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NBC Questions Kobe Bryant’s Pride of Being on Team USA 2008-08-17 -By Warner Todd Huston In a recent interview with USA Olympics basketball team member Kobe Bryant, NBC Sports reporter Chris Collinsworth seemed to question Kobe’s patriotism when the player said that he was proud to wear the team USA uniform. Wondering if it was “cool” to be proud of being on Team USA, Collinsworth seemed to surprise even Bryant with the temerity of the question. Why Collinsworth wouldn’t think it would be “cool” to be proud to be on the American Olympic basketball team is anyone’s guess. In a...

The McCain campaign isn't taking Andrea Mitchell's cheating claim [0] made on Sunday's "Meet the Press" lying down. Politico reported [1] moments ago that campaign manager Rick Davis has sent a strongly-worded letter to Steve Capus, president of NBC News, sharply criticizing Mitchell's suggestion that the Arizona senator had somehow cheated at Saturday's Saddleback Civil Forum.In it, Davis expressed concern that: "the level of objectivity at NBC News has fallen so low that reporters are now giving voice to unsubstantiated, partisan claims in order to undercut John McCain;" "Mitchell did what has become a pattern for her of simply repeating...

McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis asked Sunday for a meeting with Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, to protest what the campaign called signs that the network is "abandoning non-partisan coverage of the Presidential race." Davis made the request Sunday in a letter that is part of an aggressive effort by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to counter news coverage he considers critical. Politico has asked NBC for a response and will post that here when it arrives.

The NBC family of networks has no problem showing viewers how to save the planet. But if it is a muggy, smoggy 85 degrees, as is the forecast for Beijing this week, consider looking elsewhere for eco-inspiration. WHTR, the NBC affiliate for Indianapolis reported from Beijing and described the NBC set used for the networks two highest rated news broadcasts, “NBC Nightly News” and “Today,” as air conditioned – even though it is outdoors. “The set is outside, but air conditioning vents make the weather bearable,” Anne Marie Tiernon wrote for WHTR Eyewitness News on August 14.

Despite tape delaying the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony by 12 hours, NBC earned the highest overnight rating ever for a non-American Olympics and the largest audience. It was also the most viewed telecast of an Olympic opening ceremony of a non-U.S. Games. An audience of 70 million watched, 14 million more than viewership for the Athens opener. In a statement, Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Sports and Olympics, said, “The Olympic opening ceremony captivated the American public in unprecedented numbers for a non-U.S. Olympics. It was a magical and memorable spectacle and a great way to start the Beijing...

We view the Olympics as a global sporting tradition and consider ourselves citizens of the world, so we don't have much patience with country-specific broadcasting rights. Thus, we're happy that we (and you) can watch the Olympics live right here on on SAI. (Frankly, we wish we could watch the Olympics on NBCOlympics.com, because their feed is marvelously crisp, but of course NBC is doing everything it can to prevent that. Specifically, NBC is trying to make us watch tonight, on tape delay, when the opening cermonies will be as stale as yesterday's bread. And when they do broadcast events...

Joe Scarborough has estimated that 95% of the elite media will pull the lever for Barack Obama. Even so, evidence continues to mount that the MSM is beginning to view the Dem candidate with a more discerning eye. The latest example comes from an unexpected corner, that occupied by NBC correspondent Martin Savidge. As NewsBusters has reported, on everything from climate change to Jesse Helms to the Jena Six, Savidge has consistently toed the liberal media line. But on MSNBC this afternoon, interviewing an Obama supporter, Savidge surprisingly suggested that Obama was "a bit of a liar" on the subject...

FLASH 8/5/08 11:31:52 AM ET: Presidential debate moderators: Jim Leherer of PBS, Tom Brokaw of NBC, Gwen Ifill of PBS and Bob Scheiffer of CBS... Developing...

Could the NBC honchos be a tad touchy about criticism of the Beijing Olympics—especially when it comes from its own talent pool? Was there a kernel of truth in Mika Brzezinski's light-hearted warning that MSNBC's Morning Joe crew would "get a call" if it persisted in its mocking of the games for whose broadcast rights the Peacock Network has over the years paid billions? When the subject of the Olympics arose during the opening segment of today's show, the panel went into an extended coughing fit, coupled with cracks about tanks in Tiananmen Square. Mika joined in the joshing for...

NBC’s Matt Lauer, broadcasting live from the Great Wall of China on Monday’s "Today" show, referred to the "double-edged sword" of the world’s attention being on China for the Summer Olympic Games and asked a Chinese professor about how that "spotlight" might be "co-opted by party crashers who have a bone to pick with this country. He then asked the professor, "How worried are the people here about that?" Lauer, who will be in China during the next weeks for the Olympics, interviewed Professor Teng Dimeng of the Beijing Foreign Studies University 20 minutes into 7 am Eastern hour of...

It's a strange dichotomy. While NBC News  continues to maintain a wall of silence regarding the alleged John Edwards scandal, the comedians on that network are having a field day joking about it. On Monday night Jay Leno told the following John Edwards joke: John Edwards asks Kobe Bryant, 'What's a good jewelry store?' Conan O'Brien went even further on Tuesday night with an extended  joke that incorporated video shots of his band leader, Max Weinberg, as well as trombonist Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg: O'BRIEN: I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors about former Sen. John Edwards having a secret...

Is there a pro-Obama bias in the media? Only if you at it from a certain point-of-view according to "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams. Despite allegations of just the opposite, the wall-to-wall coverage of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's trip to the Middle East then to Europe wasn't a sign of bias - it was just the media attempting to "educate" according to Williams. Williams appeared on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on July 28 to promote the broadcast of his interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be aired on the July 28 "NBC Nightly News." "Closing Bell"...

Video: In a preview of Brian Williams' 'Nightly News' interview airing tonight, Iran's president vows a ‘positive response’ if the United States changes its policies.

<p>BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Conan O'Brien will take over the "Tonight" Show next June — and what happens to deposed host Jay Leno after that is anybody's guess.</p> <p>Leno's last show will be Friday, May 29, and O'Brien will start the following Monday, June 1, NBC executives told a Television Critics Association meeting Monday.</p>

<p>The remaining (few) conservatives at NBC are angry about The Suits plan to replace a show host, probably Chris Matthews, with faradical far-left openly lesbian Air America host(ess) Rachel Maddow.</p> <p>Maddow makes no secret of her beliefs, or her ability to use her time on the air to promote them.</p>

Some advertisers spooked by bad press over China By Kevin Downey Jul 8, 2008 In just one month, on Aug. 8, NBC will begin airing the Summer Olympics from China, but from the looks of things it's not shaping up all that well for NBC as it attempts to sell its remaining ad inventory. At the least, the Games are looking to be a disappointment for the network, say media buyers. A lot will depend on how viewers and advertisers respond to the Olympic trials now airing. Ad spending will most likely fall short of NBC’s goal of more than...

Thursday’s "Today Show" gave yet another demonstration that the mainstream media can’t get over the success of Rush Limbaugh. NBC correspondent Michael Okwu, reporting on Limbaugh’s new contract, which the New York Times has indicated is worth $400 million, "reminded" viewers of three past "controversies" involving the talk radio host: his 2003 resignation from ESPN after remarking on the sport media’s coverage of NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb; how Limbaugh mocked Michael J. Fox, "accusing the actor of exaggerating symptoms of Parkinson's Disease;" and the legal trouble he faced in Florida related to his addiction to prescription painkillers. On this "doctor...

The guest list for the funeral mass for “Meet the Press” anchor Tim Russert was an “A list” of politicians and media mentionables. Real reporters mixed with the television personalities and the network executives who control their lives. It was a black day for journalism in NBC: Russert’s death released one of the last brakes slowing NBC’s descent into political activism and journalistic irrelevance. NBC was once the proud home of real journalists. People such as Chet Huntley and David Brinkley brought its standards to -- and above -- the level prevalent in most news organizations. But now, it’s an...

NBC is abusing small children by using them for a "social experiment" and profit on a show airing on Wednesday's at 9 EDT/ 8 CDT beginning June 25 called "The Baby Borrowers" . On the program teenagers pretend to be the parents of babies by substituting for the babies' real parents. Dr. Jan Hunt director of the Natural Child Project says: "As a parent, child psychologist and family counselor, I am deeply concerned about the premise of your new show "The Baby Borrowers," and for the present and future emotional health of the babies and young children whose lives will...

General Motors has been an American fixture for 111 years, but some warn that might be ending. The Michigan automaker faces tough obstacles ahead critical to its survival. Brian Williams raised the possibility of General Motors (NYSE:GM) going out of business on the June 26 “NBC Nightly News” to Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money.” “[J]im, I know you talk about this, think about this everyday for a living and have a formula regarding this,” Williams said. “But first, what’s going on out there? I heard one analyst today said, ‘GM will go out of business,’ though I know...

The June 25 “NBC Nightly News” took a new approach to spreading the message of the global warming alarmist agenda. It led off the broadcast with a new government report to connect carbon dioxide with national security. “The world’s thirst for energy is creating an environmental crisis that could soon become a security crisis for the United States,” NBC chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson said. “Two government reports out today paint a bleak picture of the road ahead.” Thompson contended the increased demand for resources predicted in the Department of Energy report – which estimates world power demand will...

It was only a matter of time until the mainstream media began ramping up global warming alarmism by connecting flooding in the Midwest to climate change. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” took a page out of the alarmists’ playbook – connecting natural disasters to global warming, which according to the broadcast is caused by mankind’s use of fossil fuels. The segment, which led off the network’s June 19 broadcast, cited a government report that stated there’s definitive evidence such a link exists. “[T]oday, the administration report draws a clear link between this destructive and severe weather and the fossil...

Tim Russert has been dead a week but that hasn't stopped the nakedly ambitous potato heads at MSNBC from lusting after his Meet The Press job. Word is out and reported by Page Six at the New York Post that both hysterically hyper Chris Matthews and that bumbling bufoon Keith Olbermann are both jockeying for position in the MTP sweepstakes: TIM Russert's body wasn't even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim. .....

NBC anchor Brian Williams will be the first to fill in for Tim Russert as the host for "Meet the Press" this Sunday, the network said today. Russert died suddenly last week of cardiac arrest. After Williams, several different NBC news personalities are expected to rotate as the host of the Sunday morning interview show until a permanent replacement is named - sometime later this year or early next.

MSNBC/NBC News announce that Brian Williams will take over Meet The Press on a trial run starting this Sunday.

[ Snip ]... I'll bet deep in the heart of that skanky pants weasel Olbermann he's plotting how he can swing into Russert's shoes when he's not worthy to lick them. There will probably be some crocodile tears tonight and then a casual couple of 'chance' meetings with NBC execs just after the funeral. Then he'll get his agent to call and raise the issue. Maybe even get some bloggers to start a campaign.... And there will be nobody at NBC to say, 'How dare you, sir? Apologize, sir!' Yes, it will be Countdown time for Keith."

Has NBC White House Correspondent David Gregory turned over a new leaf? Gregory, who has earned a lot of critics for having an anti-Bush/liberal bias, made it seem that way during a discussion about ethics in politics and journalism Thursday. He claimed to struggle with Jewish teachings about saying bad things about others - at least when it comes to Democrats. Gregory, who is Jewish, said he relies on the Jewish law on speech to make editorial decisions for his MSNBC daily afternoon show "Race for the White House."

ALBANY, N.Y. -- MSNBC pundit Keith Olbermann, who spotlights misbehavior nightly with his "Worst Person in the World" recognition, owes New York state for unpaid business taxes, according to a tax warrant notice. And his conservative counterparts and bloggers are making sure the debt is fodder in the ongoing political commentators' feud. Olbermann, the host of "Countdown," owes New York $2,269.50, according to a tax warrant obtained by The Associated Press. State Tax and Finance Department spokesman Tom Bergin said the debt recorded against the TV host's Olbermann Broadcasting Empire Inc., based in Los Angeles, is still open. MSNBC spokesman...

With just two months until the Beijing Olympics, NBC is scrambling to sell out ad time for its broadcast of the Games. The Peacock network is said to be aggressively pushing advertisers and their agencies to buy spots during the Olympics as part of the "upfront" sales negotiations that started in mid-May. Ad execs estimated NBC was anywhere from $150 million to $300 million shy of its sales target. Officially, though, an NBC spokesman said sales were on track. "We're about 80 percent sold and on pace with past games," said NBC's Brian Walker. In April, NBC Universal chief Jeff...

You called Scott McClellan last night. What did you ask him? ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER W.H. PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I did. Actually it was before the story broke about the book. So, it was a social call and Scott brought up the book. We talked about it and he told me he thought it was going to be an honest, brutal, I mean honest, blunt book — he didn't say brutal. And I'm not sure I thought it was going to be as bad as it sounds like it is. HEMMER: What do you mean? FLEISCHER: From what I'm hearing from...

NEW YORK - NBC News has managed to achieve the near-impossible this election season in getting Hillary Rodham Clinton and George Bush to agree on something. That something, however, is antipathy toward NBC News. Through its unusual public criticism of NBC's handling of Richard Engel's interview with the president, the Bush administration struck at the soft white underbelly of the news division's co-existence with the opinionated personalities of MSNBC. "I'm sure you don't want people to conclude that there is really no distinction between the `news' as reported on NBC and the `opinion' as reported on MSNBC, despite the increasing...

NBC is limping to the close of the prime-time TV season. Only one of the network's shows, "Law & Order: SVU," finished among the 25 most-watched shows last week, ranking No. 16, according to Nielsen Media Research. "Shark," a drama that CBS is canceling, was seen by more people last week than any other NBC show but "SVU." The network's prime-time average of 5.5 million viewers last week, was just more than half of first-place CBS' average. The showing during a ratings "sweeps" month points to the challenge NBC has in the next few months. One advantage is the network's...

NBC Nightly News did a despicable job of editing an interview with President Bush and Richard Engel. To watch an interview with Karl Rove click here. To contact NBC, write nightly@nbc.com.

The White House on Monday sent a scathing letter to NBC News, accusing the news network of “deceptively” editing an interview with President Bush on the issue of appeasement and Iran. At issue were remarks Bush made in front of Israel's parliament earlier this week. Specifically, White House counselor Ed Gillespie laments that the network edited the interview in a way that “is clearly intended to give viewers the impression that [Bush] agreed with [correspondent Richard Engel's] characterization of his remarks when he explicitly challenged it. “This deceitful editing to further a media-manufactured storyline is utterly misleading and irresponsible and...

NEW YORK - The economic downturn is hitting roughly one in 10 middle-aged and older Americans especially hard, compelling them to borrow money for everyday living expenses and to seek help from family, friends or charities, according to a survey released Tuesday by the AARP. In the telephone survey of 1,002 adults 45 and older, nearly four in 10 said they had helped a child pay bills or expenses. Among retirees, one-third said they’d helped their children pay bills. Eight percent said they’d helped a parent pay bills or expenses. The survey’s margin of sampling error was plus or minus...

Global warming alarmists have frequently attributed extreme weather incidents to manmade global warming, but an NBC Weatherplus.com meteorologist burst “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams’s bubble May 12 when he said recent tornadoes are actually thought to be caused by cooler waters. “[I] talked to three people, casual conversation today, all of them smart saying, ‘I don't know, we must be doing something to our Earth.’ So, once and for all, what’s going on here?” Williams asked meteorologist Bill Karins in an interview about tornadoes that have ravaged parts of the southern United States. But Karins didn’t give any manmade reasons...

How could job loss for 80 small-town residents be a "great story?"

As you pretty much have to know by now due to the fact that they won't shut up about it, NBC Universal's "Green Is Universal" campaign is winding down today. Begining next week, we'll no longer be hearing the media giant's numerous television properties spreading feel-good environmentalism to viewers and promoting allegedly earth-friendly policies (ethanol, anyone?). I, for one, couldn't be more happy, not just because we'll finally be spared the painful inanity that such reports often entail but also because of the numerous acts of unethical journalism we'll no longer have to witness.We often hear lefties rage against Rupert...

The Parents Television Council is commending NBC for announcing its commitment to the so-called "family hour." NBC has promised to show family-friendly programs during the family hour, which will run from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (Eastern). The network recently unveiled a 52-week schedule of primetime programming for advertisers and marketers. NBC's family-hour programs next fall will include such programs as Chuck, Biggest Loser, Knight Rider, and Deal or No Deal. Melissa Henson, with the Parents Television Council (PTC), says while her organization has not previewed all of the new shows that have been announced, it is refreshing that one of the major...

At a time when other media companies are consolidating their operations to save money, NBC Universal is breaking its large television studio into two separate businesses, according to NBC executives familiar with the situation. NBC's Los Angeles-based production unit, Universal Media Studios, has been responsible for such shows as the "Law & Order" franchise, "Heroes," "House" and "Battlestar Galactica." One studio will continue to support shows for broadcast networks and largely concentrate on struggling NBC. The second studio, which will be managed by USA Network and Sci Fi Channel President Bonnie Hammer, will focus on producing programs for NBC's profitable...

NBC Universal is shopping WTVJ Miami and WVIT Hartford, Conn., as the NBC Local Media Division seeks to focus on top 10 markets and its growing stable of digital assets. for sale WTVJ does business in the No. 16 Nielsen DMA, and NBCU will hold onto its WSCV Telemundo outlet there. WVIT is in the No. 28 DMA and pulls in about 26% of the TV revenue in Hartford, according to BIA Financial Networks, good for second in the market. “We're in the process of re-engineering the way we think, shifting our focus from a traditional stations business to becoming...

John McCain may help Republicans buck the historic trends that should give the Democrats the White House, according to the Wall Street Journal and NBC. Despite voters wanting to elect a Democrat by a 13-point margin, McCain sits in a virtual tie with both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, indicating a large amount of discontent with the specific Democratic candidates. In this case, even a tweaked sample of registered voters doesn’t help: A couple findings in the new poll capture how conflicted Americans are. By a 13-point margin, 50% to 37%, registered voters say they would prefer a Democrat to...

Insiders tell TVNewser Tucker Carlson's 6pmET show Tucker is getting the axe, but Carlson stays on as a political contributor to all MSNBC shows at least through the 2008 election. The official announcement, expected tomorrow, will include details about who will replace Tucker at 6pmET as well as other political programming additions. Sources say the network is going to beef up its schedule with more NBC News talent. In recent days, Jossip, as well as other blogs, ratcheted up the talk that Tucker would be replaced "for a new project." In its 33-month run, Carlson's show has had two names,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A $100 million lawsuit claiming that NBC prompted the suicide of a former Texas prosecutor who was caught up in its popular sting series "To Catch a Predator" is moving ahead after a ruling by a U.S. federal judge on Tuesday. Louis Conradt, a 56-year-old assistant district attorney, shot himself in November 2006 after he was confronted at his Terrell, Texas, home by police officers. They were accompanied by an NBC news crew that was there to film his arrest."To Catch a Predator," a segment of NBC's "Dateline" newsmagazine program, lures men to a house with...

he future of NBC News is not on the broadcast network, but at MSNBC and online, said Jeff Zucker, president of CEO of NBC Universal. Jeff Zucker “We are just living in an incredibly different world,” Zucker said during a question-and-answer session at Harvard Business School’s 2008 Entertainment and Media Conference Wednesday. Pointing out that few people in the audience of students, faculty and media gathered there likely watch the 6:30 p.m. newscast, Zucker said NBC News is lucky to have a cable-news outlet in MSNBC, adding that more and more content will continue to migrate there and to MSNBC.com....

Saturday Night Live’s first show since the writer’s strike forced it from the air 16 weeks ago will feature Mike Huckabee in a guest appearance, the Republican candidate’s campaign announced Wednesday. The former Arkansas governor is not expected to host this weekend’s SNL — that job is reserved for “30 Rock” star and former cast cast member Tina Fey. But a spot on the NBC sketch comedy show will at least give him some extra time in the limelight as rival John McCain works to close him out in the GOP race. Democratic candidate Barack Obama appeared as himself during...

Hollywood's NBC Digital Entertainment and NBC Universal Cable Entertainment say they plan to stream vintage television content on their entertainment Web sites. Full-episode streaming of classic shows like "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "Kojak," "Miami Vice," the original "Battlestar Galactica," "Buck Rogers," "A-Team," "Swamp Thing," "Tremors," "Simon & Simon" and "Emergency" are expected to be offered on NBC.com, SCIFI.com, ChillerTV.com and SleuthChannel.com beginning this month. "NBC Universal has a tremendous library of quality content and we are very excited to re-introduce these classic shows to a new Web audience," Vivi Zigler, NBC Digital Entertainment's executive vice president, said in a statement...

It soon may be time to retire the phrase “fall television season.” NBC Universal took a big step toward undoing one of the television industry’s oldest traditions by announcing Tuesday that it would move to a year-round schedule of staggered program introductions. The move is intended to appeal to advertisers, who crave fresh content to keep viewers tuned in. And if it succeeds — and leads other broadcast networks to shift from their focus on a mass introduction of new shows — it could alter an American cultural cycle that extends all the way back to the days of radio,...

NEW YORK - NBC News said Tuesday it has reprimanded the employee responsible for mistakenly flashing a picture of Osama bin Laden on MSNBC as Chris Matthews talked about Barack Obama. "This mistake was inexcusable," MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said. It happened during the opening of "Hardball" Monday evening. Matthews was previewing a story on the controversy over Obama's use of another politician's words, and a picture of bin Laden briefly flashed on the screen beside him with the headline "Words About Words." The Obama campaign immediately called NBC to complain, and Matthews apologized on the air a few minutes...