinejad's railing against lies spread by the U.S. and…
MRC Study: As Surge Succeeds, Iraq News Gets Rarer
Back in September, when General David Petraeus reported that the surge in U.S. troops had improved the security situation in Iraq, the big three broadcast networks were openly skeptical."Insurgent attacks are down from 170 in January to 120 in August," ABC's Terry McCarthy noted on the September 9 World News Sunday, the day before Petraeus testified before Congress. "But that is still four…
CBS vs CBS, and ABC and NBC Too, on NIE Impact on Iran Sanctions
Reports on Tuesday's broadcast network evening newscasts all highlighted concerns the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded Iran stopped working on its nuclear weapons program in 2003, will reduce international pressure on Iran. But just a couple of minutes after CBS's Jim Axelrod asserted that “maintaining an international coalition to confront Iran will no doubt be trickier…
Media Warns of $100/Barrel Oil – Still Hasn’t Happened
Remember when everyone was warning of impending economic collapse from oil reaching that mystical mark of $100 a barrel? Over the past two months, it has been on the way according to the media. But as of December 3, the price of crude has decreased - not increased as predicted."Crude briefly cracked $90 a barrel for the first time and analysts say that will soon trickle down to the pump," Alexis…
NBC's Williams Avoids Controversy With Edwards, Not With Giuliani
Three weeks ago, when NBC anchor Brian Williams interviewed Rudy Giuliani, Williams raised Giuliani's closeness to Bernard Kerik and pressed him on Iraq as he pointed out how 2007 had become “the bloodiest year” in the war, but in an interview with John Edwards aired Tuesday night, Williams stuck to softballs and didn't bring up the indictment of a major Edwards donor or push Edwards about how…
NBC Highlights Returning Iraqis: 'I Can't Wait to Get Back
“There is a noticeable trend under way. A growing stream of Iraqis who left to escape the killing, many of them going to Syria, now reversing their migration,” anchor Brian Williams highlighted Tuesday evening as the NBC Nightly News became the first broadcast network evening newscast to air a full report on the trend. From Baghdad, reporter Tom Aspell showcased a mother who exclaimed: “I'm so…
Bozell Column: Tom Brokaw vs. Talk Radio
In the musty but hallowed halls of the Old Media, the first item for target practice is often the New Media, the ones formed and made popular by the atrocious biases of their predecessors. The Old Media continue watching their numbers bleed away; continue to paint themselves as fair and balanced, despite the preponderance of evidence to the contrary; and continue to smear the New Media,…
CBS Grudgingly Acknowledges Progress in Iraq, But
Finally catching up with ABC and NBC, the night before Thanksgiving the CBS Evening News turned to chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan for a look at how conditions are improving in Iraq. But the story from Logan, who just over a month ago insisted that “we're doing extremely badly,” was more cynical and foreboding than more upbeat reports aired Thanksgiving night on ABC and NBC when CBS's…
Brian Williams Horrified He Offended Gays In Queen Elizabeth Story
On his blog The Daily Nightly, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams was horrified that someone would think he sounded like a member of the religious right – you know, the ones Brian describes as stridently "anti-gay, pro-Jesus, and anti-abortion and no gray matter in between." He had used the phrase "marriage is under attack," which outraged gay-left bloggers:I was the recipient today of…
