CNN Defends Debate, Says Vetting Was 'Focused on the Questions
CNN is defending its job in vetting questions for last night's debate, reports Politico's Kenneth Vogel:The retired general who quizzed Republican presidential candidates about gays and lesbians in the military was not the only person linked to a Democratic presidential candidate who got to ask a question at Wednesday’s CNN/YouTube debate. CNN also aired questions from supporters of Democratic…
Q3 Economic Growth is 4.9%, Yet Media Obsessed with Recession Talk
Economic growth for the third quarter, which was estimated at 3.9% a month ago, was revised upward to 4.9% by the government's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The BEA announcement is here. This of course explains why a Google News search I just did on "recession" has hundreds and hundreds of articles talking about a possible recession, including 481 in the first 20 listings (/sarc). Key…
Newsweek: Who's Less Liberal? Romney or Giuliani
"Rudy v. Romney: Which one is least [sic]* liberal?"So asks a teaser headline in the Newsweek.com front page "light box" slideshow (pictured at right). The link takes readers to Newsweek assistant editor Andrew Romano's article, "Forget 'Conservative.' Who's the 'Least Liberal' GOP Frontrunner?"Conservatives examining whom to support in the primary elections might do well to welcome an…
The Media, Their Polls and the False News They Produce
First published in Human Events on November 27th, 2007.Wash, spin, rinse, spin. Phone, spin, report, spin, poll, spin. The similarities between the work of the mainstream media and a laundry machine are striking. Yet there is nothing about the cycle -- the spin-report-poll-spin cycle -- that does for political events what detergent does for your boxers or briefs. The media, as One, spend days…
How the Housing Report Changed From Initial E-Mail to Spun Story
Here's what a CNN e-mail I received said when the news was first released: Here's how the headline at the home page turned out mid-morning:
CBSNews.com Employs Scary Graphic to Tease Gun Ban Court Story
Teasing a story about the Supreme Court agreeing to hear an appeal concerning the Washington, D.C. handgun gun and whether it violates the 2nd Amendment's protection of an individual's right to keep and bear arms, CBSNews.com employed an ominous-looking graphic on its home page.Pictured at right is the CBS/AP graphic showing in the foreground a right hand grasping a handgun, with an outline of…
Media Ignored Blows Dealt to Terrorist-Inspiring al-Dura Footage
Shouldn't the media cover the debunking of an event which stirred violent anti-Israel sentiment and even became a talking point for Osama Bin Ladin? Instead, the media ignored a French judge's investigation into whether France2's 2000 report that claimed Israel shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy is “a hoax.” The famous picture of a terrified Mohammed al-Dura hiding behind his father…
MSNBC's Shuster Giddy Over Regan FNC Suit
TVNewser has an item today about MSNBC's David Shuster blasting Rudy Giuliani and Fox News brass while announcing a lawsuit involving the rival news channel (h/t Ian Schwartz):This is how MSNBC's David Shuster, who once worked for FNC, reported the story in the 9amET hour: "This is bad news, perhaps not just for Rudy Giuliani, but also for Fox News Channel. Roger Ailes who is in charge of Fox…
CBS's Mark Knoller Compares Movie Theaters to Big Oil
In an Andy Rooneyesque rant about how his latest movie-going experience "left much to be desired," CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller hinted he wouldn't mind seeing liberal consumers groups tackle hefty snack prices at the nation's movie theaters. He even suggested the short titles for two bills Congress could draft on that front. From Knoller's November 12 Couric & Co. blog post (…
Karl Rove Gets Cursed Out for Discussing Netroots Vulgarity
Oh the exquisitely delicious irony. On Thursday, Karl Rove gave a speech about politics and the Internet at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, and, as reported by the Washington Times, commented about the frequent incidence of vulgarity at liberal blogs: Mr. Rove cited the results of a study that found that writers and commenters on liberal blogs such as DailyKos.com cursed far more than…
A Stunning Report on 'Discretionary Income' Old Media Uses Its Discret
Someone needs to tell me why this news about discretionary income isn't as significant as I believe it is. But first, three warnings: 1. I'm not about to spend the $250 needed to read the full report from the Conference Board that backs the story (their "about" page is here). 2. I don't feel totally comfortable with how the statistic is measured -- "Households with discretionary income, as…
