Free Republic

The blogosphere has, once again, proven itself a worthy investigator. Unsurprisingly, that same investigatory spirit is nearly nonexistent in the mainstream media. This morning on Fox and Friends, Michelle Malkin gave an interview on a story that she and HotAir have been following for several days (video embedded to the right). Apparently, many of the Chrysler dealers that have been chosen for closing have made a habit of donating money to Republicans, or nobody at all – and those who donate to Democrats are miraculously safe. Why is it miraculous?

ABC, CBS and NBC Toast 'Amazing' and 'Incredible' Court Nominee, Leave Labeling to 'Conservatives' Two early themes have emerged from network news coverage of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. First, network reporters have spared no adjective in exulting over the "incredible," "amazing," and "remarkable" story of Sotomayor’s climb from public housing to a chance for the Supreme Court. Second, the notion that she is a liberal judge with an activist approach is cast as merely a partisan claim from her conservative opponents — even though network reporters eagerly declared both John Roberts and Samuel Alito "conservative," "very conservative,"...

Former President George W. Bush will probably be remembered as the unlikable dunce, a bumbling buffoon whose approval ratings were as low as his arrogance was high. A cartoon-like caricature, crafted by opponents and comedians, depicting him as the unsophisticated, privileged son of a defeated president will forever be a part of Dubya’s legacy. Granted, Bush was sometimes embarrassing, and sometimes I was more nervous for him than he seemed to be. His forthcoming book will probably need a ghostwriter to help him articulate his thoughts, and when it’s released I’ll probably loathe the promotional interviews, knowing I’ll tense up...

Acknowledging what the blogosphere has known for weeks, the New York Times finally went on record to admit that just before last Election Day it killed a politically sensitive news story involving corruption allegations that might have made the Obama campaign look bad. But the admission on Sunday, which came seven months after NYT staff reporter Stephanie Strom's reporting about possibly illegal coordination between the Obama campaign and ACORN last year, took the form of a snarky column from Clark Hoyt, the Old Gray Lady's "public editor." Hoyt used the word "nonsense" to describe the allegations of impropriety leveled against...

As President Barack Obama passed his 100th day in office last week, two studies judged that the news media has given him more coverage, and more positive coverage, than his two predecessors at the same point in their terms. ..... Lichter's group did one of the studies, looking at evening news coverage and stories in The New York Times over 50 days. It found the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts devoted nearly 28 hours to the new Obama administration, more than they did during the same stretch in the Bush and Clinton presidencies combined. The tone of comments by...

Joe Biden’s not a loose cannon, an undisciplined, motor-mouthed gaffe-machine on wheels. Nope. He’s just “known for speaking freely.” Just ask the Associated Press. From AP’s story of today, After his flu warning, Biden takes the train home [emphasis added]: "One day after saying he wouldn’t travel in tight quarters because of the swine flu scare, Vice President Joe Biden rode a train Friday from Washington to Delaware. "Known for speaking freely, Biden told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he had urged family members to avoid airplanes and subways for fear of contracting the H1N1 flu virus." Well, alright...

Barack Obama will hand an increasingly besotted American media the opportunity to gush about his presidency on Wednesday, when he marks his first 100 days in office with a formal, prime-time press conference. Mr Obama's top adviser David Axelrod has publicly dismissed the 100th day milestone as a "Hallmark holiday" - meaning an invented event of no real significance. But behind the scenes presidential aides have discreetly encouraged comparisons between Mr Obama and his illustrious Democratic predecessor, Franklin D.Roosevelt. Roosevelt, who took over on 12 March, 1933, soon made history with a blizzard of bold actions taken during what became...

It’s hard to criticize Earth Day. It’s a day when literally ______ people get out there and celebrate Mother Nature. Yes, I said ______ people because we have no idea how many people actually attended. Why? Because none of the top media outlets bothered to ask. That spin has Earth Day supporters filling in the blanks with lots of touchy-feely stories and no numbers while the media had the tea parties down for the count despite claims of around 1 million attendees. The New York Times showed just how to avoid such an uncomfortable topic with its day-after story highlighting...

Intense interest in the Obama administration has swelled the ranks of the White House press corps. Outlets such as Politico have thrown a basketball team's worth of bodies at the project, and outlets that didn't even exist until recently -- Fivethirtyeight.com, the Huffington Post -- have created their own White House correspondent positions. Yet too often, the White House briefing room is where news goes to die.

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is marking President Barack Obama's 100th day in office with prime-time coverage that will recall last year's primary and general election nights, right down to anchor John King's magic wall. The network says it will compile a national report card of Obama's performance, using opinion polls and a series of viewer surveys. The big night is April 29, a week from this Wednesday, pre-empting regular programming.

I thought it was interesting....

Nearly 200,000 Americans showed up to protest high taxes in hundreds of cities around the country today. The New York Times and The Boston Globe ignored “Tea Parties” altogether. ABC and CBS reporters were nowhere to be found. NBC, on the other hand, simply made obscene references — using a tea-related colloquialism — to express its corporate disgust with America’s founding principles. And a CNN journalist, rather than reporting on one event, decided to debate the crowd! Here’s the transcript: CNN: “Let’s see… drop taxes… drop socialism. Okay, let’s see. You’re here with your two-year old daughter and you’re already...

"...A lawyer involved with legal action against Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 The New York Times had killed a story in October that would have shown a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign because it would have been a “a game changer.”..."

There are no Democratic hypocrites in the world. At least, if you believe David Shuster . . . The smart new producer [who, uh-oh, interned at MSNBC this past summer!] of my TV show, Right Angle, tells me I need to introduce regular segments into every episode: give viewers something they can look forward to and depend on. Looks like David Shuster has taken that idea to heart. He has a regular feature on his 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue show called “Hypocrisy Watch.” As you can guess, Shuster skewers politicians and pundits for their hypocrisy. Fine. Good idea. But shouldn’t there...

I don't like to spend my time chronicling the lies of the Barack Obama media machine. But sometimes it is imperative in this ugly age of derivative, copycat, gotcha-style, blame-the-messenger pseudo-journalism – where anyone sitting in the comfort of their easy chair thinks he has license to smear the few who actually take boots-on-the-ground reporting seriously. This is one of those moments. It's no secret to anyone that much of the establishment press in the U.S., and even worldwide, is little more than an amen chorus for the man in the White House. And there is a concerted effort under...

Correspondent Lisa Stark’s report on ABC’s World News on Sunday almost completely slanted in favor of President Obama’s decision to overturn the ban on federal funding of stem cell research which destroys human embryos. Stark minimized the controversial nature of the research, devoting only one sound bite out of four to a critic of the president’s move. Anchor Dan Harris introduced Stark’s report by selling the apparent promise of embryonic stem cell research: “President Obama is going to fulfill one of his campaign promises by ending restrictions on federally-funded research using embryonic stem cells. This could lead to better treatments...

Does anyone here recall Nickelodeon presenting a cartoon homage to President George W. Bush? No? Of course not. "Wrong" politics. However, if you think your very young children are safe from being exposed to subtle political brainwashing while watching Nick Jr., which presents Nickelodeon cartoons for children 5 and under, you would be wrong. Check out this poetic cartoon homage to Barack Obama currently running on Nick Jr.. Here is what your young ones will hear: Nickelodeon celebrates President Barack Obama and some of his favorite things.Barack Obama is the first African-American to be President. That is what's called a...

A new documentary movie by courageous filmmaker John Ziegler entitled “Media Malpractice” made its theatrical début Thursday in Seattle. The movie systematically proves how corrupt and dishonest the American media were during the campaign of 2008. The film was revealing, coming just days after a similar well-orchestrated effort by the Obama administration, Democratic Party officials, and liberal advocacy groups in league with the mainstream news media against Rush Limbaugh and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as their primary targets. Even the president played his part in the bizarre, staged play by telling congressional Republicans, “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh...

Did you hear the one about Joe Biden claiming that Louisiana under Governor Bobby Jindal is losing 400 jobs a day? Probably not. A search at the Washington Post on "Biden 400 jobs Louisiana" (not in quotes) came back with no results. No relevant results were returned with the same searches done at the New York Times and the LA Times. The math-challenged Biden, who infamously said during the presidential campaign that the word "jobs" has three letters (maybe you don't know about that one either), made this false claim Wednesday morning, and almost no one noticed.

Another disgusting display of blatant Liberal Media bias. I hate MS-NBC. Seriously, the network is destroying our nation. As Gov. Jindal prepares to give the Republican response to Obama's address, an MSNBC host or producer was heard off camera muttering "Oh God." The remark came after host Keith Olbermann paused the panel's discussion as Gov. Jindal was walking to the camera.

Here is video at the beginning of Gov. Bobby Jindal's response to Barack Obama's Address tonight. The video is from MSNBC, and as Jindal walks out, someone in the background sighs, "Oh God." Granted, Jindal did not make the best entrance, but only the jerks at MSNBC would do something like this. . . . . . (Watch Video)

As Gov. Jindal prepares to give the Republican response to Obama's address, an MSNBC host or producer was heard off camera muttering "Oh God."

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The major U.S. broadcasters demonstrated bias towards Republicans in their coverage of presidential campaigns between 1992 and 2004, a new book contends. Maria Elizabeth Grabe and Erik Bucy, both associate professors of telecommunications at Indiana University, are the authors of "Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing of Elections" published by Oxford University Press. They analyzed coverage of the elections on ABC, CBS and NBC and concluded all three networks showed a slight tilt to the Republican side. "We don't think this is journalists conspiring to favor Republicans. We think they're just so...

ABC's World News on Tuesday night celebrated President Obama's signature on the 'stimulus' package by devoting a full story to how mayors will supposedly use their portion to create 1.6 million jobs. Fill-in anchor Diane Sawyer recited “the wish list” of “nearly 19,000 infrastructure projects -- roads, bridges, mass transit -- costing some $150 billion” and “the mayors argue that the projects are ready to go and will bring along 1.6 million jobs.” No word about the inevitable corruption as reporter David Muir trumpeted: “Across this country, mayors and governors tonight are pouring over wish lists -- broken bridges,...

NYT Editor Denies Reporters Fell 'In Love' With Obama By Geoffrey Dickens Created 2009-02-16 13:33 NBC's "Today" show invited, on Monday, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller to promote a new book featuring photos from the campaign called, Obama: The Historic Journey, and in his interview with Keller, substitute anchor David Gregory actually asked if the book adds to the, "criticism of the news media that we're somehow cheerleaders for Barack Obama," to which Keller admitted it was "a fair question," but claimed, "as a rule, reporters don't fall in love with candidates. They fall in love with stories."...

Say goodbye to hope and change. It's time to embrace the politics of doom and gloom. MSNBC host Contessa Brewer, in an interview that seemed a lot like a lobbying campaign for the stimulus set for a vote in the U.S. Senate, quizzed Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., about the possibility that his vote against a stimulus bill could send the country spiraling into a Depression - and endanger the public's footwear. "But if it fails, if it fails and our economy implodes and we see ourselves stuffing cardboard back in our shoes like they did in the Depression era, are...

WASHINGTON — Republicans have long accused mainstream journalists of being on the payroll of President Obama and the Democratic Party, a common refrain of favoritism especially from those on the losing end of an election (see Bush vs. Gore, Clinton vs. Bush and Bush vs. Dukakis). But this year the accusation has a new twist: In some notable cases it has become true, with several prominent journalists now on the payrolls of Mr. Obama and the Democratic Congressional leadership. An unusual number of journalists from prominent, mainstream organizations started new government jobs in January, providing new kindling to the debate...

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos is engaged in daily private phone briefings with Obama Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel. He then presents himself as a credible journalist and nonpartisan commentator in reporting about the administration. Such a move crosses journalistic lines, is a clear conflict of interest and must be stopped immediately. The Media Research Center is calling on MRC Action Team members to email Stephanopoulos, David Westin, the President of ABC News and Westin’s boss, Anne Sweeney, Co-Chairman of Disney, and Sweeney's bosses, ABC/Disney's Board of Directors, demanding an immediate end to this obvious conflict of interest. Complete the form below to...

Conservatives and other Republicans have long been aware of the bias of CNN’s reporting. Friends who have traveled outside of the USA report that the bias of CNN International is not only pro-liberal, but is actually anti-American. The only dispute I would have with this report is that it makes it appear that CNN is the most-biased, pro-liberal network, but those honors go to MSNBC. In saying this, I do not mean to imply that CBS, NBC and ABC are without liberal bias. Anyone who watched the CBS 60 Minutes report on Israel vs. Hamas was reminded of how biased...

In recent weeks, I have written that the AP has become more balanced and a number of articles could be used to show that trend. At the same time, though, there are common themes which continue—sometimes subtle, sometimes blaring and glaring—to be ridiculously biased. Sometimes they are a few lines or even words in an article; at other times, the pieces read like propaganda tracts. Alas, such is the case of the article I am about to discuss. But I want to introduce it before telling you AP’s title for it. The January 25, 2009, article supposedly deals with how...

I don't know about you, but I thought it was a delicious moment when President Obama made his condescending handshaking visit to the press room and got testy when the reporters insisted on asking him questions. "If you keep asking questions I won't be able to do this any more," he says, sternly, like a father saying, "Do I have to turn this car around?" He was so arrogant that I laughed out loud.  And also unbelievably dumb about the press. This guy, who got the gentlest treatment by the press in any political campaign ever (while they made grossly...

Politico reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel holds daily chit chat sessions with several Old Media pals every morning to start his day. Apparently Emanuel has for years been involved with daily bull sessions to plan media coverage and ideological strategy with CNN's James Carville and Paul Begala, as well as ABC's George Stephanopoulos, with the occasional participation of pollster Stan Greenberg. But there is one little problem with this daily palling around with mediots these days: Emanuel now works for the White House. As Politico's John Harris notes, "in any given news cycle, it is quite...

Unreal... NBC Reporter Brian Williams Claims Pre-Obama US Presidents Were Evil (Video) Unreal-- Not just biased but crazy... Far Left NBC Nightly News anchor and Obama supporter Brian Williams told David Letterman yesterday that the inauguration was so special because America didn't have its usual "evil choice" heading to the White House: (1 minute 10 seconds) Boy, now there's a non-biased reporter. Expect only fair and balanced reporting from that one. NewsBusters reported: DAVID LETTERMAN: Paint for us the word picture about the inauguration. It was something for the ages. BRIAN WILLIAMS: It was stunning. I happen to think it...

One of the most critical aspects of a journalist's credibility is his ability to at least appear to be objective. So what happens when one of the biggest names in network journalism George Stephanopoulos host of ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" is revealed to be in constant contact with other former Clinton Administration advisors using their collective knowledge and political acumen to aid President Obama's Chief of Staff in performing his job? The answer to that question will reveal just how dedicated the management of ABC is to the basic tenets of objective journalism; dedicated or contemptuous.

President Barack Obama wants congressional Republicans to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh. MSNBC's chief Washington correspondent Norah O'Donnell even asked one congressman to take it a step further. In an interview with House Republican Conference Chairman Rep. Mike Pence, Ind., which aired on MSNBC Jan. 28, O'Donnell referenced the well-known radio host and asked if Pence agreed with him. O'Donnell quoted Limbaugh as saying, "We have to hope Obama succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward whichever because his father was black, because this is the first black president." Instead of echoing Obama's...

If you think Republicans and Democrats are portrayed the same at the L.A. Times, read on. It’s “Obama is bipartisan and Republicans are jerks!” week at the Los Angeles Times. On Monday we were told that Republicans signaled they “would not be daunted by President Obama’s soaring approval ratings” — and McCain was chided for his “sharp[] criticism” even though he was the “recipient of aggressive outreach as part of the new president’s efforts to forge an image of bipartisanship.” Yesterday we were told that “Republicans have continued to snipe at [Obama's] signature initiative.” Today’s Los Angeles Times contains another...

Bernard Goldberg is back with "A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media." The Regnery Publishing book, which goes on sale Monday, indicts mainstream print and electronic journalists not for having liberal biases, which are a given, but for becoming open and unapologetic activists for Obama. Goldberg says that "Chris Matthews is the most egregious example of media slobbering. ... Chris Matthews is an embarrassment of the first order." Goldberg also says: "But I'll tell you something else -- and this is the single most embarrassing sentence I...

Tom Brokaw Cheers Obama Inauguration Like 'Velvet Revolution' By Geoffrey Dickens January 20, 2009 - 17:27 ET Reflecting on the mood of the crowd at Barack Obama's Inauguration, NBC's Tom Brokaw likened it to when he was present for the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. During NBC's live coverage of Obama's swearing-in on Tuesday, Brokaw declared, "It reminds me of the Velvet Revolution," and while Brokaw noted "a communist regime," was not being overthrown he pointed out, "an unpopular president is leaving and people have been waiting for this moment." [audio available here] The following Brokaw blurb was...

What's the deal with Sheperd Smith? He seems to have a tingle going up and down his leg all day long. Has anyone else noticed this? January 20, 2009 Time for Healing? It depends on what their meaning of "healing" is by MrArbitrage After 8 years of the venomous vilification of George W. Bush, liberals in the "mainstream" media, some of whom actually called for Bush’s assassination (veiled as a joke) – now say they want a new tone! “It’s time for the healing. they say” How magnanimous. Marketwatch columnist Marshall Loeb wrote a piece today titled “How Obama Can...

Cindy McCain: 'Voyeuristic' Media had 'Specific Agenda' @ 11:44 am by Michael O'Brien Would-have-been first lady Cindy McCain said that the media had a "specific agenda" against her husband, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), during the 2008 presidential campaign, and castigated the New York Times for their profile of her last fall. "Well, I think, without sounding bitter—and I'm not bitter—I do believe there was a media bias," Cinday McCain told her daughter Meghan for an interview on The Daily Beast. "I do believe that the media had a specific agenda and with that said, the American people cast their vote."...

To my Conservative Friends: Even to the Bitter End, those at MSDNC are hate-filled IDIOTS!!! Last Thursday, I got home, finished dinner and was peacefully watching President Bush's farewell address on FoxNews and was struck by the dignity, honesty and just plain humbleness of the man that has protected this country despite unparalleled criticism, second-guessing and downright unhinged hatred towards him, his family and his administration... However, I couldn't help myself. I could not just keep my damn hand off the clicker. I couldn't resist. I wanted to see what the deranged, troop-slandering girlie-men on MSDNC were saying about the...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Good riddance, Dubya. The most telling aspect of President George W. Bush's treatment of the media is that his incoming successor, Barack Obama, has already eclipsed the nation's 43rd chief executive in relations with journalists. Obama has (smartly) reached across the media divide to listen to conservative journalists and show them some measure of respect. It's hard to imagine that Obama would truly embrace the views of Bill Kristol, the journalist who was an early champion of Sarah Palin and has espoused classic right-wing views. But Obama is, at least, giving an audience to his critics,...

It was the all-Obama Comcast channel that drove me over the edge. Finally, I thought, this was the last straw. I would cancel Comcast and switch my cable service to Verizon. But before I could make my move, somebody called and told me that Verizon was robo-calling its customers and telling them to watch their Obama-mania special. So I turned on the radio and heard an ad for some Obama commemorative coins. I clicked that off and went to the mailbox and saw Newsweek. Guess who was on the cover? I flipped on the Internet and went to Drudge, and...

Near the end of ThursdayÂ’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith unveiled the latest painting by artist Peter Max, a mural of 44 portraits of Barack Obama. Max has created numerous paintings for the Early Show set and Smith praised the artistÂ’s latest work: "Okay, wow. That is really, really, really cool...Wow. Well, that is pretty impressive. I hope somebody in the President-elect's transition office is taking a look at this. That is really amazing. Wow." Smith asked Max: "What is your feeling as an artist as we come up on to this inauguration time and time of change?" Max...

We have a montage here from a senator, Senator John Kerry, and a bunch of Drive-Bys on Timothy Geithner. KERRY: It is possible to make an innocent mistake. I think this is an honest mistake. CROWLEY: The transition team put out a lengthy list of reasons why this was just an honest mistake. BORGER: ... I would not describe as a huge mistake. HENRY: It is a common mistake. KING: Maybe an honest mistake. ALTER: It does seem to be a honest mistake. SHUSTER: He made a common mistake on his taxes. BARNES: Yes, it is a common mistake. STODDARD:...

Of course not.

"A source of mine called to say that Obama's reached out to some newspaper publishers about giving papers a tax break in the stimulus package." "Obama pays off his base: The media." Chip Saltsman's best moment in the RNC Chairman debate last Monday was describing our current policy shift, in which winners and losers are set by the market, to a world where winners and losers are set by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid.

Another MSM lib abandons all pretense of objectivity. First, Chris Matthews' man-crush on Obama burst on the scene in the form of a thrill up his leg. Just to be sure everyone got the point, he announced that he would professionally, as a sweaty schoolgirl journalist, help Obama succeed as president. To which, one might ask, who will do the job of the press, keeping the public in the know about all the good, the bad, and the shady things Obama does? Now PBS's Tavis Smiley works himself up into a lather about how "we are all working for Barack...

Stories about The New York Times' financial woes are legion. Perhaps out of an act of desperation, the Times is trying to ride the coattails of Barack Obama’s success. A new direct mail subscription solicitation from Times indicates that America’s so-called “paper of record” is tying its fortunes to an Obama administration. Objective? Hardly.

USA Today has a new feature called "The Oval". Apparently, The One has need of his own little shrine on the USA Today website of the US Department of Press Editorials (DOPE) The "journalists" involved are Mark Memmott, USA TODAY reporter and editor who will be head cheerleader at The Oval, USA TODAY White House lackeys Mimi Hall, David Jackson, Rich Wolf, and uber-propagandist Washington bureau chief Susan Page will be fluffing. ========================== In other news, I've discovered an interesting "other" website:Governing Magazine It appears to be devoted to news on how to keep us unruly peasants in line, and...