The NewsBusters Weekly Recap: February 3 to
This week, Chris Matthews' anti-Bush bigotry spilled over into a profanity laden rant. The "Hardball" host dropped the F-bomb during a live interview with Don Imus. Meanwhile, CNN’s Paula Zahn connected opposition of illegal immigration to, you guessed it, the Ku Klux Klan. This is the same network, however, that tried to downplay proven religious bigotry by a blogger for the John Edwards…
After Week of Silence: Network Morning Shows Finally Cover Pelosi Plan
After more than a week of ignoring the controversy over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s request for access to an extravagant plane, the three network morning shows finally covered the subject on Thursday, albeit briefly. CBS and ABC both offered full reports during the 7AM hour of the February 8 shows, while only CBS included a quote from a Republican lawmaker who criticized the possible ethical…
Lauer's PR Nudge to Nancy: Take Smaller Plane and Smile
Message to Nancy Pelosi: when NBC's Matt Lauer and David Gregory agree that your quest for a big plane is turning into a PR mess, and ABC's Chris Cuomo calls it a case of "jet envy," it's time to fold your wings.Lauer raised the matter with David Gregory on this morning's "Today": "Let's talk about the size of the plane that Nancy Pelosi has requested from the Pentagon. Depending on the spin…
NBC: On a Mission from Gore
"We're on a mission from God." -- Dan Aykroyd as Elwood, "The Blues Brothers"NBC is on a mission -- from Gore.NBC announced its allegiance to Al Gore's stop-global-warming mission on this morning's "Today." With Tom Costello narrating, Today first ran a glowing piece on Timberland shoe company, famous for its boots, which has announced that, you guessed it, it's on a "mission" to become "carbon…
Lauer: Global Warming 'Literally Could Be End of World as We Know It
The world could be coming to an end, but not to worry: "the Democrats are now in charge of Congress." That, in a nutshell, was NBC's message on global warming on this morning's "Today."Here's how Matt Lauer, apparently in the throes of a global-warming panic attack, kicked off the segment: "Now to a controversy in Washington over what literally could be the end of the world as we know it."View…
Vieira Shocker: 'Can We Afford to Leave Iraq if Iran Will Take Over
This one could make waves.When a NBC military analyst made the case that US withdrawal from Iraq would have very harmful consequences, you might have expected Meredith Vieira to argue the point. But not only did the NBC host seem to buy into his logic, she took it a significant step farther toward its logical conclusion.Retired LTC Rick Francona was Meredith's guest on this morning's "Today."…
