NBC's Lauer Dismisses Woodward: 'I'm A Little Surprised You've Gone Pu

In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post's Bob Woodward on Friday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer belittled the veteran journalist for daring to reveal a contentious exchange with White House adviser Gene Sperling: "I'm a little surprised you've gone public with this. I mean, these kinds of high-energy, high-octane, high-emotion conversations and debates happen all the time between…

NBC Allows 16 Seconds to White House Battle With Bob Woodward, Avoids

The Today show on Thursday allowed a scant 16 seconds, out of a possible four hours, to the claim by veteran journalist Bob Woodward that the Obama White House is trying to intimidate him and attack his coverage of the sequester cuts. The NBC program also avoided using the word "threat." ABC's Good Morning America gave the most coverage to the battle, offering a full report and a news brief…

NBC: 'Knives Came Out' When Pope Announced Abdication, Church in 'Holy

Keeping up NBC's barrage of attacks against the Catholic Church in the days leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's abdication, on Wednesday's Today, correspondent Anne Thompson made this nasty declaration: "...as one observer said, the stiletto knives came out as the battle for control of this institution begins, that some say is a holy mess....reports of infighting, back stabbing, and political…

NBC Touts Michelle Obama's Oscar Appearance as 'Part of a Carefully Cr

In a report on Tuesday's NBC Today that only briefly mentioned criticism of First Lady Michelle Obama's appearance during Sunday's Academy Awards, White House correspondent Kristen Welker gushed that people were "still buzzing" over the "Oscar finale that no one saw coming." Welker described Obama's recent "media blitz": "The First Lady has been popping up all over the place lately, on Jimmy…

NBC: Christie in 'Battle' With 'Right Wing' After CPAC 'Snub,' Won't

Reacting to Chris Christie not being invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), on Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer melodramatically announced: "...another battle for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today. But this time, he's at odds with the right wing of his own party." The headline on screen throughout the segment read: "Cold Shoulder for Christie;…

NBC Proclaims: 'A Moment of Crisis for the Catholic Church Hit By A Wa

At the top of Monday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams made this hyperbolic declaration: "A moment of crisis for the Catholic Church hit by a wave of scandals, just as the leaders must gather to select a new pope." Introducing the lead story moments later, Williams further hyped: "The problem for the Catholic Church is the drumbeat of scandal is now growing so loud and so vast, it's…

NBC’s Today Toes White House Line on Sequestration Cuts

NBC continued to sound the alarm over the impending sequester on Saturday’s Today show. On a day when the CBS and ABC morning shows questioned how bad the cuts would really be, NBC ran a highly unbalanced story that mostly propagated President Obama’s doomsday scenario. [Video below. MP3 audio here.] Co-anchor Lester Holt set the scene with a dire metaphor: “There's a storm of another kind…

NBC Panelists Blame 'American Public' and Republicans for Sequester

During a panel discussion on Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer urged the liberal Today's Professionals pundits to assign blame for the upcoming budget sequester: "I want you to complete the following sentence, 'And the blame goes to...' Almost by every analysis people agree this will hurt the economy, hurt the recovery, might even damage national security. And the blame goes to?" [Listen…

NBC's New Hire Lisa Bloom Once Implied Prop 8 Supporters are 'Lunatic

MediaBistro's TVNewser blog reported on Thursday that NBC's Today hired former CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom as their new legal analyst. Bloom, the only child of notorious celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, is a chip off her mother's block, given her liberal record both on the air and online, particularly on the issue of same-sex "marriage". The attorney blasted California's voter-approved…

NBC Bids Pope Farewell: 'Scandal Continues to Dog Benedict's Papacy an

In an effort to hype controversy days before Pope Benedict XVI steps down as the leader of the Catholic Church, on Monday's NBC Today, correspondent Anne Thompson proclaimed: "Even in his final days as pope, scandal continues to dog Benedict's papacy and the Church." The chyron on screen throughout the segment declared: "Vatican Intrigue." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump…

NBC Joins White House 'PR Offensive' to Scare People About Sequester C

Acting like an extension of the White House press office on Monday's NBC Today, correspondent Peter Alexander promoted Obama administration talking points on the upcoming budget sequester: "This morning, the White House is picking up the pace of its PR offensive, they are rolling out reports for each of the country's states and how they will be affected by these automatic budget cuts." [Listen…

Meredith Vieira Sings ‘Call Me Maybe’ To Jay Leno

Former NBC Today show host Meredith Vieira actually sang “Call Me Maybe” to Jay Leno Friday evening. As the head of her elementary school glee club told her when she was nine, she really should have mouthed the lyrics.

Unlike NBC, MSNBC Continues to Fail To Identify Jesse Jackson Jr. as D

Sadly, MSNBC cannot follow sister network NBC’s lead in reporting the story of disgraced Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill) and his impending prison sentence for illegally using campaign funds for personal usage.  On the February 20 edition of NBC Nightly News as well as on the February 21 edition of Today, both shows correctly identify Jesse Jackson Jr. as a Democrat, but their MSNBC morning…

Big Three Network Double Standard on Labeling Scandalous Politicians

All too often when reporters are discussing Democrats caught in scandals, they develop a peculiar speech impediment that prevents them from uttering the "D" word. However, when members of the GOP stumble, the word "Republican" cascades out of the mouths of reporters. When news broke on February 15 that former Democratic Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. was charged with improperly spending…