‘Face the Nation’ Spends 30 Minutes on Gay NBA Player, Still No Mention of Gosnell
Does the outing of a previously almost unknown basketball player really deserve a half hour's coverage on a broadcast television Sunday political talk show?
The folks at CBS certainly felt it does as Face the Nation actually devoted the entire second half of its program Sunday to Jason Collins and gay issues.
Sunday Morning Miracle: CBS’s Face the Nation Leads with Benghazi ‘Cover-Up’
Proof Sunday morning that Republicans can use their power to hold House hearings to force media coverage of topics journalists have shown little interest in probing. CBS's Face the Nation led with an “exclusive” which Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Committe on Oversight and Government Reform, gave host Bob Schieffer about the upcoming testimony from Greg Hicks, the second in command in Libya at the time of the Benghazi attacks.
“Today,” Schieffer touted, “there is new information raising questions about whether there was a cover-up by the State Department to deflect criticism that it had ignored requests for more security for its people in Libya.”
CBS’s Plante Trumpets Hunger Strike at Guantanamo: ‘Is It Any Surprise…That They Would Prefer Death?’
During a Tuesday press conference at the White House, CBS's Bill Plante channeled his colleague Bob Schieffer's 2009 "open sore" pronouncement about Guantanamo Bay as he asked President Obama about an ongoing hunger strike among many of the detainees there. Plante hinted at sympathy for the prisoners as he wondered, "Is it any surprise, really, that they would prefer death rather than – have no end in sight to their confinement?"
The correspondent's leading question allowed the President to revisit the issue and call for the closure of the facility, just over three months after his administration closed the office tasked with shuttering the prison camp [audio available here; video below the jump]:
‘Face the Nation’ Completely Ignores Friday’s Lousy Jobs Report
As NewsBusters has been reporting, the Sunday political talk shows didn't seem very interested in the lousy jobs numbers that were released by the Labor Department last Friday.
By far the worst performance in this regard was turned in by CBS's Face the Nation which didn't utter one single word about the issue throughout the course of the entire one hour broadcast.
Obama Compared the Palestinians to Canada? Networks Ignore The Gaffe, Lavish Time on Obama
Radio hosts like Mark Levin and Web sites like Canada Free Press are mocking President Obama’s statement in a press conference yesterday with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, where he compared the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to U.S.-Canada relations. What? Levin called him a "moron" for the comparison.
But ABC, CBS, and NBC failed to notice. They acted like a press release service for Obama on their newscasts Thursday night and Friday morning, offering Obama 18 soundbites adding up to 215 seconds, often ending in applause. Only Chuck Todd on NBC Nightly News aired a soundbite from anyone other than Obama.
Obama Compared the Palestinians to Canada? Networks Ignore The Gaffe, Lavish Time on Obama
Radio hosts like Mark Levin and Web sites like Canada Free Press are mocking President Obama’s statement in a press conference yesterday with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, where he compared the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to U.S.-Canada relations. What? Levin called him a "moron" for the comparison.
But ABC, CBS, and NBC failed to notice. They acted like a press release service for Obama on their newscasts Thursday night and Friday morning, offering Obama 18 soundbites adding up to 215 seconds, often ending in applause. Only Chuck Todd on NBC Nightly News aired a soundbite from anyone other than Obama.
Schieffer Cuts to Commercial When Guests Claim There Are Many Gay Priests
CBS’s Bob Schieffer was clearly uncomfortable Sunday when two of his perilously liberal guests claimed there are many gay priests.
At the end of a Face the Nation discussion about the pending selection of a new Pope, Schieffer pushed back when the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn brought up homosexuality in the priesthood, and then he cut quickly to a commercial when Vanity Fair’s Carl Bernstein supported her contention (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Schieffer Says Obama’s Reelection Was About Economy, Not Social Issues
CBS’s Bob Schieffer has come to the president’s defense again. Conveniently forgetting about the media's obsession with the “war on women,” and how the media tag-teamed with the president's reelection campaign on social issues, Schieffer insisted that Barack Obama based his successful reelection campaign on the economy.
Schieffer, who moderated the final presidential debate in 2012, appeared on the January 28 edition of The Kalb Report alongside fellow debate moderators Martha Raddatz of ABC and Jim Lehrer of PBS for a discussion of the 2012 presidential and vice presidential debates. After the discussion, the panelists fielded questions from the audience, and one audience member asked Schieffer:
Graham to Block Brennan and Hagel Confirmations Without Full White House Disclosure on Benghazi
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) vowed Sunday to block the cabinet confirmations of John Brennan and Chuck Hagel if he doesn't get full disclosure from the White House concerning the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last year.
Appearing on CBS's Face the Nation, Graham said, "No confirmation without information."
Jim Nantz: College Women’s Soccer Player 2 1/2 Times More Likely to Get Concussion Than Football Player
While liberal media members such as NBC's Bob Costas call for radical changes to the NFL as a result of all the injuries, few seem willing to look at the issue from a broader perspective.
CBS's Jim Nantz added such perspective on Face the Nation Sunday saying, "Research shows that at the college level, a women's soccer player is two and a half times more likely to suffer a concussion than a college football player" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Networks Silent as Obama Gives Up on Closing Guantanamo, Previously Praised President as Bold
Barack Obama's State Department on Monday announced that it will close the office dedicated to shutting down Guantanamo Bay. According to the New York Times, this means that the President "does not currently see the closing of the prison as a realistic priority, despite repeated statements that [the administration] still intends to do so." Yet, all three network newscasts on Monday night and the morning shows on Tuesday skipped the revelation.
Such silence stands in contrast to the adulation Obama received in January of 2009 after the new president announced his intention to close the facility. On January 22, 2009, then-World News anchor Charles Gibson enthused, "The new President says America is taking the moral high ground in making the country safer." On the January 23, 2009 CBS Evening News, Bob Schieffer parroted, "He will close Guantanamo prison and outlaw torture. He has told the world that we will practice what we preach."
Bozell Column: Obama ‘Cements His Legacy’
Newsweek stopped its print edition at the end of 2012, but they still tried to scandalize the country by producing a fake cover honoring Obama’s second inauguration as “The Second Coming.” This absurd attempt at myth-making is a natural progression. The “cover” story was written by Evan Thomas, who proclaimed on MSNBC a few years ago that Obama was “sort of like God” in being above the gritty political fray.
It was just as absurd when Newsweek writer David Frum, the formerly conservative Bush speechwriter, tweeted this piece of media-elite nonsense: “First term Obama: punchee, 2nd term Obama, puncher.”
Limbaugh: ‘Where’s the Media Outrage When Schieffer Compares Obama’s Gun Initiatives to Defeating Hitler?’
NewsBusters reported Wednesday that CBS's Bob Schieffer compared President Obama taking on the gun lobby to America defeating the Nazis in World War II.
Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh on Thursday took on Schieffer's absurd tirade and asked, "Where is the media outrage when Bob Schieffer of CBS compares Obama's gun initiatives to defeating Hitler?" (video courtesy Daily Rushbo follows with transcript via RushLimbaugh.com and absolutely no need for additional commentary):
Mark Levin Calls Bob Schieffer a ‘Phony Journalist,’ ‘Propagandist’ and an Obama ‘Cheerleader’
NewsBusters reported Wednesday that CBS's Bob Schieffer compared President Obama taking on the gun lobby to America defeating the Nazis in World War II.
Hours later, conservative talk radio host Mark Levin took on this nonsense calling Schieffer "a Potemkin journalist, a phony" who behaves like a "propagandist" and an Obama "cheerleader" (transcribed highlights follow, audio available at Right Scoop):
Bob Schieffer Likens Obama ‘Taking on the Gun Lobby’ to Hunt for Bin Laden, ‘Defeating the Nazis’
Bob Schieffer somehow topped Chris Matthews during CBS News's special coverage of President Obama's gun control press conference on Wednesday, as he became the worst caricature of a foaming-at-the-mouth cheerleader for the chief executive. Schieffer lauded "one of the best speeches I've ever heard him [Obama] deliver", and compared Obama's new gun control agenda to Lyndon Johnson's push for civil rights legislation in the 1960s.
The CBS veteran even went so far to liken the President's cause to the ten-year hunt for 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and the difficult endeavor of winning World War II [audio available here; video below the jump]:
CBS Gushes Over ‘Very Serious’ Ben Affleck’s Political Potential: ‘He Sure Does Sound Like a Politician’
Norah O'Donnell helped Bob Schieffer hype his upcoming segment with actor/director Ben Affleck on Thursday's CBS This Morning. O'Donnell played a clip of the soon-to-be aired interview and remarked, "He sure does sound like a politician. He won't give you a straight answer!"
Schieffer ballyhooed Affleck's supposed credentials to be a possible replacement for Senator John Kerry, who could be named the next Secretary of State [audio available here; video below the jump]:
CBS Touts GOP Talk of Benghazi ‘Coverup,’ Notes Petraeus Promoted ‘Spontaneity’ of Violence
On Monday's CBS This Morning, Sharyl Attkisson filed a hard-hitting report on the possible ties between former CIA chief David Petraeus's resignation and the continuing controversy over the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Attkisson spotlighted how Petraeus told several members of Congress that "video of the Benghazi attack supports an element of spontaneity, as the administration first claimed."
Anchor Charlie Rose also hyped Rep. Peter King's theory on General Petraeus's resignation: "The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says the timing of the resignation suggests a cover-up. Petraeus was scheduled to testify to Congress this week about the attack that killed the American ambassador to Libya." [audio clip available here; video below the jump]
As Schieffer Talks of Inspirational Tears, David Axelrod Says He’ll Now Help ‘Young Journalists’
As part of the victory lap on CBS's Face the Nation Sunday, host Bob Schieffer asked Obama campaign manager David Axelrod how it felt to watch the president brush away a tear in front of the volunteers. "We don't see that much emotion from the President. What was it like to be there?"
He also asked Axelrod what he'll do next, and he said he wants to help "inspire some young people to get into this arena as candidates, as strategists, as journalists." Or to follow today's media model, become a Democratic strategist, and then become a network TV journalist. But Axelrod brushed away tears alongside the president at the idealism of the Obama Youth:
CBS’s Schieffer: Obama Win ‘No Stamp of Approval’ For Agenda; Spotlights ‘He Almost Lost The Popular Vote’
Bob Schieffer poured cold water on President Obama's victory during CBS's post-election coverage on early Wednesday morning: "He's not going to have a mandate here. The President has been re-elected, but nobody's put the stamp of approval on his program. I mean, when the vote is this close...he's going to have a very, very difficult time."
Schieffer repeated these same points on Wednesday's CBS This Morning, and pointed out that the incumbent liberal "almost lost the popular vote...so people are going to step back, and they're going to say, why should I cooperate with him?"
The News Squashers
NBC’s David Gregory isn’t always a news reporter. As we're seeing with
increasing frequency on that network, he's squashing stories. Call him
an unreporter. On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” he showed the extent to
which he'll vaporize any suggestion that Team Obama failed to offer
adequate protection from terrorists at our consulate in Benghazi.
The News Squashers
NBC’s David Gregory isn’t always a news reporter. As we're seeing with
increasing frequency on that network, he's squashing stories. Call him
an unreporter. On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” he showed the extent to
which he'll vaporize any suggestion that Team Obama failed to offer
adequate protection from terrorists at our consulate in Benghazi.
Say No to Feisty Liberal Moderators
In the final debate, liberal CBS anchorman Bob Schieffer did it right. He moderated without asserting his own political opinions. Indeed, if this was all you had as a compass, you'd never know where he leaned. It was a welcome change from the Raddatz and Crowley libfests.
On the morning after the debate, CBS invited on Fox’s Bill O’Reilly to discuss the debate performances. Interestingly enough, he faulted them all, while CBS's Charlie Rose defended them all.
Say No to Feisty Liberal Moderators
In the final debate, liberal CBS anchorman Bob Schieffer did it right. He moderated without asserting his own political opinions. Indeed, if this was all you had as a compass, you'd never know where he leaned. It was a welcome change from the Raddatz and Crowley libfests.
On the morning after the debate, CBS invited on Fox’s Bill O’Reilly to discuss the debate performances. Interestingly enough, he faulted them all, while CBS's Charlie Rose defended them all.
Bozell Column: The News Squashers
NBC’s David Gregory isn’t always a news reporter. As we're seeing with increasing frequency on that network, he's squashing stories. Call him an unreporter. On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” he showed the extent to which he'll vaporize any suggestion that Team Obama failed to offer adequate protection from terrorists at our consulate in Benghazi.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina slammed Obama’s Libya response: “That attack went on for seven hours…[with the] Secretary of Defense saying he denied requests for help over that seven hours.” Gregory cut her off: “We’ll get to Libya a little bit later.” Surprise: It never came up again.
Conan O’Brien Calls Romney ‘Adolf Mittler’
Conan O'Brien on Tuesday appeared to want to make up for Bob Schieffer accidentally saying Obama bin Laden during Monday's presidential debate.
To compensate, he referred to Romney as "Adolf Mittler" (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
Conan O’Brien Calls Romney ‘Adolf Mittler’
Conan O'Brien on Tuesday appeared to want to make up for Bob Schieffer accidentally saying Obama bin Laden during Monday's presidential debate.
To compensate, he referred to Romney as "Adolf Mittler" (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
At Last, A Moderator Keeps His Opinions To Himself
Whatever his biases, and he has biases, Bob Schieffer didn't show them tonight.
Unlike Candy Crowley and Martha Raddatz, Schieffer managed to moderate this debate without revealing his own positions.
Well done.
Will Schieffer Ask Obama About That ‘Cancer’ Called Guantanamo?
During the last administration, CBS anchor Bob Schieffer was a red-hot advocate of closing the terrorist holding pen at Guantanamo. "This is just a boil. It's a cancer. This thing is not doing anybody any good,” he ranted on MSNBC’s Imus In The Morning show on June 9, 2005.
Schieffer’s ardor cooled considerably once Obama was elected. Will Schieffer bring up the “cancer” of Gitmo in tonight’s debate? Back in the Bush years, he repeatedly suggested it made us just like the terrorists we were fighting. Here’s how the Imus rant continued:
Debate Night: Will Liberal Bob Schieffer Be the Next Candy Crowley?
When CBS’s longtime Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer sits down in Boca Raton, Florida, tonight to moderate the final 2012 presidential debate, he’ll be following three journalists who became targets for criticism over how they handled their moderating duties.
Debate Night: Will Liberal Bob Schieffer Be the Next Candy Crowley?
When CBS’s longtime Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer sits down in Boca Raton, Florida, tonight to moderate the final 2012 presidential debate, he’ll be following three journalists who became targets for criticism over how they handled their moderating duties.