ABC and NBC Resort To Using 'Bert and Ernie' & 'Big Bird' (Again) To Undermine De-Funding Of NPR

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday March 10, 2011 @ 09:32 AM EST

1. ABC and NBC Resort to Using 'Bert and Ernie' and 'Big Bird' to Undermine Effort to De-Fund NPR

Demonstrating how the mainstream media are an obstacle to any efforts to make any cuts to any federal spending, NBC and ABC on Wednesday night resorted to citing Sesame Street characters as potential “casualties in a war over culture and spending cuts,” without any regard for how the Children’s Television Workshop is a huge generator of revenue from corporate donations and product sales, as NBC’s Lisa Myers went so far as to exploit the kids of the nation: "With American children already falling behind, public broadcasting supporters fear Bert and Ernie could become a casualty of the political wars."

2. NBC's Andrea Mitchell Sticks Up for NPR: 'Nobody Is Suggesting That Their Journalism Has Been At All Biased'

Andrea Mitchell joined Democratic Representative Steny Hoyer in sticking up for NPR as the NBC correspondent, on her MSNBC show, declared: "Nobody is suggesting that their journalism has been at all biased." On Wednesday's Andrea Mitchell Reports she regretted that outgoing NPR executive Ron Schiller's controversial comments about its own funding and the Tea Party were going to make it harder for Hoyer and his ilk to keep funneling tax dollars its way. Mitchell whined: "We're talking about pennies on the budget, so this isn't really a cost-saving move, but now it's become so politically fired up" and added, "Nobody is suggesting that their journalism has been at all biased."

3. CBS Ignores, NBC Downplays Sting Tape of NPR Exec Slamming 'Racist' Tea Party

Only ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday highlighted claims by a NPR executive, caught in an undercover sting operation, that Tea Party members are "seriously racist" people. CBS's Early Show completely skipped the subject. NBC's Today allowed a brief mention during a news read. GMA's Jake Tapper extensively highlighted quotes by the outgoing Ron Schiller: "The current Republican Party, particularly the Tea Party, is fanatically involved in people's personal lives and very fundamental Christian." In the tapes he can be seen adding, "They believe the term, white, middle-America, gun-toting – I mean, it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people."

4. Networks Frame Congressional Hearings on Radical Islam as 'Witch Hunt,' All Cite CAIR Spokesman

On ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday, co-host George Stephanopoulos fretted over congressional hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims being "potentially explosive" and that "Critics are already calling this a witch hunt." The headline on screen throughout the segment read: "Hearings on Islamic Radicals: Witch Hunt or Reality Check?" ABC was not alone in touting the "which hunt" accusation. On CBS's Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes described how "already foes [of the hearings] are calling them discriminatory and a witch-hunt." On NBC's Today, co-host Meredith Vieira introduced a report on the hearings by noting how "critics say it amounts to a witch hunt."

5. NY Times Buries Obama's Guantanamo Bay Reversal on Back Pages, Quotes Sympathetic Leftists

President Obama's reversal on closing Guantanamo Bay made the front of Tuesday's Washington Post, but was buried on page A19 of the New York Times, and was larded with strangely sympathetic left-wing quotes from "civil rights advocates" and others finding bright spots in the decision: "Still, some lawyers for detainees said the executive order might speed the release of men imprisoned for years without trial, either after a review, a trial or a plea agreement."

6. Martin Bashir Bashes Walker, Christie, and Kasich for Making Teachers 'Public Enemy Number One'

Less than two weeks into his new gig anchoring the 3 p.m. Eastern hour at MSNBC, Martin Bashir has already called the Tea Party "disingenuous," hailed Obama's response to the crisis in Libya, and supported raising taxes on the rich. On Tuesday, Bashir added another item to that liberal laundry list. While President Barack Obama was delivering a speech on education reform in Boston, the former ABC Nightline anchor seized on the opportunity to advance the fallacious narrative that Republican governors across the country are trying to vilify public school teachers.