CBS ‘Early Show’ Congratulates Couric On Award For Palin Interview

April 16th, 2009 4:09 PM
On Thursday’s CBS Early Show fill-in co-host Priya David offered a news brief congratulating CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on a recent award for the broadcast: "And we at CBS News are pleased to report that our own Katie Couric has received the coveted Walter Cronkite Award for excellence in television political journalism. At a ceremony last night, Katie was cited for her coverage of the…

ABC's Diane Sawyer Presses on Guns; Skips Story of Right-wing Violence

April 16th, 2009 12:34 PM
"Good Morning America" co-host Diane Sawyer interviewed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday and skipped any mention of a controversial report by the agency warning of right-wing extremist activity and disgruntled returning war veterans. In separate interviews, both the CBS "Early Show" and NBC's "Today" discussed the hot-topic issue with the top government…

CBS’s Rodriguez Urges Assault Weapons Ban to DHS Chief

April 16th, 2009 11:53 AM
While discussing the ongoing drug war in Mexico with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez wondered: "President Obama will meet with the Mexican president today, who has said that the money, the guns, and the appetite for drugs that fuel this war come from our country. My question is, how much blame do we accept?...Is one of the other…

CBS Fears ‘Right Wing Extremism May Increase’ After Obama Election

April 15th, 2009 11:35 AM
On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith highlighted a recent report by the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center claiming a recent surge in hate groups in the United States: "The Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report found 926 active hate groups in the country. That's up more than 50% from just 2000...And they say part of it is because of the election of President Obama.…

CBS's Harry Smith Snarks to O'Reilly, 'Couldn't Hold a Job at Any Othe

April 14th, 2009 3:59 PM
CBS anchor Harry Smith and Bill O’Reilly traded light blows with each other on Tuesday’s Early Show, as the Fox News Channel host marked his 100th consecutive month at the top of cable news ratings. Smith jabbed his guest about his 12 years on the same network: “Couldn’t hold a job at any other place?...Is this the longest continuous employment you have ever had?” O’Reilly didn’t take it lying…

A Whopper of a Problem: CBS Anchor Makes Light of Raunchy Fast Food Ad

April 10th, 2009 3:46 PM
“I’ll take an order of fries, a kid’s meal, and some sexy women with square butts, please.”CBS “Early Show” hosts Maggie Rodriguez and Harry Smith giggled at the new commercial for the Burger King kid’s meal featuring sexual images inappropriate for children, including sexy women in tight outfits dancing to a parody of the notoriously raunchy tune, “Baby Got Back.”Aimed to promote the new 99 cent…

CBS Lines Up Three Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Against One Opponent

April 9th, 2009 2:59 PM
[Update, 3:34 pm Eastern: Please read Erin Brown's analysis of the CBS segment on the Culture and Media Institute's website.] In a promo on Thursday’s Early Show, CBS asked if same-sex “marriage” is “inevitable in all 50 states,” and during their segment on the issue, seemed to answer this rhetorical question affirmatively. The network also lined up four sound bites from three individuals who…

CBS's Rodriguez Sympathizes With Levi Johnston: 'Did You Get Your Hear

April 8th, 2009 4:15 PM
Wednesday’s Early Show picked up where The Tyra Banks Show left off in interviewing Levi Johnston, the ex-fiancé of Bristol Palin, as well as his sister and mother, and continued the media’s coverage of the “family feud” between the Palins and the Johnstons. Anchor Maggie Rodriguez asked Levi’s sister Mercede if the Palin family was “snobby.” She also asked the young man if the Palin family was “…

CBS Blasts Palin in Ridiculous ‘Scandal’ Segment

April 6th, 2009 1:55 PM
Recent earthquake activity in Alaska provided “CBS Early Show” co-hosts with a ready-made metaphor for a segment on the personal lives of some of the those surrounding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. But their quake turned out to be barely a ripple. Hosts Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez couldn’t contain their smirks as they introduced the piece. “There's been an earthquake rumbling outside…

CBS’s Smith Praises the ‘Raw Realness’ of Michelle Obama

April 3rd, 2009 3:41 PM
Friday’s CBS Early Show continued its fawning coverage of Barack and Michelle Obama in Europe as co-host Harry Smith gushed over the First Lady: "I mean, there's a kind of just raw realness about her. That session with the schoolgirls yesterday...People were in tears." Smith made the comment while talking to executive editor of thedailybeast.com, Tina Brown, who had her own words of praise: "…

CBS ‘Early Show’ Fawns Over Obamas’ Royal Welcome in Britain

April 2nd, 2009 4:05 PM
Thursday’s CBS Early Show offered non-stop gushing over Barack and Michelle Obama in Britain as co-host Julie Chen spoke with royal watcher Ingrid Seward: "Well, what is the buzz so far about Michelle Obama, and is she overshadowing her husband's presence over there?" Seward replied: "No, she's not overshadowing her husband. I think we all find him very charismatic, very handsome, and almost with…

Pop Psychology on CBS ‘Early Show’: Obama the Explorer

April 1st, 2009 5:46 PM
On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-hosts Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez talked to biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, who defined four personality types and their compatibility with each other: "Well, it's all hormones -- yes, I mean, it's hormones, it's neurotransmitters, it's all kinds of chemicals and genes...I call them the explorer, the builder, the director, and the negotiator."…

CBS’s Reid: Obama ‘Showered With Praise’ in Britain

April 1st, 2009 1:13 PM
On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show correspondent Chip Reid reported on President Obama’s first day in Britain: "Arriving at 10 Downing Street this morning, the President and First Lady were warmly greeted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah. They posed for a hoard of photographers who shouted for the President, who is hugely popular here, to give them another wave...Then a short walk…

Democratic President Goes to Europe, So ABC Touts Past GOP Goofs

March 31st, 2009 6:13 PM
"Good Morning America" reporter Yunji de Nies on Tuesday touted supposed gaffes of past Republican presidents in a segment on Barack Obama's trip abroad. De Nies intoned, "But one unlucky misstep and everyone remembers." As she said this, video of George W. Bush's 2005 trip to Beijing appeared onscreen. (In the footage, the then-President can be seen trying to go out the wrong door.) More…