Recently in Fourth Estate Category

Well, I haven't been having much luck getting posts to show up here, but I gotta try again. This is just too good. Remember all those times Chris Matthews mocked Sarah Palin and joked about how badly she'd do on Jeopardy? Well, well, well...HE played, and came in dead last.

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday May 11, 2012 @ 10:12 AM ET

1. Time Mag's Scherer Hails 'Incredibly Eloquent' Lugar Manifesto, Compares It to Eisenhower's Warning

The Washington press corps always love it when establishment Republicans scold conservatives for trying to "purify" the party, and Time magazine's Michael Scherer did not disappoint. "Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar did not go quietly, after losing his primary contest Tuesday in Indiana to a Tea Party-backed challenger, Richard Mourdock," Scherer wrote the next day in a Time "Swampland" blog. "If there is one thing the American people need to read today," the former writer for the far-left Mother Jones directed, "it is his farewell missive, which may prove to be as prescient and long lasting as Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 exit speech warning of the coming military industrial complex." Thursday morning on MSNBC's Daily Rundown, Scherer trumpeted Lugar's words as "an incredibly eloquent manifesto."

2. NBCCCP's Williams: Defeat of 'Old-School Moderate' Lugar 'Ending the Era of Centrist Republicans'

Joining the rest of the media in mourning the primary defeat of Republican Indiana Senator Richard Lugar on Tuesday, on Wednesday's NBCCCP Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams praised the "old-school moderate" who "was attacked for working to compromise with the White House" and lamented: "His defeat comes close to ending the era of centrist Republicans in the Senate."

3. ABCCCP Hypes Queer Marriage Infomercial With Obama as a 'Historic' 'Riveting' 'Cultural Event'

On ABCCCP's World News, Wednesday, Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts hyped Barack Obama's endorsement of gay marriage as a "historic," "riveting" "cultural event." The interview played more as an infomercial for the President, featuring long stretches of Obama talking with no pesky, interrupting questions. Anchor Diane Sawyer enthused, "Well, as we said this is a historic cultural and political event in this country." In the tease for the interview, Sawyer trumpeted, "Tonight on World News, a historic ABC News interview. President Obama takes a stand on same sex marriage." In the segment, Roberts didn't push the President on why his "evolution" took 17 months.

4. NBCCCP's Savannah Guthrie Admits 'Many People' in Media 'Uniformly Support Same-Sex Marriage'

In a panel discussion on Thursday's NBC Today about President Obama announcing his support for gay marriage on Wednesday, co-host Savannah Guthrie confessed to the group of all liberal pundits: "...so many people in the media seem to uniformly support same-sex marriage." That fact was made blatantly obvious by the discussion that preceded Guthrie's admission. The panel featured openly gay CNBC host Suze Orman, who voiced her support of the President's move: "Yeah, part of me is like, 'What took you so long, President Obama?' This is something that should have been done, in my opinion anyway - obviously, I would think that - a long time ago."

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday May 10, 2012 @ 09:53 AM ET

1. Laura Ingraham Rips NBCCCP's Lauer and Media for Wanting to 'Avoid' Obama's Record

As Matt Lauer went after Mitt Romney over comments about the auto bailout on Wednesday's NBCCCP Today, conservative radio host Laura Ingraham took the morning show host and his colleagues to task: "Matt, as much as the Democrats, and maybe even you at times, want to turn this into a referendum on Romney, this is Romney running against an incumbent president who has a record that the media ought to start talking about and that the media also wants to avoid."

2. Media Mourn Lugar Loss as a 'Tragic' Blow to 'Bipartisanship'

ABC's Good Morning America treated last night's loss of long-time serving Republican Senator Richard Lugar, to the more conservative Tea Party favorite Richard Mourdock, as a sad sign of the end of bi-partisanship. In the 7am half-hour of Wednesday's show, ABC's Josh Elliott declared Lugar's loss was an "earthquake of great degree" and eulogized Lugar as a senator who was "well-known for his willingness to reach across party lines." Later on in the 8am half-hour Elliot called Lugar's loss "a massive political headline" as he reported: "A long time voice of bipartisanship...has been defeated." CNN's Erin Burnett, on Tuesday night's edition of Outfront, also cast the Mourdock victory as a bad omen for Washington, as she worried, "So are the only people willing to find the middle ground disappearing from Washington...This is pretty tragic that we have gotten to this point where working together is a negative thing."

3. Chris Matthews Links Gay Marriage Opponents to Supporters of Slavery

Minutes after Barack Obama came out for gay marriage, Wednesday, Chris Matthews appeared on MSNBC to compare opponents of such unions to "wolves" and to link them to supporters of slavery. Warning of political danger to the President, Matthews spewed, "The dens are opening. The gates are opening of wolves coming out for this, the Karl Roves." After describing liberalism as the force that brought all social change to America, the Hardball anchor warned about the armies that feed off "resentment." Matthews lectured, "That army has been out there during Jim Crow. It was out there during abolition, during suffrage. There's always an army that feeds on change and feeds against it."

4. ABCCCP Gushes Over 'Cool,' Popular Hillary Who 'Doesn't Care What People Think'

Good Morning America's Martha Raddatz on Wednesday turned the program into something out of Entertainment Tonight, fawning over the "cool," popular Hillary Clinton who "doesn't care what people think." Former Democratic operative turned journalist George Stephanopoulos enthused, "The Secretary of State has been sporting a new look these days. No makeup. No contacts. No blowouts." Stephanopoulos, who previously worked for Mrs. Clinton's husband when he was in the White House, introduced the puff piece this way: "She is doing what she wants how she wants and seems to be having a great time doing it." As though she were interviewing Justin Bieber, Raddatz raved, "Let's face it, Hillary is cool. Trending. From the dancing and drinking photos during her trip to Colombia, to the iconic shot of the secretary texting on her C-17."

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Tuesday May 08, 2012 @ 01:49 PM ET

1. NBCCCP: Romney Must 'Backtrack' from the Right, But Obama Will Suffer 'Damage' If He Steps Back from the Left

Talking to Meet the Press host David Gregory on Monday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry pushed for Mitt Romney to move away from conservatives: "...does he have to work really hard now to backtrack off of some of his positions in the past, as he was trying to win the primary...?" In a stunning double standard, in her very next question, Curry fretted about President Obama distancing himself from Vice President Biden's support of gay marriage: "There's been some backtracking, it seems, by the White House. Is it possible that the White House could cause itself some damage in backtracking too much off of this?"

2. CNN's Soledad O'Brien Tries to 'Correct' Romney Aide, Says Economic Trend Favors Obama

CNN's Soledad O'Brien once again jumped to the defense of the Obama campaign, as she tried to argue on Monday that the economy is "trending" in the President's favor. She countered Romney aide Andrea Saul who hit Obama's record of net job loss while in office. "When you say 'hasn't created net jobs,' of course you are talking about there was so much job loss that even started to happen before the President even came in," she lectured Saul. "They're rebuilding from that, so I'm going to correct you on that if I can." What Soledad did not admit is that while unemployment has slid to 8.1 percent, the labor force participation rate is the lowest in decades

3. NYT's Keller: Fox News is 'Murdoch's Most Toxic Legacy'

Former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller continues to attack a conservative rival: "And yet I would argue that -- at least for Americans -- Fox News is Murdoch's most toxic legacy....My complaint is that Fox pretends very hard to be something it is not, and in the process contributes to the corrosive cynicism that has polarized our public discourse." On Sunday, Keller used news of three upcoming books about Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes to bash the Fox News Channel.

4. ABCCCP, NBCCCP All But Ignore Chinese Dissident's Crusade Against Forced Abortions

Despite devoting 33 stories to the dramatic case of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, NBC and ABC have all but ignored the major cause of the human rights activist: Opposing the communist country's policy of forced abortion and sterilization. From April 28 to May 7, the two networks only mentioned this detail five times - and then only in passing. Although Chen's high profile plight might seem like a logical time to take an expansive look into China's one-child policy, the two networks passed. CBS, however, touted Chen's pro-life activities the most, referencing them in seven of 16 stories. (The three networks totaled 44 stories over ten days.) On April 28, World News reporter David Kerley mentioned, as an aside, that Chen,"who has protested and exposed forced abortions and sterilizations, was able to scale a wall and escape" his house arrest.

5. Obama Fan Robert De Niro on NBCCCP: 'He's Done A Good Job,' GOP Should 'Stop Criticizing So Much'

Providing a forum to actor and Obama supporter Robert De Niro on Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, host David Gregory teed up the celebrity to praise the President: "...you talked about your inspiration and your support for President Obama. Are you as inspired? Are you as hopeful? Are you as satisfied with what he's done as president as he stands for re-election?" De Niro gave a predictably positive review: "You know, it's very easy to criticize people. I think he's done a good job....as far as Bin Laden and other things that he stepped up - being a liberal president, supposedly - that were effective." De Niro then predicted: "I know he'll do better in the next four years, when he won't have to worry whether he's going to be elected or not."

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Monday May 07, 2012 @ 08:58 AM ET

1. Schieffer Feigns Concern: Has Republican Party 'Moved Too Far Right for Its Own Good?'

CBS's Bob Schieffer, who in February asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie whether the Republican presidential candidates "are pushing your party too far to the right to make the nomination worth anything when you get to November?", on Sunday repeated his mantra, demanding of Peggy Noonan: "Do you think that the Republican Party has moved too far right for its own good?" As if he cares about the success of Republicans or conservatives. Schieffer fretted "the situation that's happened out in Indiana, where Richard Lugar, who's probably passed more significant legislation than any single member of the Senate right now, I would say -- that I can think of -- he might actually get beat in the primary because they think he's not conservative enough."

2. NBCCCP, ABCCCP Lament the 'Tough Spot' Chinese Dissident Put Hillary In: She's 'Caught in the Middle'

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on Thursday fretted about the "very tough spot" a Chinese dissident and human rights activist has put Hillary Clinton in. On Friday's Good Morning America, Josh Elliott kept the spotlight on Clinton, lamenting that the Secretary of State is "caught in the middle" of this ongoing diplomatic crisis. Rather than start his report by focusing on Chen Guangcheng, the man who's life is in danger, Williams warned, "We begin tonight with a man who has changed his mind and by doing so put the U.S. and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a very tough spot in what is already a complicated relationship with China."

3. NBCCCP's Gregory Cheers Influence of Liberal Colbert: 'You Have a Real Impact on This Race'

In a fawning interview with liberal comedian Stephen Colbert on Friday's NBC Today, fill-in co-host David Gregory gushed over the Comedy Central host being a factor in the 2012 presidential race: "What a treat for me to be in for Matt [Lauer] today....Stephen Colbert is a man who has had a loud and influential voice in this political season." Gregory began the farcical exchange by proclaimed to Colbert: "You have a super-PAC and you have a character on television. And you have a real impact on this race." Colbert himself was skeptical: "How do I have an impact on the race?" Still, Gregory urged the fake newsman to share his supposed wisdom: "What are you exposing about the race and about the political system in 2012 that you think the rest of us miss?"

4. CBS Aghast at Ted Nugent's Profanity, But Honored Bill Maher by Reading His Op-Ed

CBS was shocked at conservative rocker Ted Nugent's on-camera outburst during an interview, and made sure to report that he endorsed Mitt Romney. However, the same network deemed liberal comedian Bill Maher's op-ed important enough to read an excerpt from it on-air on March 22. Maher has a history of spewing vile insults at conservative women and was an Obama super-PAC donor, but CBS didn't report this when they quoted Maher's op-ed.

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Friday May 04, 2012 @ 10:27 AM ET

1. NBCCCP's Williams In Awe of Obama's 'Even Keel' During Bin Laden Killing

Interviewing President Obama about the killing of Osama Bin Laden on Wednesday's NBC Rock Center, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams couldn't resist gushing over the level-headed commander-in-chief: "How do you keep an even keel? Even when we look back on the videotape of that night, there's no real depiction that there's something afoot." Williams was referring to the President attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner as the mission to kill Bin Laden was underway, having to "laugh it up" and "live a little bit of a lie for the public good." Obama explained: "You know, that was a little bit of acting going on there, because my mind was elsewhere."

2. Media Breeze By Politically Embarrassing Occupy May Day Protests

When the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement first arrived on the scene back in October of 2011 the Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) news networks greeted, what they viewed as the left's answer to the Tea Party, with a whopping 33 full stories in just the first 11 days of coverage and a total of 81 stories in that month. However, when that movement proved to be an embarrassment to the left and Democratic Party with its acts of violence, most recently on May Day, the Big Three breezed past the ugly actions of this leftist movement with just one full story.

3. SNL's Fred Armisen an Obama Groupie: I 'Like Him More and More,' 'I've Just Been a Fan of His'

Talking to Meet the Press host David Gregory on the NBC Sunday show's web-based feature Press Pass, Saturday Night Live cast member and Obama impersonator Fred Armisen confessed: "I've grown to like him more and more. You know, I was always - I've just been a fan of his, if you could say that about a president. So that's the other kind of good part of it, is you know, getting to like him more and more." By contrast, fellow cast member Jason Sudeikis told Gregory he wished he could impersonate someone more exciting than Mitt Romney: "I'd prefer that he did something scandalous or something and, you know, incredibly stupid, as opposed to just boring....I mean, he's like a butter sandwich with unsalted butter and the crust cut off."

4. Networks Hype 'Steamy' Details from Obama's Ex-Girlfriend, Downplay False 'Composite' Relationship

Wednesday's nightly newscasts and Thursday's morning shows hyped "steamy," "romantic" journal entries from an ex-girlfriend of Barack Obama, but downplayed or ignored revelations that his autobiography created a false "composite" relationship of multiple women. On Thursday's Today, Natalie Morales gossiped like a school girl: "Steamy journal entries from a long-ago ex-girlfriend of President Obama are heating up the internet..." She revealed important details such as the fact that his apartment smelled like "running sweat" and "raisins." However, Morales skipped the fact that, as reported by Politico, "the 'New York girlfriend' was actually a composite character, based off of multiple girlfriends he had both in New York City and in Chicago."

5. CNN Flatters Obama's Sister, Praises Her 'Wonderful' New Book

Presidential siblings might normally receive soft interviews on television, but President Obama's half-sister Auma had the red carpet rolled out for her on Wednesday's Piers Morgan Tonight. Morgan wasn't just cordial but was enraptured by her "wonderful" new book and her brother Barack's "amazing" story.

Tracking Liberal Media Bias Since 1996
Thursday May 03, 2012 @ 12:31 PM ET

1. Networks Huffed Over Bush's 'Presidential Shell Game'; No Complaints for Obama's Secret Trip

The same networks that huffed and whined about George W. Bush's secret trip to Iraq over Thanksgiving in 2003, calling it an "embarrassing" "presidential shell game," had no such harsh language for Barack Obama's clandestine visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday. Jake Tapper on Wednesday deemed the visit simply a "surprise." On CBS This Morning, Scott Pelley proclaimed it "remarkable," insisting, "These things are always kept secret, in the Bush administration, in the Obama administration, until the President arrives safely."  Yet, on the November 30, 2003 CBS Evening News, Mark Knoller bitterly complained, "It was professionally embarrassing to be clueless...And from now on when I report that the president is at his ranch, neither you nor I will be sure of it."

2. NBCCCP Panelist: Ad Calling Obama a Celebrity 'Another Attempt' to Paint Him As 'Other'

On Wednesday's NBC Today, panelist and attorney Star Jones fretted over a recent campaign ad mocking President Obama's celebrity status and implied racial overtones in the criticism: "...what worries me is that it's another attempt to paint Obama as an 'other.' You know, they tried that with 'Oh, he ate dog meat when he was a boy.'" Even fellow liberal panelist, advertising executive Donny Deutsch, called out Jones for her suggestion: "I hope this is not a black/white issue....Star, you're misreading." Jones stood by her accusation: "When you're pointing the finger saying he's different than us in some way, I think it's a....subconscious attempt to differentiate him from the rest."

3. Jonah Goldberg Slams 'Niggling Pedant' Piers Morgan After Monday's Interview

After CNN's Piers Morgan belittled conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg for upwards of 11 minutes on Monday night, Goldberg fired back Tuesday on his National Review blog and called it a "shameful spectacle." He accused Morgan of being a partisan hack while claiming journalistic impartiality. "Liberal journalists don't think they have any biases, which makes it very hard for them to compensate for them," Goldberg wrote on Tuesday. He added that Morgan all the while was "making the case for Obama from what he thinks is the centrist position."

4. Wisconsin Unemployment Falls; NBCCCP Hypes Job Losses 'Many Blame' on Scott Walker

Despite Wisconsin's unemployment rate being well below the national rate and steadily falling, on Saturday's NBC Nightly News correspondent Ron Allen selectively hyped job losses: "With the protesters serenading Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker and urging voters to recall him from office June 5th, the state's job losses add to the list of grievances. The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says Wisconsin lost 23,900 jobs between March 2011 and March 2012." That same Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that Wisconsin's unemployment rate fell from 7.6% to 6.8% in that same time period.

5. PolitiFact Whiffs Again, Rates Accurate Romney Claim 'Half True'

Fact-checking website PolitiFact has rated two accurate claims by the Mitt Romney campaign as "Mostly False" and "Half True" for contextual reasons. However, when President Obama made a factually-incorrect statement last week, he did not receive a "False" rating from the website, but benefitted from a grading curve since he "has a point" to make. Romney received the same "Half True" rating for a factually-correct statement.

6. CNN Puffs Up Tiny Liberal Protest 'Hounding' Romney's Visit to RNC Headquarters

A liberal protest that CNN.com said contained "about 10 people" still merited inclusion in CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's report on Wednesday's The Situation Room. Of course, Acosta made no mention of the smallness or brevity of the protest -- the chant of "No Swiss Mitt" lasted under five minutes. Acosta did tout that Democrats were "hounding" Romney to keep him "back on his heels." As an example of their strategy, he mentioned the protesters with a clip of them chanting "No Swiss Mitt."