ABC Touts Author of New Book on Morning Show Wars, But Skips NBC’s Dismissal of the ‘Crap on GMA’
ABC managed to take a book full of juicy gossip about the morning show wars and ignore all the interesting information. Good Morning America's Dan Harris on Tuesday talked to Brian Stelter, author of Top of the Morning. Yet, Harris spent more time talking about the rise of Stelter, offering such dull questions of the author as "Do you ever sleep?" and "What made you pick this subject for your book?"
Perhaps Harris didn't want to talk about how Stelter quoted an NBC executive deriding the "the crap on ‘G.M.A.'" In the book, the writer condescendingly described the ABC program: "The cast was more bubbly and the stories more gossip-laden. And short: If you didn't like what they were covering, you could just wait 45 seconds and the cast would be on to a Chihuahua playing pool." Harris made no mention of the upheaval at NBC after Ann Curry's removal from the Today show.
ABC: Are Some Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Pictures Racist?
Talk about your phony controversies.
On ABC's Good Morning America Sunday, they actually did a segment addressing whether or not some of the pictures taken during the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo shoots were - wait for it! - racist (video follows with transcript and commentary):
‘Good Morning America’ Giddy Over Possible Hillary Presidential Run
If Good Morning America's giddiness over the prospect that Hillary Clinton might run for president is any indication of how the MSM will treat the story, it's gonna be a long-g-g-g four years.
The excited GMA crew was looking for any harbinger—from falling meteorites to the number of baskets scored by an ABC reporter in a charity game—that Hillary might throw her pantsuit into the ring. A correspondent even joked—at least we hope she was joking—that GMA might have to run a segment every week with the latest is-Hillary-running news. View the video after the jump.
‘Good Morning America’ Giddy Over Possibility Hillary Might Run
If Good Morning America's giddiness over the prospect that Hillary Clinton might run for president is any indication of how the MSM will treat the story, it's gonna be a long-g-g-g four years.
The excited GMA crew was looking for any harbinger--from falling meteorites to the number of baskets scored by an ABC reporter in a charity game--that Hillary might throw her pantsuit into the ring. A correspondent even joked--at least we hope she was joking--that GMA might have to run a segment every week with the latest is-Hillary-running news. View the video after the jump.
Physician Tells CNN Chris Christie’s Weight Is ‘Ticking Time Bomb’
Giving advice is easy; accepting it, not so much. One day after Chris Christie downed a doughnut and joked that he's “the healthiest fat guy you've ever seen in your life” on Monday night's edition of “The Late Show With David Letterman,” a medical expert on presidential health said the New Jersey governor's weight is no laughing matter.
"I'm worried he may have a heart attack. I'm worried he may have a stroke," former White House physician Connie Mariano said in an interview with Jim Acosta, CNN's national political correspondent regarding the GOP "heavyweight."
2016 Begins? ABC Mocks: Chris Christie Should ‘Lay Off the Doughnuts’
The journalists of Good Morning America offered, perhaps, a preview of 2016, highlighting Chris Christie's weight and what "could be a major campaign issue." After playing clips of the New Jersey governor talking to David Letterman, guest co-host Amy Robach scolded, "He's going to have to lay off the doughnuts."
Co-anchor George Stephanopoulos lectured, "[Christie] knows it. If he wants to run, he is going to have to lose some real weight." Reporter Dan Harris found a medical expert. The correspondent related, "Former White House physician Connie Mariano, who helped President Clinton lose 30 pounds in office, said she cringed when she saw Christie eating that doughnut and that she's worried about him dying on the job." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
ABC Hypes ‘Hypocrisy and Absurdity’ of Lack of Hurricane Sandy Money, Skips Pork
Good Morning America's Dan Harris on Sunday hyped "allegations of hypocrisy and absurdity" against House Republicans, complaining about the amount of money New Jersey and New York will get for Hurricane Sandy. Harris and reporter David Kerley skipped mentioning pork stuffed into such legislation, money that (for example) could go to a new roof for the Smithsonian in Washignton D.C.
Harris began the segment by touting, "And now to allegations of hypocrisy and absurdity as the recovery from Super storm Sandy becomes a political football." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] He asserted that "politicians from the northeast are outraged that Republicans want to give them much less than they're asking for."
CBS Actually Covers Gun Self-Defense Case Promoted By NRA; ABC, NBC Punt
On Friday's CBS This Morning, Bill Plante refreshingly spotlighted how firearms are used to protect the lives of ordinary Americans. Plante noted how the National Rifle Association "Tweeted a story...about Melinda Herman, a Georgia woman who shot an intruder in self-defense as she waited with her two children in a closet....She fired at the man multiple times with a .38 caliber handgun."
The two other Big Three morning shows failed to mention this story during their coverage of the current gun control debate. ABC's GMA actually minimized the air time they devoted to the issue. News anchor Dan Harris gave just one news brief to the next meeting of Vice President Joe Biden's gun violence task force:
ABC Hypes High Temperatures in U.S. to Push for Climate Change ‘Action,’ NBC Misrepresents Data
All three evening newscasts on Tuesday hyped a report that 2012 was the hottest on record for the United States. NBC actually mislead viewers into thinking the data relates to the entire planet and not just one country. On ABC, Dan Harris blamed the study's results on Congress for failing to take "action" over global warming.
World News reporter Dan Harris lamented, "Many cities had record warmth, including Washington, D.C., where a lack of action on man made climate change is likely to mean 2012 is just a glimpse into an unpleasant future, according to many scientists." [See video below. MP3 audio here.] Yet, the New York Times conceded, "Even so, the last year’s record for the United States is not expected to translate into a global temperature record when figures are released in the coming weeks."
ABC Repeatedly Celebrates Gay ‘Marriage’ of Weatherman Sam Champion
ABC News repeatedly celebrated weatherman Sam Champion's gay "marriage" to Rubem Robierb from Friday through Monday. On Monday's "Good Morning America," entertainment reporter Lara Spencer relayed: "We have so many stories to tell you this morning, including the surprising story of this woman. She is accused of being, we're not making this up, too sexy for her job. Her boss said she was too distracting and was actually threatening his marriage. But that's where the outrage begins -- because she's the one who lost her job, not him."
Then she turned to Champion: "Yeah, it's controversial, indeed, but this isn't. We have such great news to share with everybody, the best news of all. Sam Champion, everybody, getting married over the weekend." No one in America opposes gay marriage, apparently.
ABC News Targets Group Fighting Voter Fraud, Hints at Racial Motive
Nightline correspondent Dan Harris on Thursday profiled an organization fighting voter fraud, suggesting that the non-partisan group might have a racial motive for targeting certain neighborhoods. Talking to True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrect, Harris offered this loaded question: "Is your goal really to end voter fraud or is your goal really to intimidate voters who disagree with you politically and scare them away from the polls?" [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
Harris followed up, "You are not in any way directly targeting these communities?" Except for Engelbrect, everyone the correspondent talked to backed up this notion. Harris highlighted Teresa Sharp, a woman who had her right to vote challenged: "But Teresa and other Democrats say it's not about voter integrity but about voter suppression, specifically, trying to intimidate low-income people, minorities and students who might vote for President Obama."
ABC Anchors Side With Bristol Palin Over Lawsuit Story
On Sunday's Good Morning America, anchors Dan Harris and Bianna Golodryga defended Bristol Palin as they plugged a report on a man suing Bristol for including in her reality show a clip of herself confronting him as he berated her mother, Sarah Palin.
After playing a clip of the exchange which took place in a bar, Harris observed:
Here's the deal, though. He says she's ruined his life. But he started the fight.
Golodryga added:
That's right. She was defending her mom. I can't blame her.