Reliable Sources

CNN's Howard Kurtz on Sunday seemed to be oblivious to his own sense of irony. Seconds after the Reliable Sources host ridiculed conservative author Ann Coulter for being bleeped by MSNBC while on Morning Joe last week, he actually praised a poorly received promotional ad for the very show she was on (video follows with transcript and commentary):

When the Washington Post's "conservative" blogger Jennifer Rubin last Sunday accused the right-leaning media of being "embarrassingly bad this election cycle," it seemed a metaphysical certitude CNN's Howard Kurtz would soon have her on to advance her view. True to form, exactly one week later there was Rubin on Reliable Sources with the host saying, "This indictment suggests, my reading of…

You want to talk about hoaxes? On Sunday's Reliable Sources, CNN and host Howard Kurtz actually promoted the Obama-loving Andrew Sullivan as a "conservative" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Newsweek's Eleanor Clift made a rather revealing statement about the media's treatment of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich Sunday. Shortly after CNN's Howard Kurtz asked his Reliable Sources panel, "Why do some of these commentators have such a deep-seated animus toward Newt," Clift surprising said, "I think he's right about a lot of [things]. And I think that's even more…

A rather extraordinary thing happened Sunday. CNN's Howard Kurtz actually took Bill O'Reilly's side in the Lincoln book dispute the Fox News host is having with Kurtz's former employer the Washington Post (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Former Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker said Sunday he chose not to run the story that former President Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky because he and his staff didn't feel they were on firm enough ground. "If we had gotten that wrong," Whitaker told CNN's Howard Kurtz on Reliable Sources, it "could  have been a mortal blow to Newsweek's reputation" (video follows with transcript…

CNN's Howard Kurtz considers himself to be a media analyst, yet on Sunday's Reliable Sources, he spent 22 minutes discussing Politico's hit piece on Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain without once mentioning how the press handled Bill Clinton's actual  sex scandals. The program began:

There are times when I'm sickened by what I see so-called journalists do on television. Sunday was one of those times when Politico's Roger Simon, appearing on CNN's Reliable Sources, said being "a little bit racist perhaps, gives you good bona fides in a Republican primary. It shows them you're on the same side as they are" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CNN's Howard Kurtz on Sunday mocked the hiring of sex scandal plagued former governor Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) by Fox News. Hypocritically, the "Reliable Sources" host neglected to mention his own network's prior relationship with the prostitute loving former governor Eliot Spitzer (D-N.Y.) (video follows with transcript and commentary):

I'm not sure what press reports media analyst Howard Kurtz observed since Thursday's announcement that Moammar Gaddafi had been killed in Libya, but they certainly can't be what most people in this country have seen. On CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday, Kurtz actually asked his guests why the press aren't giving President Obama more credit (video follows with transcript and commentary):

On Sunday's Reliable Sources on CNN, host Howard Kurtz and guest Erik Wemple of the Washington Post both took exception with FNC's Bill O'Reilly for recently calling some of the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters "far-left loons" and "anarchists." Kurtz noted the contrast in how MSNBC and FNC have responded to the protests:

CNN's newest addition to its prime-time line-up, former CNBC anchor Erin Burnett, told Reliable Sources host Howard Kurtz on Sunday that yes, she would be "more opinionated" at CNN than in the past. Burnett's show, "Out Front," airs for the first time on Monday Oct 3 at 7 p.m. EDT. Kurtz interviewed Burnett at the bottom of the 11 a.m. hour on Sunday. He asked her "Are you going to be more…

Given the way most media members treated former Vice President Dick Cheney during his book tour last week, CNN's Howard Kurtz asked an absolutely perfect question on Sunday's "Reliable Sources." "Would liberal pundits be satisfied with anything other than Cheney confessing to war crimes?" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) caused quite a stir last week when she said if elected president she would bring back $2/gallon gasoline prices. On CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman - without supplying any economic data to support his claim - called Bachmann's pledge "flat out nuts" (video follows with transcript and commentary):