ABC, NBC Omit Blagojevich's Party ID; CBS: Is Sentence 'Too High

December 8th, 2011 12:35 PM
ABC, NBC, and CBS all reported on former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich receiving a 14-year prison sentence for corruption on their evening news programs on Wednesday and their morning shows on Thursday, but only CBS's Early Show gave his Democratic affiliation. ABC devoted only 3 news briefs total to the conviction, while NBC Nightly News and The Early Show aired full reports. News…

This Thanksgiving, Media Still Stuffed with Food Police Message

November 21st, 2011 2:03 PM
In just a few days, Americans will give thanks for their blessings and celebrate them by stuffing themselves with a bountiful feast. Despite this beloved tradition, many in the news media disapprove of overeating and continue to call for taxes on certain foods, and increased regulation. Time magazine's website, includes an "Ideas" section with what it calls "Essential Insights. Great Debates.…

Networks Again Trumpet What NBC’s Williams Celebrates as ‘the Prot

October 6th, 2011 9:00 AM
CBS and NBC led Wednesday night with glowing stories about the growth and diversity of the far-left “Occupy Wall Street” protests, though without any ideological label applied nor any critics allowed, a promotional approach the networks never provided in Tea Party coverage. “We begin tonight with what has become by any measure a pretty massive protest movement,” NBC Nightly News anchor Brian…

CBS Spins New ObamaCare Birth Control Mandate as 'Good News

August 1st, 2011 4:48 PM
On Monday's Early Show, CBS slanted towards supporters of a new Obama administration mandate which requires private insurance companies to cover contraception as part of women's "preventative services." Anchor Chris Wragge labeled the development "good news," while correspondent Michelle Miller failed to include sound bites from opponents during her report on the new regulation. After using…

CBS's Schieffer Wrongly Claims Social Security Checks Can't Go Out Wit

July 28th, 2011 7:08 PM
On three occasions between July 22 and July 26, 2011, CBS's Bob Schieffer carried water for President Obama when he echoed the Democrat's inaccurate claim about Social Security: "Millions of Americans...may not get their next [Social Security] check if the debt ceiling crisis is not resolved." In reality, there is enough federal revenues and authorized expenditures to pay for the program [audio…

CBS Promotes Taxing 'Fattening, Non-Nutritious' Food

July 26th, 2011 5:34 PM
CBS's Michelle Miller leaned towards supporters of taxing junk food on Tuesday's Early Show, playing three sound bites from them and none from opponents. Miller only made one vague reference to the opposing side, and she immediately followed it by playing up the supposedly positive result of a tax: "While some say a new tax is the last thing we need, it could mean a healthier America." The…

WaPo's Quinn Bills Oprah as 'True Religious Leader'; Likens Her to the

May 26th, 2011 7:07 PM
Sally Quinn pronounced Oprah Winfrey  "America's high priestess" and a "true religious leader" in a Thursday item on The Washington Post's "On Faith" website. Quinn, who waxed ecstatic over Oprah Winfrey's final episode, even went so far to compare Winfrey's last hurrah to a papal Mass: "The pope couldn't have done better." The writer launched right into painting Oprah as a spiritual guru in…

CBS Promotes Failing U.S. Post Office Over Private Companies: 'Makes C

February 8th, 2011 6:14 PM
On Tuesday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Michelle Miller reported on planned closures of 2,000 U.S. Post Office locations: "...in this age of digital communications, online bill paying, and Federal Express, are physical post offices still relevant?" She seemed to answer her own question: "Folks are not going to let this go down without a fight...It's what makes their community whole."…

CBS Warns: Food Industry Must Reduce Salt Content or 'Face Regulation

February 1st, 2011 4:31 PM
Teasing an upcoming story on new federal dietary guidelines on Monday's CBS Evening News, fill-in anchor Harry Smith announced: "The assault on salt. Chances are you are eating too much of it." Smith later introduced the segment by fretting: "Two out of three Americans are overweight or obese, an epidemic that is expected to send health care costs skyrocketing." In the report that followed,…

CBS Plays Food Police, Touts ObamaCare Counting Calories

January 5th, 2011 4:26 PM
On Tuesday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Michelle Miller lectured Americans on their diet: "According to Consumer Reports Health, many Americans are simply deluding themselves, most say they eat well but don't....85% of Americans rarely, if ever, count calories. Another 79% never set foot on a scale." At one point, Miller stopped by a New York City restaurant and warned: "...people have…

CBS Hypes: 'Doctors Who Perform Abortions Fear for Their Lives

October 28th, 2010 10:34 AM
On Tuesday's CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric warned of violence against abortion doctors, based flyers being circulated by a pro-life group: "Their pictures are showing up on posters. Now doctors who perform abortions fear for their lives." The posters in question did not call for any violence whatsoever. Despite that fact, Couric later introduced the story by declaring: "Now some…

CBS Story on 'Fighter' Alan Grayson Ignores False 'Taliban Dan' Ad

October 18th, 2010 4:43 PM
In a story on Florida Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson's bid for reelection on Sunday's CBS Evening News, correspondent Michelle Miller described the left-wing bomb thrower this way: "Freshman Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson considers himself a fighter....Whether taking on the foreclosure mess or the Republican Party." Miller briefly referred to Grayson's history of controversial…

CBS 'Early Show' Touts 'Lady Gaga vs. The Pentagon' Over 'Don't Ask, D

September 21st, 2010 4:15 PM
On Tuesday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez promoted singer Lady Gaga calling for an end to the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy: "A unique showdown shaping up today in the Senate...it's Senator John McCain versus Lady Gaga. The Senator wants to keep the ban, but the world's biggest pop star is throwing her support behind the gays who want to serve in the military."  …

CBS 'Early Show': Conservative O'Reilly 'Lashed Out' At 'Single Mother

August 16th, 2010 1:29 PM
Late in the 7:00AM ET hour of Monday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Michelle Miller reported on the "war of words" between actress Jennifer Aniston and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly over women having children without a man. Miller remarked that Aniston had "made a seemingly simple comment supporting the concept," while the "conservative" O'Reilly "slammed the actress" for doing so.The report…