On MLK Anniversary, NBC Sees Another Day to Boost Obama

August 28th, 2013 2:59 PM
In a puff piece on Wednesday's NBC Today, White House correspondent Kristen Welker heralded President Obama's upcoming speech marking the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech: "President Obama has delivered a number of big speeches before, but this one is different. He'll be speaking in the shadows of Dr. King, a man who gave his life fighting for civil rights. So, today…

ABC Insists Gun Bill Is a 'Significant' 'Major Breakthrough,' But NBC

April 10th, 2013 12:19 PM
The journalists at Good Morning America on Wednesday could barely contain themselves, hailing the compromise over gun control legislation as a "major," "big, significant breakthrough." Guest host Elizabeth Vargas marveled, "Boy, is that big news." Yet, the reporters on NBC offered less effusive coverage. Today's Kristen Welker conceded, "Democrats had been hoping for background checks to be…

NBC Touts 'Sweeping Gun Control' in Connecticut, National 'Call to Act

April 4th, 2013 11:52 AM
On Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie heralded that Connecticut had "approved some of the tightest gun control legislation in the country as President Obama is pushing for tougher laws nationwide." The headline on screen proclaimed: "Tough New State Gun Laws; Connecticut Governor to Sign Sweeping Gun Control Bill." In the report that followed, White House correspondent Kristen…

NBC Parrots White House Threat to Cancel Easter Egg Roll, Ignores It D

March 19th, 2013 11:13 AM
On Tuesday's NBC Today, news reader Natalie Morales warned viewers: "With a potential government shutdown looming later on this month, the White House may have to cancel its annual Easter Egg Roll." In the report that followed, White House correspondent Kristen Welker added that the "event might be in jeopardy....due to the ongoing budget battles here in Washington." [Listen to the audio or…

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

February 28th, 2013 12:10 PM
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 Touts Michelle Obama's Oscar Appearance as 'Part of a Carefully Cr

February 27th, 2013 12:08 PM
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’s Today Toes White House Line on Sequestration Cuts

February 26th, 2013 12:24 PM
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 Implores Congress to Oppose Upcoming Sequestration Cuts

February 12th, 2013 2:05 PM
As the nation moves closer to the sequester, set to take effect on March 1, NBC is digging in its heels in opposition. On Saturday’s Today, the network ran a story that leaned heavily against the looming automatic spending cuts (surprise, surprise). NBC aimed right for the heart strings by featuring a Colorado high school counselor who had the following “message for Congress”: “At the time when…

NBC Bids Hillary Fawning Farewell: Secretary of State's Departure Had

February 4th, 2013 12:58 PM
Marking Hillary Clinton's final day as Secretary of State on Friday's NBC Nightly News, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell gushed: "Clinton's State Department farewell was bittersweet. She took time to tour the building, saying goodbye to cafeteria workers....[her] departure had the energy of a campaign rally. As she left, some women were shouting, '2016.'" [Listen to the audio…

NBC Cheers 'Invigorated' and 'Emboldened' Obama Pushing 'Broad Liberal

January 23rd, 2013 2:39 PM
On Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, White House correspondent Kristen Welker touted President Obama gearing up for his second term: "An invigorated President Obama joined in a prayer service this morning....On Monday, resolve, defending entitlements and calling for action on climate change and gay rights, a broad liberal agenda." Welker then heralded Obama appeasing the Democratic base in his…

NBC Gushes Over First Lady's Hairdo and President's Playlist

January 18th, 2013 3:19 PM
On Thursday, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams took time out of the broadcast to provide this supposed "news" update: "First Lady Michelle Obama turned 49 today. But the big news came as the First Lady's office inaugurated a Twitter account and sent out this picture showing the First Lady's new bangs. Which Vanity Fair's website instantly praised, calling them 'featherly,' and tracing…

NBC's Williams Inaugurates 'Post-Newtown Era' of Gun Restrictions

January 11th, 2013 5:27 PM
For three consecutive nights on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams proclaimed the country to now be in the "post-Newtown era," as he and reporters promoted how "the White House prepares its battle plan" to push for more gun control following the school shooting. [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump] On Tuesday, Williams kicked off the…

NBC Panel Discusses Biden Reality Show: 'The Most Entertaining Man in

January 10th, 2013 5:56 PM
During a panel discussion on Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Willie Geist touted an online White House petition to get Vice President Joe Biden his own reality show. Panelist and left-wing MSNBC host Alex Wagner raved: "Incredible idea, can I be the cameraman?...he's the most entertaining man in politics." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump] Wagner continued to gush over…

NBC’s ‘Today’ Promotes President Obama’s Push For Greater Gun

December 20th, 2012 3:15 PM
It seems apparent that NBC is following orders from The White House to continue to argue for stricter gun control in the wake of the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.  Appearing on Thursday morning's Today, NBC’s White House Correspondent Kristen Welker continued to peddle The White House message to “pledge action to prevent such a massacre from every happening again.” Welker…