Tag Archives: katie couric

Lisa Murkowski: Sarah Palin Lacks "Intellectual Curiosity" to be President

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowki told CBS News' Katie Couric today that she would not support Sarah Palin for president because Palin lacks the “leadership qualities” and “intellectual curiosity” to craft great policy. “You know, she was my governor for two years, for just about two years there, and I don't think that she enjoyed governing,” Murkowski said. “I don't think she liked to get down into the policy.” The Alaska senator added that she prefers a candidate who “goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning thinking about how we're going to deal with” important issues. Palin endorsed Murkowski's opponent Joe Miller in the Republican Senate primary, an endorsement that helped Miller to an upset victory. Murkowski then embarked on a general election write-in bid that may have been successful: More write in votes were cast than votes for Miller, and the vast majority went to Murkowski. According to the Alaska Division of Elections, Miller won 87,517 votes, and there were 98,565 total write in votes. Of the 88,076 write-in votes counted so far, 78,697 have gone to Murkowski; another 7,059 have been counted for Murkowski but challenged by Miller. Counting is expected to continue through Wednesday. added by: TimALoftis

NBC Exec Jeff Zucker to Step Down

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker announced Friday he will be stepping down from his position when Comcast completes its takeover of NBC. Oddly, this occurred on the very same day CNN fired Jon Klein, the president of CNN/US. The New York Times Media Decoder blog reported moments ago: In an interview at NBC’s executive offices, Mr. Zucker, who is 45, said the decision to leave the only employer he has ever worked for – a decision that he acknowledged was not his own choice – became inevitable after a meeting two weeks ago with Steve Burke, Comcast’s chief operating officer. “We had both gotten to the same place,” Mr. Zucker said. “He made it clear that they wanted to move on at the close of the deal and I was completely comfortable with that.” Asked to identify the biggest mistake of his tenure, Mr. Zucker said, “The thing I regret most is not moving quickly enough” to fix NBC Entertainment. He said he detected some glimmerings of a turnaround in prime time this fall, though “we have a long way to go.” Apparently Zucker is most proud of what he did for NBC’s “Today” show: On the other side of the personal ledger, Mr. Zucker said the highlight of his career remained his days producing the “Today” show, which catapulted to unchallenged leadership and record profits during Mr. Zucker’s two stints as executive producer. He called that “the most fun job I had” and added: “In my heart I am a producer.” This certainly isn’t surprising, as most insiders view Zucker as having been instrumental in developing Katie Couric’s career. As for his future?  “Am I interested in politics? Yes,” he said. “Is it something I am going to do right away? No.”  Swell – another media member likely going through the revolving door into politics. What a surpise.

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NBC Exec Jeff Zucker to Step Down

Ground Zero Imam’s Group Trained NY Times Mosque Reporter

A New York Times reporter, who co-authored two fawning articles on the Ground Zero mosque in 2009 and 2010, previously attended a media training program run by the mosque’s organizer, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, according to the group’s website. The journalist, Sharaf Mowjood, participated in an April, 2009 media training program led by Rauf’s American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), reported the Investigative Project on Terrorism on Sept. 20. Rauf founded ASMA in 1997, and currently serves as the group’s CEO. Mowjood’s first article on the controversial Ground Zero mosque – a glowing, 1,200-word piece titled ” Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero ” – was co-authored with Ralph Blumenthal in December, 2009. All eight of the sources cited in the piece said they approved of the Ground Zero project or lauded its leader Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Mowjood was also a contributing reporter to a flattering front-page profile on Rauf that ran in the Times on Aug. 22. ASMA, which ran the “Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow” media training session that Mowjood attended, pointed to the reporter’s work as evidence that its training program was effective. “Media trainings showed immediate results,” claimed a 2009 report on the ASMA website, noting that “Sharaf Mawjood [sic], a journalism student at Columbia University and trained at the [Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow] conference, wrote a compelling story about the Muslim community’s plan to establish a center near Ground Zero. The story was published on the front page of the New York Times with Sharaf as co-author.” According to the ASMA website, the conference “focused specifically on the media. It offered participants a diverse range of intensive media trainings, imparting the [Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow] in attendance with concrete tools to become effective media spokespeople.” The website said that the conference was held in partnership with the Cordoba Initiative, the organization behind the Ground Zero mosque – which is another group led by Rauf. The Times’ Metro editor Joe Sexton denied that Mowjood was trained by ASMA, telling the IPT that the reporter “attended a lecture sponsored by ASMA in 2008. He was not a presenter or participant. He signed the sign-in sheet.” But the IPT noted that a photo from the event, which shows Mowjood seated at a conference table littered with papers while watching another participant speak, “indicates the session was more than a lecture.” In addition to his ties with ASMA, Times’ reporter Mowjood also held a government lobbying position at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) up until at least March of 2008. CAIR, which calls itself a “grassroots civil rights and advocacy group,” has come under fire in the past for its alleged ties to international terrorist organizations. Excerpts from Mowjood’s work could possibly pass as press releases for groups like CAIR or ASMA. His Times articles were extremely favorable toward Rauf and the Ground Zero mosque. “Those who have worked with [the imam] say if anyone could pull off what many regard to be a delicate project, it would be Imam Feisal [Rauf], whom they described as having built a career preaching tolerance and interfaith understanding,” read Mowjood’s enthusiastically pro-Rauf article written in December, 2009. Mowjood’s story made no mention of legitimate criticisms of the planned mosque. Instead, opponents of the prayer center were sources of potential anti-Muslim violence. “[T]here is anxiety among those involved or familiar with the project that it could very well become a target for anti-Muslim attacks,” wrote Mowjood and his co-author Ralph Blumenthal. “Joan Brown Campbell …who is a supporter of Imam Feisal, acknowledged the possibility of a backlash from those opposed to a Muslim presence at ground zero.” Mowjood was also a contributing reporter to an Aug. 22 Times article on Rauf, in which the imam is described as the leader of “a truly American brand of Islam [that] could modernize and moderate the faith worldwide.” The 1,900-word article quotes no critics of the mosque, featuring mainly friends of Rauf who say things like “[he] is an excellent schmoozer” and “[to] stereotype him as an extremist is just nuts.” Mowjood’s background as a CAIR lobbyist, as well as his attendance at an ASMA media training event, may conflict with the Times’ ethical standards. The paper’s code of ethics says that reporters “should be vigilant in avoiding any activity that might pose an actual or apparent conflict of interest and thus threaten the newspaper’s ethical standing.”

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Ground Zero Imam’s Group Trained NY Times Mosque Reporter

Big 3 Nets’ Evening News Audience Fails to Break 20 Million in Mid-September

They’re out of excuses. Summer’s over. It’s after Labor Day. The kids are back in school. People are back into their routines. The trouble for the Big 3 broadcast networks is that those routines don’t include watching their early-evening newscasts. Beyond that, last week was a pivotal week in Campaign 2010, with key primaries in New York, Delaware, New Hampshire, and several other states. As far as I know, Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer, and Katie Couric were firmly ensconced in their anchor chairs all week long. With all that, the Big 3 Nets’ audience for the weeks was less than 20 million, almost 5% lower than the same week a year ago, when there were no key election races. The Big 3 are not recovering from what was an awful summer. Here are the numbers (source: Media Bistro — Week of Sept. 13, 2010 ; week of Sept. 14, 2010 ): NBC and ABC both took huge hits in the 25-54 demographic groups, while CBS picked up a bit. If they expected their all-O’Donnell-bashing all-the-time strategy to translate into additional evening news viewers, early returns would seem to indicate that it’s not working out too well. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .

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Big 3 Nets’ Evening News Audience Fails to Break 20 Million in Mid-September

MRC’s Notable Quotables: Watch Out, GOP — It’s 1964 All Over Again!

Just posted this morning over at MRC.org, our latest edition of Notable Quotables , a bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes in the liberal media. Topics this week include: CBS’s Bob Schieffer absurdly suggesting Republicans could face a landslide defeat this year, “very much like 1964,” while Katie Couric frets (again) how “moderate Republicans are becoming an endangered species.” Also in this issue, NBC’s Meredith Vieira declares that the Bush tax cuts “didn’t succeed, so what’s so good about them,” while CBS’s Harry Smith lobbies for “a second stimulus” or even “something like a new WPA.” Oh, and Chris Matthews gets another “thrill” from hearing Obama speak — this time, it’s “all over me.” Video of that confession, plus three other clips after the jump. [Click here to view/download the three-page, fully-formatted, full-color PDF ] Now the quotes from recent weeks, as featured in the September 20 Notable Quotables : Watch Out, Republicans: This Is 1964 All Over Again “It is very much like 1964. In 1960, Republicans lost narrowly with an establishment candidate, Richard Nixon. They got to 1964, they threw out all the establishment candidates, they threw out their party leaders and they nominated Barry Goldwater who — fine man — but he was far to the right of most of the people in his party, and they lost in a landslide. And that’s why you have establishment Republicans worried about what’s going to happen now in November.” — CBS’s Bob Schieffer on the September 15 Evening News . Liberal Media-Speak for “Congratulations, You’ve Won” “You are going to have to answer some questions. We saw that the Republican Party chairman in Jon Karl’s piece there, he went on to say that you’re ‘not a viable candidate,’ that you ‘cannot be elected dog catcher in Delaware.’ He went on to say that you’re either a liar or mentally unhinged.” — ABC’s George Stephanopoulos to Senate primary winner Christine O’Donnell on Good Morning America , Sept. 15. “Tea Party nutbag/Senate nominee from Del. was on CNN w/me in ’96. Forget her ignorant nonsense until I saw this.” — Former CNN anchor Miles O’Brien in a September 15 Twitter posting, referring readers to an anti-O’Donnell article posted on the left-wing Talking Points Memo blog site. Correspondent Nancy Cordes: “Polls show O’Donnell’s ultraconservative social views-” Old clip of Christine O’Donnell: “Lust in your heart is committing adultery.” Cordes: “-make her a decided underdog in this blue-leaning state.” — CBS Evening News , September 15. “She needs to watch some porn and get some tips, is what she needs.” — Host Joy Behar on CNN’s Headline News Joy Behar Show , September 15. Are Republicans “Miscalculating At Their Own Peril”? “You’ve got Delaware, you’ve got Kentucky, you’ve got Alaska, you’ve got Utah, one after another after another. Are all of these Tea Party victories good for the Republican Party?…Even Karl Rove came out and said last night this is — that’s not going to help us get the seat in the long run….I wonder if you’re making a miscalculation at your own peril at, you know, this perceived enthusiasm gap, these people are literally changing the face of a party.” — CBS Early Show co-host Harry Smith to GOP consultant Dan Bartlett, Sept. 15. Katie Frets: Are “Moderate Republicans…an Endangered Species”? “The party crashers. Big primary victories by fringe candidates open a rift in the GOP….Does this mean moderate Republicans are becoming an endangered species?” — Anchor Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News , September 16. Flashback : “[Senator Arlen] Specter’s a Republican who favors abortion rights, is against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and is a vocal supporter of embryonic stem cell research. [to Specter] Do you feel like an endangered species these days?” — Couric to then-Republican Senator Arlen Specter on NBC’s Today , May 13, 2005. “What’s So Good About” Bush’s Failed Tax Cuts? “One of the key issues also heading into the midterm elections, is this expiration of the tax cuts, Bush’s tax cuts….These tax cuts have been in existence for quite a while, these Bush tax cuts. If they were designed to stimulate the economy and to create jobs, they didn’t succeed. So what’s so good about them?” — Co-host Meredith Vieira to GOP Representatives Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy on NBC’s Today , September 14. In the five years after the full tax cut package was passed in 2003, the economy added more than 8.3 million new jobs. Sawyer: Not Raising Tax Rates = “Tax Cut” “Good evening. It will be the big battle to the finish line in November, and this is the question: How big a tax cut will you get next year?” — ABC’s Diane Sawyer opening World News , September 8, talking about the debate over whether to maintain current tax rates or let them rise to Clinton-era levels. Was $862 Billion Stimulus “Big Enough?” How About “a New WPA?” “Gretchen Morgenson, I want to go back to the stimulus….People complain about the size of government, they’re complaining about the deficit, they’re complaining about TARP and who knows what all else. As we’re standing here looking at it right now, just if you can step away, was the stimulus big enough?” “There are plenty of economists out there, Mark Zandi, who say what’s really needed is is a second stimulus.” “Laura Tyson, what about a more significant stimulus, beyond the things, these, you know, a block here, a block here, a block here, but another say couple hundred billion dollars, what about, say, something like a new WPA?” — Fill-in host Harry Smith interviewing a panel of economists on CBS’s Face the Nation , September 5. Applauding Obama’s Four-Star Attorney General Correspondent Rita Braver: “Ignoring political pressure is Holder’s constant message as he talks to Justice Department lawyers in places like Mobile, Alabama….When he took office last February, [cheering crowd] he got a hero’s welcome. It was in part, he believes, a reaction to cronyism and questionable policies advocated in the Bush-era Justice Department….[to Holder] Because you’re the first African American Attorney General, do you put any extra pressure on yourself?” Attorney General Eric Holder: “Yeah, I certainly feel that. I feel there’s a certain responsibility I have….” — CBS’s Sunday Morning , September 12. George’s “Tough Questions” for President Obama “Now, in his first post-summer interview, President Obama takes on George Stephanopoulos and the tough questions.” — ABC promo aired during the September 8 Nightline , touting Stephanopoulos’ interview with Obama. vs . “I wonder what this must feel like from behind your desk. You’re President of the United States. You have to deal with the fallout. And he’s a pastor who’s got 30 followers in his church. Does it make you feel helpless or angry?” — ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asking President Obama about the Florida pastor who threatened to burn Korans, in an interview segment shown on Good Morning America , September 9. The GOP = “The Party of Hate” “Tonight, we start with the party of hate. The Republican Party in this country has been running on hate and division for the last 50 years….What black person, gay guy or girl, immigrant or Muslim American in their right mind would vote for the Republican Party? They might as well hang a sign around their neck saying, ‘I hate myself.'” — Fill-in host Cenk Uygur on MSNBC’s The Ed Show, August 26. Is America’s Islamophobia Suppressing Muslims’ Freedom? “The plans to build an Islamic center close to Ground Zero have whipped up anti-Muslim sentiment….Not since 9/11 has the country seen such anti-Muslim fervor….[to Feisal Abdul Rauf] In the latest poll that ABC’s conducted, only 37 percent of those who were asked expressed a positive feeling about Islam. Do you think that Muslims, people such as yourself, others here, can actually have a place to practice their religion freely, to live freely as Americans, given that figure?” — Host Christiane Amanpour interviewing the imam organizing the Ground Zero mosque on ABC’s This Week , September 12. Columnist Mimics Jennings’ 1994 Tirade Slamming Voters’ “Temper Tantrum” “According to polls, Americans are in a mood to hold their breath until they turn blue. Voters appear to be so fed up with the Democrats that they’re ready to toss them out in favor of the Republicans — for whom, according to those same polls, the nation has even greater contempt. This isn’t an ‘electoral wave,’ it’s a temper tantrum….The American people are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats.” — Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, September 3. Flashback : “Imagine a nation full of uncontrolled two-year-old rage. The voters had a temper tantrum last week….Parenting and governing don’t have to be dirty words: the nation can’t be run by an angry two-year-old.” — ABC’s Peter Jennings in a November 14, 1994 radio commentary after the GOP congressional victories that year. “Well-Meaning” Hostage Taker “May” Have Gone Too Far “He’s an activist, may be very well-meaning, but he’s now put himself in a situation where he, the police officers and his hostages’ lives are endangered….He’s a bit of an activist, a guy who truly believes, seemingly, in his heart that he needs to do all he can to save the planet. Most watching this would argue he may have taken it way too far on this day….” — CNN’s Rick Sanchez during live coverage of the Sept. 1 stand-off at the Discovery Channel. The hostage-taker claimed human beings were “parasites” and demanded the network shows programs talking about “ways to disassemble civilization.” Incoming CNN Host Will Fit Right In “I’d love to do President Obama. I like what he’s done for the reputation of America abroad, which I’m not sure many Americans fully understand.” — British journalist Piers Morgan, who has been hired to replace Larry King as host of CNN’s 9pm ET hour starting in January, on the September 9 CBS Early Show talking about people he would like to interview. Now, Chris Admits to Thrills “All Over” Clip of Barack Obama from 2008: “My family gave me love. They give me an education. And most of all, they gave me hope. Hope, hope that in America, no dream is beyond our grasp if we reach for it, and fight for it, and work for it.” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews: “I get the same thrill up my leg, all over me, every time I hear those words. I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, that’s me. He’s talking about my country and nobody does it better. Can President Obama stir us again and help his party keep power this November?” — Setting up a segment on MSNBC’s Hardball , September 7.

Citing Wins by ‘Fringe Candidates,’ Couric Regurgitates Concern Moderate Republicans Becoming an ‘Endangered Species’

Following a story on how “big primary victories by fringe candidates open a rift in the GOP,” in which Jeff Greenfield warned “moderate Republicans worry that if the Tea Party movement drives the GOP too far to the right, it could jeopardize their prospects in November and in 2012,” CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric fretted: “Does this mean moderate Republicans are becoming an endangered species?” Hardly an original thought, however, from Couric. From a quick perusal of the MRC’s archive, I discovered that on NBC’s Today show back in 2005 she worried about whether “the religious right has too much influence on the Republican Party” and, after listing some non-conservative positions held by “moderate Republican” Senator Arlen Specter, empathized with him: “Do you feel like an endangered species these days?” (Specter, of course, a few years later fled the GOP for the Democratic Party where he was promptly defeated in their primary.)   Couric teased Thursday’s newscast by characterizing conservative Republican winners as “fringe” players: “The party crashers. Big primary victories by fringe candidates open a rift in the GOP.” She set up the September 16 story on how the Tea Party is supposedly hurting the Republican Party: Our latest poll found 78 percent of registered voters believe the incumbents in the Democratic-controlled Congress should be tossed out. So you would think this would be a golden opportunity for Republicans. But as Jeff Greenfield reports, after big victories this week by candidates of the Tea Party, the Grand Old Party is in turmoil. Greenfield concluded his piece: Moderate Republicans worry that if the Tea Party movement drives the GOP too far to the right, it could jeopardize their prospects in November and in 2012. Tea Party supporters note that, except in Delaware, every one of their Senate candidates is even or ahead in the polls. Couric then queried: “And does this mean moderate Republicans are becoming an endangered species, Jeff?” Greenfield replied: “Well, you have Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe in Maine, Dick Lugar fro Indiana, Scott Brown from Massachusetts, but certainly compared to the Congress of 15 or 20 years ago, there are far fewer, and in contrast, the Democrats went out and recruited a lot of moderates four years ago in the so-called blue dogs. The Tea Party is driving the Republicans, I think, the other way.” Rewind to the Friday, May 13, 2005 Today show, as reported in a MRC CyberAlert item by Rich Noyes, “ Couric Fawns Over Specter, Blames GOP for ‘Disgusted’ Public ,” which recounted: …NBC then switched to the taped piece that Couric narrated: “Feisty, firm, with the razor sharp mind of a former prosecutor, Arlen Specter, 75, has never been afraid of a fight. Recently diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Specter is now undergoing chemotherapy.” Referring to how Specter has lost most of his hair, Couric proclaimed: “His look may be different, his drive is not.” After a few questions about his health, she outlined the liberal views that have helped make Specter a media favorite: “Specter’s a Republican who favors abortion rights, is against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and is a vocal supporter of embryonic stem cell research.” Sitting across from Specter in an interview, she asked him: “Do you feel like an endangered species these days?” He replied: “No, I think that the small band of moderates are very, very important in the Senate. We frequently hold the balance of power.” She later inquired of Specter: “Do you believe the religious right has too much influence on the Republican Party at this point?”

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Citing Wins by ‘Fringe Candidates,’ Couric Regurgitates Concern Moderate Republicans Becoming an ‘Endangered Species’

NB Bonus: Obnoxious Liberal Quotes that Couldn’t Fit in Our Labor Day Edition

It’s happened again! Collecting quotes for the Labor Day edition of MRC’s bi-weekly Notable Quotables, I found more outrageous liberal eruptions than could fit into the normal newsletter. So, just for NewsBusters readers, here are 12 worthy quotes that just couldn’t squeeze into the regular issue (although hopefully a couple of these gems will find their way into our upcoming September 20 edition): Obama Opponents Pine for “Ethnic Purity” “First of all, we have a mixed race President who has a middle name ‘Hussein.’ And a good part of the anxiety that’s going on in small-town white America isn’t just the plain old black and white stuff of the past. It’s the fact that South Asians are moving in and running the local motel or, you know, I don’t want to deal in those sorts of cliches, but there are a lot of Latinos about who are moving into these areas that their grandchildren are coming out as gay or intermarrying. The purity of, the ‘ethnic purity,’ to coin a phrase, that they grew up with no longer exists….” — Time ’s Joe Klein on the Chris Matthews Show , August 29. It’s “Baffling” Stabbing Suspect Not Stereotypical American Bigot “It is the knife attack that’s cut deep into a national debate over faith and fear…The suspect, 21-year-old Michael Enright, has a baffling profile. An honors film school student, he volunteers with a church group that promotes peace and understanding….Still, the attack, some Muslims are certain, was fueled by what they call fearmongering over the Islamic cultural center and mosque planned for this site near Ground Zero….There is one other note about that suspected stabber that muddies the water even further. That peace group he volunteered with, they actually support putting that Islamic center down here near Ground Zero where we are tonight.” — ABC correspondent Jeremy Hubbard on World News , August 26. Burden Should Be on Everybody but the Mosque Builder “Some would say that it is really for Americans, for majority of Americans to be more sensitive to minority communities. It’s not really the obligation for the imam to, you know — he talked to members of the Jewish community, the JCC, the Jewish Community Centers were a model. And there’s a rabbi who has been helping. He talked to some members of the 9/11 families, not all clearly. Why is the burden on him?” — NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell to former Pakistani ambassador Akbar Ahmed on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports , August 24. GOP Candidates: “Very Far to the Right” and “Ultraconservative” “Some of these candidates who are very far to the right, the one — many of the ones who are backed by the Tea Party — are they going to be Kryptonite come November?” “When it comes to Rick Scott, who ran as an ultraconservative against Bill McCollum, does he now have to run slightly to the center, if he wants to win in November?” — CNN’s John Roberts filling in as anchor of Anderson Cooper 360 , August 24. Upset Democrats Can’t “Demonize” George W. Bush Again “The problem for the Democrats is this, that the energizer bunny for the 2006, 2008 campaigns has disappeared because of George W. Bush’s being a circumspect and discreet former President it makes it very difficult for Democrats to demonize him again. He’s become a non-person.” — Columnist Mark Shields on Inside Washington , August 27. Only Liberal Women Are “Compassionate” Host Chris Matthews: “Margaret, it looks like liberals are in trouble this year, progressives, if you will. That includes a lot of women.”… Bloomberg’s Margaret Carlson: “There’s a certain kind of woman that’s gonna do okay. I mean you have the momma grizzlies but it’s the grizzly part of it, not the momma part that’s working….It’s the corporate titan bear — Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman as you say. So that is the kind of woman. It is not the kind of — it’s not a compassionate women year.” — MSNBC’s Hardball , August 30. GOP = “The Party of Hate” “Tonight, we start with the party of hate. The Republican Party in this country has been running on hate and division for the last 50 years. First, it was the southern strategy meant to discriminate against African-Americans in order to gain white southern votes….Then there’s the vitriolic fight against immigrants, undocumented ones and in Arizona just people who happen to look undocumented. And, of course, there’s the grand daddy of all prejudice, fear and hatred stoked up against Muslims in this country….What black person, gay guy or girl, immigrant or Muslim American in their right mind would vote for the Republican Party? They might as well hang a sign around their neck saying ‘I hate myself.’” — Fill-in host Cenk Uygur on MSNBC’s The Ed Show , August 26. “The Republican method for winning elections is hate. Hate somebody. Anybody will do. We have seen it this year with immigrants and now, Muslims….They do it to win and did it in 2004 and 2006 against gay Americans…. Think the GOP has run out of minority groups to target and smear? No. Next, John Boehner attacks those federal bureaucrats with fattened salaries and pensions. Federal bureaucrats, like John Boehner.” — Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s Countdown , August 26. Times Prefers Their Editorial Line to Actual Laws “The Justice Department decided last week not to bring charges against Tom DeLay, whose unethical conduct represented a modern low among Congressional leaders….Mr. DeLay, the Texas Republican who had been the House Majority Leader, crowed that he had been ‘found innocent.’ But many of Mr. DeLay’s actions remain legal only because lawmakers have chosen not to criminalize them.” — From a New York Times editorial , August 22. Host Sees Plot to “Harvest and Incarcerate” Young Black Men “How much of that [the cycle of poverty] in your opinion is family-planning driven, how much of that is a function of systematic racism in our country and laws that are enforced to basically pick-up, harvest and incarcerate young black men — particularly in New York with the Rockefeller laws — and how much of it is a complete abandonment of education as a value system period in this country, unless you’re rich?…Because it, in my opinion, has been a default position to incarcerate black men as opposed to educate and integrate black men into our economy.” — MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan on the August 23 Dylan Ratigan Show , talking to a blogger promoting more “family planning” counseling for young African Americans. People Are Against Destroying Embryos Because They Love Ignorance “I have the greatest respect for those who disagree, but to me putting restraints on stem cell research is not far from those who refused to look through Galileo’s telescope because they believed their doctrines and tradition had already told them what they would see. Their beliefs, too, were deeply held, but where would the store of knowledge be had their view prevailed? As we again try to untangle the arguments over stem cells, let us also consider this: No civilization, no society, has survived if its people came to believe they knew enough and needed to know nothing more.” — Bob Schieffer’s closing commentary on CBS’s Face the Nation , August 29. Are We Being Unfair to You, Sir? “It’s getting baked in a little bit in the media that [the] BP [oil spill] was President Obama’s Katrina. And it’s also getting baked in that the administration was slow off the mark. Is that unfair?” — NBC’s Brian Williams to Obama in an interview shown on the August 29 Nightly News .

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NB Bonus: Obnoxious Liberal Quotes that Couldn’t Fit in Our Labor Day Edition

Profile in Bias: Four Years of Katie Couric’s Liberal Spin as ‘CBS Evening News’ Anchor

Tuesday marks the four-year anniversary of Katie Couric’s assumption of the anchor chair for the CBS Evening News on Tuesday, September 5, 2006. To commemorate the occasion, the Media Research Center has assembled Perking Up for Liberal Spin , a profile in bias of Couric’s top forty biased quotes from her four years at CBS.      Marking her one-year anniversary, a September 2007 MRC Media Reality Check, New Network, Same Old Biased Katie , noted: “In her first year at the helm of the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric has perpetuated the bias problem that eroded CBS’s credibility under Dan Rather.” The three years that followed were no exception, as Couric actively promoted liberal figures and causes, while disparaging conservatives. From cheering on Barack Obama’s campaign and presidential agenda to smearing Arizona’s immigration law or opposition to the Ground Zero mosque, she has maintained her long journalistic record of liberal slant. Couric’s biased reporting has not been a hit with the broadcast’s shrinking audience, during the week of August 16, 2010, the network news program tied it’s all-time ratings low , slipping below five million viewers. Here are some bias highlights of Couric behind the anchor desk: -Ground Zero Mosque = American Values “There is a debate to be had about the sensitivity of building this center so close to Ground Zero. But we can not let fear and rage tear down the towers of our core American values.” — Katie Couric on Ground Zero mosque for “Katie Couric’s Notebook” on Couric & Co. blog, August 23, 2010. -Shaking Pom-Poms for Obama “You’re so confident, Mr. President, and so focused. Is your confidence ever shaken? Do you ever wake up and say, ‘Damn, this is hard. Damn, I’m not going to get the things done I want to get done, and it’s just too politicized to really get accomplished the big things I want to accomplish’?” — Couric in an exchange with Obama shown on CBS’s The Early Show , July 22, 2009. [Video/audio (0:22): WMV | Mp3 ]                      -Arizona’s Immigration Law = Cops Gone Wild “Tonight, Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. Police will now be able to make anyone they choose prove they’re here illegally. It triggers demonstrations by both sides and a warning from President Obama.” — Couric at the top of the April 23, 2010 Evening News . [Video/audio (0:12): WMV | Mp3 ] -ObamaCare Can’t Come Soon Enough “Once again, we begin tonight with the battle over health care reform, but this time, we’re not starting at a town meeting. Tonight, we’re going to show you why many believe reform is desperately needed. These are just some of the tens of thousands of Americans who need health care but have no insurance or not enough of it, and they’re lining up at a free makeshift clinic in Los Angeles.” — Couric opening the August 13, 2009 Evening News .

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Profile in Bias: Four Years of Katie Couric’s Liberal Spin as ‘CBS Evening News’ Anchor

Look Out Below: Nets’ Evening Newscasts Hit 2nd Straight Collective All-Time Low

How the once mighty have fallen. In the midst of covering the performance of the broadcast networks last week, David Bauder at the Associated Press noted the following (HT Kevin Alloca at Media Bistro ): Meanwhile, the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts combined for a dubious record last week: the average of 18.7 million people who watched one of the three shows last week was the smallest audience those three telecasts have reached collectively on record, since the infancy of television, Nielsen said. During the slow news period of late August, the broadcasts broke their previous record — set just last week. Little did I know that my post last week (at NewsBusters ; at BizzyBlog ) also covered a negative record-breaker. The news actually got worse from there, Media Bistro’s Chris Ariens separately reported : And not a good sign from the younger viewer department — none of the shows broke the 2 million viewer average in the A25-54 demo. That’s the first time that’s ever happened. I don’t find the contention by the AP’s Bauder about the “slow news period of late August” very convincing. Political campaigns are already heating up, and family vacation season was mostly over, as the large majority of children were back in school last week. The networks’ collective performance was down almost 8% from a year ago for all viewers, and over 14% in the 25-54 demo. I think it’s more likely that more and more viewers and news consumers are tuning out because they agree with this sentiment . It will be interesting to see what if any kind of fall recovery there will be at the Big 3 networks’ evening newscasts. Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com .

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Look Out Below: Nets’ Evening Newscasts Hit 2nd Straight Collective All-Time Low

Glenn Beck Slams ABC’s Story: ‘Something Goebbels Would do’

Good Morning America’s Claire Shipman on Friday launched a pre-emptive one-sided attack on Glenn Beck’s August 28 rally in Washington D.C., including selectively editing clips from the conservative host. The ABC journalist featured a snippet of Beck asserting, “Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King.” [MP3 audio here .] On his radio show, Friday, Beck complained about the “hatchet job.” Shipman clearly distorted the context. He actually said, “Whites don’t own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King. Those are American icons, American ideas and we should just talk about character.” (H/T to The Right Scoop and Noel Sheppard.) Playing the segment on the radio, Beck hyperbolically declared, “That’s what Goebbels did. The truth didn’t matter.” Now, while ABC should be criticized for the dishonest editing job, it is over-the-top to play the Nazi card. Shipman featured clips of Al Sharpton, liberal comedian Stephen Colbert and former Democratic Congressman Walter Fauntroy. She asserted that there are angry voices ” comparing the Tea Party to the KKK.” Fauntroy then scolded, “The Klu Klux- I meant to say the Tea Party. You all forgive me. But, you have to use them interchangeably.” Shipman even went to Al Sharpton for a quote. He worried, “…I’m trying to be disciplined and not make this about those that have, in my opinion, hijacked a location, but will never be able to hijack the dream.” Faux conservative Stephen Colbert mocked, “Finally, someone is bringing Martin Luther King’s movement back to its conservative white roots.” Other than Beck himself, ABC had no clips of anyone defending Beck or the conservative rally. A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:17am EDT on August 27 follows: DAVID MUIR: In the meantime, conservative talk show host Glenn Beck stirring up controversy with a rally now planned for tomorrow at the Lincoln memorial in Washington. Some people are angry the rally is taking place on the anniversary of another famous event there, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. And Claire Shipman is at the Lincoln Memorial with much more on this this morning . Claire, good to see you. CLAIRE SHIPMAN: David, there’s a lot of emotion swirling over this issue. Remember, it wasn’t so long ago, that Glenn Beck called President Obama a racist. So, his choice of timing to hold his rally here tomorrow, a surprise, to say the least. MARTIN LUTHER KING: I have a dream. SHIPMAN: Immortal words of unity. But the 47th anniversary of Dr. King’s speech is producing just the opposite. GLENN BECK: Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King. LORETTA ROSS (Sistersong): Glenn Beck is no Martin Luther King. SHIPMAN: Even angry words comparing the Tea Party to the KKK. REVEREND WALTER FAUNTROY (civil rights activist): The Klu Klux- I meant to say the Tea Party. You all forgive me. But, you have to use them interchangeably. SHIPMAN: All this because of an unlikely rally planned by conservative TV and radio host, Glenn beck, for the day of the anniversary on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. BECK: We are doing something absolutely amazing. SHIPMAN: Beck says his rally, which will feature Sarah Palin and many Tea Party supporters, is meant to honor America’s troops. And he insists he picked the day, not realizing it was the anniversary of the “I have a dream” speech. But, not everyone is buying that. STEPHEN COLBERT: Finally, someone is bringing Martin Luther King’s movement back to its conservative white roots. SHIPMAN: Some, like the Reverend Al Sharpton, who is organizing his own march on Washington on Saturday, have more serious concerns. AL SHARPTON: It’s very hard and I’m trying to be disciplined and not make this about those that have, in my opinion, hijacked a location, but will never be able to hijack the dream. SHIPMAN: Beck insists he plans to honor King. BECK: I heard it over and over again in the media that because of this event, on the date of this event, I’m somehow or other Martin Luther King’s speech. I’m not big enough to do that. No one is. SHIPMAN: And Martin Luther King has weighed in on this, saying his father would never limit voices. But that he urges that everybody use the right sort of rhetoric, David. MUIR: A lot of controversy. We’ll be watching it this weekend.

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Glenn Beck Slams ABC’s Story: ‘Something Goebbels Would do’