Free Republic

Qoute: "Complete betrayal of the nation!" From CNN no less!

CNN correspondent Max Foster’s short report about Richard Dawkins on Tuesday’s Situation Room played more like a commercial which promoted the militant atheist’s new book. Despite Dawkins’s past inflammatory statements about Christianity, Foster only labeled him “an outspoken critic of creationism....[whose] atheist views have put him at the center of controversy” [audio clip available here]. Anchor Suzanne Malveaux’s introduction for the correspondent’s report highlighted the 150th anniversary of the printing of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species,” and how Dawkins was a “controversial successor [to Darwin] carrying the torch for evolution.” Foster gave a very basic description of Dawkins’s...

Despite some signs that the economy is on the mend, a lack of confidence from consumers and companies alike may hamper job growth during the next few months, economists say. Unlike this point last year, there are some indicators for optimism about the U.S. economy. The market seems to be on a rebound, with stock prices growing steadily since March. Meanwhile, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, a broad indicator of the economy's strength, grew during the third quarter. It was the largest such growth since the summer of 2007. However, the unemployment rate is staggering. The national rate hit 10.2...

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee will announce Monday that veteran political strategist Alex Castellanos will assume a senior communications role at the committee, an RNC official tells CNN. (snip) "Now the RNC has a new focus and direction - the 2010 elections," Castellanos said when reached by telephone. "And I am happy to help."

The axe is starting to fall on the staff of more than 20 producers and reporters that Lou Dobbs left behind when he abruptly left CNN two weeks ago. Late Friday, the CNNers were told that they could start applying for new jobs at the all-news network -- with the clear implication that their old jobs were going to end shortly. In his years at CNN, Dobbs amassed the largest single staff at the network, according to insiders, operating independently from the rest of the network in a closed-off area of the network's new headquarters in the Time Warner building...

From the ugly truth forum: "I KNEW this was going to happen. (That way Obama wasn't lying when he said illegals would not be able to get medical coverage under his ObamaCare plan. His simple fix is to make them all legal first.) EVERY ONE--PLEASE TAKE TIME TO LISTEN TO THIS--IT TELLS ABOUT THE BILL GOING THRU CONGRESS RIGHT NOW REGARDING IMMIGRATION. " EVEN CNN IS GETTING UPSET ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!!!! Pass this on after you watch it. NOTICE THAT THIS IS FROM CNN, NOT FOX!!! This from CNN news:

At issue: a young black woman named Heather Ellis cut in line at Wal-Mart three years ago and refused to leave eventually fighting with and assaulting the local police. She turned down a plea bargain because she would not be allowed to sue the city. Now she is facing a "maximum" of 15 years for 2 felony counts of assaulting police officers and resisting arrest. CNN and the Race Baiting Industry have descended on this small town calling it a "town known for it's racism" in their coverage and alleging that the local prosecutor has ties with the Klan. I...

"Our role is to defend the Constitution."

CNN is now claiming that Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, is a conservative. On November 10, 2009, CNN Special Investigations Correspondent Drew Griffin called Hasan “conservative,” [Rush] and now that talking point is being spewed again on today’s front page online story. The story, about Hasan’s search for a wife, discusses how two imams told CNN “about [Hasan’s] conservatism.” The story also mentions Hasan’s “conservative” clothing choices.

Former CNN veteran Lou Dobbs suggests his form of advocacy journalism fell out of favor when President Obama was elected and his ratings began to decline. Dobbs, who had come under fire from watchdog groups because of his on-air, anti-immigration stance, told Bill O'Reilly Monday on the Fox News Channel that he never heard directly from CNN management that he made the network look bad - but there was a tonal change when Obama became President. "You know, I discern more of a difference between then, which was under the Bush administration whom I was criticizing, and now, when it...

Lou Dobbs said yesterday CNN was eager to show him the door because its top execs didn't want to offend President Obama. Dobbs made the claim last night on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor," saying he took on President George W. Bush's immigration policy with equal force but didn't draw any CNN flak then. "I discern more of a difference between then, which was under the Bush administration when I was criticizing, and now, when it is the Obama administration -- and an entirely different tone was taken," said Dobbs. He claims both Bush and Obama are soft on...

Former CNN host Lou Dobbs stuck to his guns when questions were raised if he was forced out at CNN in an interview with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly. However, Dobbs did make one distinction - how his detractors decided to pile on when he was critical of President Barack Obama instead of former President George W. Bush. He elaborated on this on Fox News Channel's Nov. 16 "The O'Reilly Factor." "I discerned more of a difference between then, which was under the Bush administration, whom I was criticizing and now when it is the Obama administration and an entirely...

CNN was so sick of Lou Dobbs, it gave him an $8 million severance package to leave, The Post has learned. "They wanted him out," according to a source. Dobbs, who a source said had a year and a half to go on his $12 million contract, shocked viewers last Wednesday by announcing he was quitting. CNN boss Jonathan Klein and Dobbs, 64, had been publicly feuding over the kind of reporting Dobbs was doing on his show -- especially stories about illegal immigration and the anti-Obama "birther" movement, which contends the president was not born in Hawaii and is...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A CNN correspondent said Monday she was detained byChinese security guards in Shanghai for two hours for displaying a T-shirt on camera depicting US President Barack Obama as Mao Zedong. Emily Chang, a Beijing-based correspondent for the US television network, said in a blog post on CNN.com that she hunted down the shirt after hearing they had been banned amid fears they "may offend the American president." The shirt shows Obama, who is making his first visit to China as president, in a Red Army uniform staring into the distance in a pose made famous by the...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Fewer than three in 10 Americans think Sarah Palin's qualified to be president, according to a new national poll - the least of any of the five potential candidates included in the survey. But another woman tops that list in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday: two-thirds of the public thinks that Secretary of State HIllary Clinton's qualified for the Oval Office. That's more than Vice President Joe Biden, who's currently next in line for the presidency. According to the poll, 28 percent of Americans say Palin is qualified to run the White House, with seven...

On Monday’s American Morning, CNN’s Jim Acosta rehashed a three-month-old report from the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center about the apparent rise in militia activity in the U.S., and extensively featured a militia from Michigan whose members purportedly “could not specify which of their constitutional rights are being peeled away.” Acosta didn’t use any specific ideological labels to classify the militias during his report, which aired just before the bottom of the 7 am Eastern hour, but it was clear that the featured militia, the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia, held right-of-center views, as its members expressed concern about gun rights,...

"What they do is their business," Dobbs said yesterday. "I tried to accommodate them as best I could, but I've said for many years now that neutrality is not part of my being." [CNN boss Jonathan] Klein long believed Dobbs was at odds with CNN's desire to position itself as an opinion-free, middle-of-the-road alternative to its cable news rivals -- conservative Fox News and liberal MSNBC. Dobbs got $8M to quit Ny Post ^ | Nov. 16, 2009 | MICHAEL SHAIN A man once, upon learning that I'm conservative, said "You probably think that journalism isn't objective." I was...

After losing its ratings lead and falling to last in primetime, the once-dominant CNN stands to lose the last piece of top-shelf value still attached to its business side: premium pricing. Time Warner-owned CNN, while getting beaten handily in the ratings race and having fallen to fourth place in rankings, still commands higher ad rates than rivals -- in some cases double those of Fox News and MSNBC. But perhaps not for long. While advertisers have been willing to shell out more for CNN's venerable brand, broad audience reach and less-opinionated programming, media buyers said the network's ratings slide is...

Dobbs got $8M to quit CNN 'wanted him out' CNN was so sick of Lou Dobbs, it gave him an $8 million severance package to leave, The Post has learned. "They wanted him out," according to a source. Dobbs, who a source said had a year and a half to go on his $12 million contract, shocked viewers last Wednesday by announcing he was quitting. CNN boss Jonathan Klein and Dobbs, 64, had been publicly feuding over the kind of reporting Dobbs was doing on his show -- especially stories about illegal immigration and the anti-Obama "birther" movement, which contends...

On Reliable Sources, Chris Plante, a former CNN correspondent, said Dobbs, as "the last conservative voice on the channel," no longer fit in. When Plante said CNN hosts Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper, and Larry King weren't "completely neutral," Kurtz asked, "Are you suggesting that those hosts lean to the left?" Plante marvelously responded, "Yes, I am" PLANTE: And the news media -- I'm supposed to be the radio talk show host and you're the newspaper guy here. In Washington, we've got a chief White House correspondent for CBS News Chip Reid who was a former employee on Capitol Hill of...

November 13, 2009, 4:00 a.m. ‘Hate Groups, Nativists, and Vigilantes’Lou Dobbs and the pro-amnesty crowd’s campaign of vilification. By Mark Krikorian It’s not clear why Lou Dobbs resigned from CNN Wednesday. Fox said he’s not headed there, and from his comments it sounds to me like he’s going to run for office in New Jersey (though Bob Menendez’s seat, the next Senate opening, isn’t up until 2012). Be that as it may, it’s likely that part of the reason was the vilification campaign against Dobbs by pro-amnesty groups, part of a broader jihad against any public expression of skepticism...

"Yes the Mexicans are coming...and they're here to stay."

CNN promo: (speaking) "They pledge allegiance to The Constitution. " (visual) - footage of a rally outside government building, many, many American flags flying, visible...the back side of a flag "Wolverine, 25th Brigade" and sign "We are in the United States of America, not the United Nations" (speaking) "Often armed." (visual) - cache of weapons "With a grudge against the government." (visual) man in camo kneeling in woods, aiming rifle. then several men in camo with guns and flag "Don't Tread on Me". "Are they just patriots....," (visual) footage of rally, men & women, lots of American flags, outside government...

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If he truly was a Jihadist following orders to kill U.S. troops, terrorism experts say Nidal Hasan would have never been seen doing this: showing up in traditional Muslim clothing at a convenience store morning after morning in a small Texas military town, praying at the local mosque day after day. According to a federal source familiar with the investigation, had Nidal Hasan been a classic terrorist like the 9/11 hijackers or the London subway bombers, he would have hid his religion, masked his beliefs, blended in, followed the guidance in...

Lou Dobbs' refusal to drop "birther" stories about challenges to President Obama's constitutional eligibility to hold office was a major source of contention with CNN management, leading the unconventional anchor to walk away from the network and more than $9 million, according to the New York Post. Dobbs, known for his strong stand against illegal immigration, surprised his loyal viewers Wednesday night by announcing his resignation and offering no indication of his next move. The Post, citing anonymous sources, said the beginning of the end of a long-simmering dispute came in July, when CNN President Jonathan Klein told Dobbs' staff...

Lou Dobbs knows the world is watching him closely now for clues that might explain his sudden resignation from CNN. So it's probably safe to read some meaning into the choice of the anchorman's venue for his first big post-CNN interview: He's going on Fox News. The network is set to announce that Dobbs will be a guest on Monday night's edition of Bill O'Reilly's show, DailyFinance has learned. Warm feelings between the two men goes back to last summer, when O'Reilly publicly defended Dobbs against critics who wanted him fired for repeatedly showcasting the claims of "birthers" who allege...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trBOqSJZabU

Dobbs calls himself an independent with a strong populist streak, and many assume his departed because of politics. But perhaps something else influenced his decision: the fact that a bullet struck his home after threatening phone calls...

Just as I got off the stage at NewTeeVee Live with CNN Worldwide VP of Digital Marketing and Development Andy Mitchell, I saw a report that CNN is cutting back on its web video newscasts. The company laid off its four CNN.com Live anchors as well as “several production staffers,” according WebNewser. CNN.com Live launched as a free service in 2007 to replace the paid web service CNN Pipeline, which failed to gather many subscribers. Up till today, it had its own staff of anchors completely separate from the cable TV channel. I followed up with Mitchell in the green...

The left-wing media wouldn't know a class act if he anchored for them for 30 years. Lou Dobbs's departure from CNN has turned into a cause for celebration -- at CNN. Network president Jonathan Klein dismissively called Lou's program "advocacy journalism" in an otherwise respectful tribute. But Politico.com quotes an anonymous network source:"I think it's safe to say that he won't be missed among the rank-and-file employees at the network," said a CNN staffer. "The Dobbs show has existed in its own little universe for the last several years, in many ways cut off from the rest of the editorial...

CNN announced Thursday that John King, the Sunday morning host best known for his magic wall, is taking over the 7 p.m. slot left vacant by the abrupt resignation of Lou Dobbs. The decision, described by network sources, amounts to a doubling down on straight news. King, a former Associated Press writer, is known for his reporting and neutral approach to politics, while Dobbs has grown increasingly opinionated in recent years, especially on such issues as his opposition to illegal immigration. "The program will reflect what CNN is all about: the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum,"...

CNN's Lou Dobbs announced tonight that he was leaving CNN immediately.

Last week, we asked whether Fox News was a legitimate news organization. Readers wanted us to ask the same question about MSNBC, so that's this week's poll: Is MSNBC a legitimate news organization?

Leave it that bastion of grace and class that waxes poetically on a nightly basis about the wrongdoings of Republicans or conservatives ad nauseum known as MSNBC host Keith Olbermann to do Lou Dobbs resignation from CNN up just right. Olbermann on his Nov. 11 "Countdown" broadcast honored Dobbs 30-year CNN career by naming him his "third worst person in the world." "The bronze to Lou Dobbs, who tonight, as of tonight, has just quit his CNN show," Olbermann said. ...more (w/video)...

New York (CNN) -- CNN's Lou Dobbs stepped down from his controversial role as an advocacy anchor at the network at the end of his show Wednesday night after announcing plans to seek a more activist role. "Over the past six months, it has become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the...

Veteran CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, whose populist views on the perils of immigration and his repeated questioning of President Barack Obama’s birthplace made him a controversial figure on a network that has traditionally eschewed opinion, announced Wednesday night that he is resigning. While Dobbs will continue his radio show, he gave no indication of whether he will stay in television—it’s been rumored that he could end up on Fox. Dobbs said on his show “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” that he’s now “considering a number of options and directions,” and that CNN president Jon Klein has released him from his contract, which...

Lou Dobbs expected to resign from CNN tonight, multiple sources say. If true, we await his explanation. He was one of net's first employees.

UPDATED: Lou Dobbs resigns from CNN November 11, 2009 CNN host Lou Dobbs resigned from the network today, saying that he has been urged by political and business leaders to leave his television platform to “engage in constructive problem-solving” on national issues. He said today's show was his last. “Over the past six months, it’s become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffetting this country and affecting all of us,” Dobbs said, adding that he’s considering pursuing a number of options. “As for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market...

Here is video of Lou Dobbs announcing his resignation from CNN, to pursue "new opportunities." Dobbs said he's considering "a number of options, and directions." (Video)

Now Lou Dobbs really is Mr. Independent.The last of CNN's original news anchors just announced he is leaving the network he joined in 1980, and this evening's episode of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" will be its final broadcast. Dobbs revealed his motives in a straight-forward statement at the program's opening: Over the past six months, it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us. And some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem...

Confirmed: Lou Dobbs announced his resignation from CNN on his Nov. 11 broadcast. Has Lou Dobbs been forced out at CNN by the left-wing attack machine and other forces on the left? Quite possibly. According to New York Times reporters Brian Stelter and Bill Carter, CNN's Lou Dobbs will announce his resignation from CNN on his Nov. 11 show. ...more (w/video)...

Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said. A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program. His resignation is effective immediately; tonight’s program will be his last on CNN. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011. Well known for his political positions, Dobbs is an outlier at CNN, which has sought to position itself as a middle ground of sorts in the fractious cable...

Is CNN trying to do its version of tv "Photoshop"? Their ratings are in the tank, overall the media’s trust level, at an all time low, and trust me this will not help CNN or the MSM. Mudville Gazette caught this (via Ace and a hat tip to RVO reader Laura) … but watch the video below and judge for yourself. On American Morning Private Joseph Foster relates how when Major Hasan began shooting he shouted “Allahu Akbar”, which, has become a rally cry for Islamic Jihad Terrorists. But … in their on-line print story, this is how CNN is...

On CNN's American Morning show yesterday, reporter Carol Costello quoted the mother of a Muslim U.S. soldier as fearing "a backlash against Muslim American soldiers." "She knows some are already reaching conclusions as to why Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire on his fellow soldiers," Costello stated. Continued Costello: "The right-wing website, Pajamas Media, is an example. Phyllis Chesler writing, 'I knew in my bones that the shooter or shooters were Muslim. We must connect the dots before it's too late.'" Costello was referring to a Pajamas Media column entitled "The Jihadist is always the victim," in which Chesler...

CNN GLOATS: "Historic Vote for Obama" Final Vote 220-215

"My dog ate our ratings." Okay, that wasn't one of the lame excuses that CNN president Jon Klein came up with to explain away that network's drastic plunge in the ratings but the ones he did dream up were equally hilarious. Try this one on for size...their low ratings can be explained away because they don't run cartoons during slow periods. The CNN hilarious excuse entertainment was provided courtesy of this Matea Gold Los Angeles Times story which first listed the ratings woes facing that network: ...the network has lost much of the gains it made during the political boom...

As you know by now, the “experts”–including fake doctor, Dr. Phil, and Mark Cuban’s brother (on Twitter)–are lecturing us that Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan, didn’t kill at least 13 American soldiers and injure at least 31 other soldiers because he’s a devout Muslim. Or because he apparently wrote sympathetic, anti-American messages online approving terrorist attacks on American soldiers. Or because America spoiled him with free college and medical tuition courtesy of taxpayers, which he repaid by hiring a lawyer and killing soldiers. Or because he yelled “allahu Akbar” [allah is the greater or greatest (meaning greater than the Christian or...

Think the bluedog's will be feeling some heat? This from a CNN poll of all places: Of course CNN spins away with this headline: CNN Poll: Public wants Congress to keep working on health care Puhlease.... ...only a quarter say those bills should be passed pretty much as is, with a third suggesting that Congress should make major changes. The poll also indicates that one in four say lawmakers should start from scratch and 15 percent want Congress to stop all work on health care reform. (Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net

Here is video of CNN's Wolf Blitzer confirming the identity of the primary shooter at the Fort Hood Mass Killing today as Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan (previously called Malik Nadal Hasan), a doctor who worked in metal health. Below is video of Fox News' Shepherd Smith identifying the shooter as a "high ranking" official, but not giving the actual name of the shooter for some reason . . . Fox News has since also identified the name of the primary shooter. . . . (VIDEOS)

Election Night ratings charts from mediabistro and TVbythenumbers