How Liberal Bias Shapes the MSM - and Our Views

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Before Catching Himself, Luke Russert Speaks of the 'Murder' of Michael Brown
By Mark Finkelstein | August 15, 2014

Was it a simple mistake, or more deeply revealing of how Luke Russert regards events in Ferguson, MO? With Chuck Todd on his way to Meet The Press, Russert hosted MSNBC's Daily Rundown today.

Speaking with NBC reporter Ron Allen, on the scene in Ferguson, Russert said: "the big news this morning is we expect to hear for the first time the name of the officer who was involved in the murder of Michael Brown -- or the killing of Michael Brown."

http://www.mrctv.org/videos/catching...-michael-brown

http://newsbusters.org/sites/default...JPG?1408132089

It seemed to me that in saying "or the killing of Michael Brown," Russert was meaning to correct himself, rather than to offer the more neutral "killing" as simply an alternative alongside "murder." Even so, was this a form of Freudian slip in which Russert revealed what was really on his mind? At the very least, doesn't a national-level reporter need to be in full command of his tongue in such a sensitive situation?

Note: this isn't the first time an MSNBC host has played fast and loose with inflammatory language about the death of Michael Brown. As NB Managing Editor Ken Shepherd has noted, when a Missouri state senator called the death an "execution-style" killing on MSNBC's "All In," host Chris Hayes didn't make a peep in protest or otherwise attempt to correct the record regarding facts that are far from proven.

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LUKE RUSSERT: NBC's Ron Allen joins us live now from Ferguson on more of what to expect over the next few hours. Ron, obviously last night was a real change from what we saw a few nights ago. There is a sort of unity between police and protesters, at least an understanding and peace was there. But the big news this morning is we expect to hear for the first time the name of the officer who was involved in the murder of Michael Brown -- or the killing of Michael Brown.

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http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-fi...#ixzz3AbCm0QlD

With having very few people to blame now, President Obama is blaming... the Mainstream Media.
Obama: The Media’s Making You Think ‘The World Is Falling Apart’
by Josh Feldman | 6:53 pm, August 29th, 2014

Can we go back to the “slow news summer”? This summer has been incredibly bleak and depressing, with all sorts of stories about foreign threats, dangerous diseases, and some serious unrest at home. So what does President Obama think about all this awful news? Well, he thinks it might be a skosh overblown. Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser tonight, Obama did not downplay the threats the U.S. faces, but suggested those threats are being exaggerated with the help of the social media and the mainstream press.

The president acknowledged, “I can see why a lot of folks are troubled,” but at the same time he didn’t think hyping global catastrophe is particularly helpful. And as for the media’s contributions, he remarked, “If you watch the nightly news, it feels like the world is falling apart.”

Obama explained he believes the threats the United States faces are not unprecedented, and not on par with what the U.S. faced during the Cold War. He said, “The world’s always been messy… we’re just noticing now in part because of social media.”

He gave off an incredibly optimistic tone, touting America’s military might and its ability to overcome threats by ISIS, Russia, and the like.

At a previous fundraiser this year, President Obama blamed the media for ginning up cynicism and said, “Whatever they’re reporting about, usually I know.”

http://www.mediaite.com/online/obama...falling-apart/

Obama Held An Important Press Conference And All People Cared About Was His Tan Suit
The Huffington Post | By Renee Jacques
08/28/2014 5:18 pm EDT

President Barack Obama showed up at his press conference on Thursday to answer some important questions about ... oh my gosh, did you see what he's wearing? (It was actually a pretty important press conference on foreign policy, and you should read about it here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5732176.html and here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5731996.html )

Obama made quite the bold sartorial choice on this late summer afternoon and donned a tan suit...

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/2001146/th...UIT-570.jpg?11

Perhaps it was the upcoming long weekend that inspired the president to choose a lighter, more breezy color? Or maybe it was his attempt to come across as just a regular gent, who likes to change up his suit colors every once in a while. Whichever the case, for a man who once told Vanity Fair that he wears "only gray or blue suits," the stark color change shocked the country...and by country, we mean Twitter. Instead of covering the content of what Obama was saying -- which again, was important http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5732176.html -- many decided to become serious fashion critics for a hot second.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5732532.html



Obama Speaks From White House About ISIS
08/28/2014 4:14 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will speak at 4 p.m. from the White House before convening a meeting with his national security team on the militant threat in Syria and Iraq.

The U.S. is already launching airstrikes against Islamic State group targets in Iraq and Obama is considering similar action in Syria.

The president's remarks also come amid increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Officials in Ukraine say two Russian military columns rolled into the southeastern part of the country after missiles were fired at a border post.

The U.S. and European Union have levied economic sanctions against Russia as punishment for its provocations, but the penalties appear to have had little impact on Russian President Vladimir Putin's thinking.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5732176.html

The View From His Helicopter: Matt Lauer's Worst Moments of Wealth Hypocrisy
By Kyle Drennen | September 5, 2014 | 12:14 PM EDT

On Wednesday, the New York Post reported that in addition to Matt Lauer's $20 million annual salary, NBC News recently agreed to start flying the Today co-host back and forth from work to his lavish estate in the Hamptons. Such details of Lauer's one percent lifestyle stand in stark contrast to the common-man image he projects on the morning show.

In fact, Lauer has frequently used his media pulpit to preach liberal talking points on class warfare and income redistribution. Here is a sampling of his worst moments of wealth hypocrisy at the anchor desk:


http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-dr....eQVGmB2E.dpuf

NBC’s Jansing: Midterm Outcome Could Change if Americans ‘Rally Around’ Obama
By Curtis Houck | September 11, 2014 | 10:23 PM EDT

On Thursday’s NBC Nightly News, senior White House correspondent Chris Jansing provided not only spin favorable to President Obama a day after his prime time speech on ISIS, but also suggested that this could help the President in the midterm elections.

At the conclusion of her report, Jansing told viewers that:

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"It's a war the President inherited with decisions made now shaping his legacy and his successor's as well. Something else to watch, while it's too soon to tell how voters will react to the President's plan from last night, if they rally around the Commander-in-Chief it could impact the midterm elections with control of the Senate at stake."

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Earlier in her report, she proclaimed that the Obama administration was “putting on a full court press tonight with members of the administration lobbying from the Middle East to Capitol Hill” with officials giving scores of press interviews to the news media to promote the President. Further, she diagnosed that there was “a sense of urgency” in the administration “about pushing forward the President's message from last night that America must now broaden the fight against terror.”

Jansing’s liberal bias was not limited to just her on the program. Just prior, anchor Brian Williams stated at the top of the program that “[t]he wheels are already in motion to convert the President’s words into an air assault to destroy ISIS.”

NBC’s defense of the President continued to vary from NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, who has been pointing out concerns and problems that remain to be solved as the U.S. attacks ISIS. Disputing the notion that Obama’s strategy is a counterterrorism operation and not a war against ISIS, Engel said “this is far more than” that.

While Engel acknowledged that Secretary of State John Kerry is working to build a coalition, he again vocalized his issues with the President’s strategy on the air:

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[T]he U.S. needs more than support. It need fighters. It needs people who will take the fight to ISIS while the Americans bomb from the sky and who are those fighters going to be? In Iraq, the logical ally would be the Iraqi army, but the Iraqi army is in bad shape and even though the U.S. spent $25 billion, it needs to be retrained and also the Free Syrian Army, the FSA, that has collapsed. So the allies on the ground, they're not there.

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On the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, he asked CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes whether President Obama will “win” the vote to receive funding to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. To that, Cordes replied that “it looks like he will” even though “lawmakers from both sides do have some pretty serious misgivings.”

Thursday night’s network coverage comes after the major broadcast networks provided plenty of positive remarks for the President and his speech as they hailed Obama’s international coalition despite major allies Britain and Germany backing out of involvement in U.S. air strikes. As the Media Research Center’s Scott Whitlock reported, the cover provided to Obama was in comparison to 2003, when “ABC, NBC, and CBS hit George W. Bush for “going it alone” with a coalition of 18 countries.”

The relevant portions of the transcript from NBC Nightly News on September 11 are transcribed below.

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NBC Nightly News
September 11, 2014
7:00 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]

BRIAN WILLIAMS: On our broadcast tonight, plan of attack. The wheels are already in motion to convert the President's words into an air assault to destroy ISIS and tonight, we have reaction from inside Syria.

(....)

7:01 p.m. Eastern

WILLIAMS: Good evening. Just hours after the President's speech to the nation, the White House said today possible targets had already been identified and selected for air strikes. While the administration will not call this a declaration of war against ISIS, this terrorist group the likes of which we have never quite seen before, it does appear the administration believes they can do this by air power while leaving any ground fighting to other countries. We begin tonight with our senior White House correspondent Chris Jansing in the briefing room in the West Wing. Chris, good evening.

CHRIS JANSING: Good evening, Brian. The White House is putting on a full court press tonight with members of the administration lobbying from the Middle East to Capitol Hill. Today, senior officials were given interviews here and abroad. There is a sense of urgency about pushing forward the President's message from last night that America must now broaden the fight against terror. President Obama now has a strategy to fight ISIS: Expand air strikes, support fighters opposing extremists and build an international coalition to help.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are.

CHRIS JANSING: But he faces significant challenges at home starting on Capitol Hill.

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: A lot of our members don't feel like the campaign that was outlined last night will accomplish the mission that the president says.

JANSING: The President is asking for the authority to allow the U.S. to train foreign troops on foreign soil.

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JOSH EARNEST: And that's why we're asking Congress to act urgently to give him that authority.

JANSING: Boehner himself supports that, but is putting off a vote until next week. Meantime, members spent a hectic day in and out of meetings and classified briefings.

CONGRESSMAN HAL ROGERS (R-Ky.): This is like cramming for a final exam.

JANSING: Polls show Americans favor action against ISIS but that public support might not hold if there are casualties.

OBAMA: There are risks involved.

JANSING: And voters have serious concerns about the President's leadership. He has drawn a red line.

OBAMA: We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq.

JANSING: But critics warn it's a slippery slope. There will soon be 1,600 American troops acting as advisors in Iraq.

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) There is no way in hell we're going to beat these guys without American ground component in Iraq and Syria.

JANSING: And the President's strategy won't be easy or quick.

OBAMA: It will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL.

JANSING: But is there a clear exit strategy? The President says the goal is to destroy ISIS.

SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-W.V.): I just don't – I just don’t see the end game here.

JANSING: It's a war the President inherited with decisions made now shaping his legacy and his successor's as well. Something else to watch, while it's too soon to tell how voters will react to the President's plan from last night, if they rally around the Commander-in-Chief it could impact the midterm elections with control of the Senate at stake. Brian.

WILLIAMS: Chris Jansing at the White House tonight to start off. Chris, thanks.

(....)

BRIAN WILLIAMS: We want to turn now to our chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel whose following all of this from his post back inside Iraq and Richard, the U.S. is calling this operation against ISIS counterterrorism, but it's really a lot more than that, isn't it?

RICHARD ENGEL: Brian, this is far more than just a counterterrorism operation. The U.S., often in secret, carries out counterterrorism missions all the time, with drones in places like Yemen and Somalia. This time, the U.S. is building, through Secretary Kerry, a broad international coalition and in the Arab world it is getting some support, but the U.S. needs more than support. It need fighters. It needs people who will take the fight to ISIS while the Americans bomb from the sky and who are those fighters going to be? In Iraq, the logical ally would be the Iraqi army, but the Iraqi army is in bad shape and even though the U.S. spent $25 billion, it needs to be retrained and also the Free Syrian Army, the FSA, that has collapsed. So the allies on the ground, they're not there, Brian.

WILLIAMS: Richard Engel inside Iraq tonight for us. Richard, thanks.

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The full transcript from the segment that aired on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on September 11 is transcribed below.

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CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
September 11, 2014
6:34 p.m. Eastern

SCOTT PELLEY: War or not, the President's plan includes arming moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIS on the ground while the U.S. attacks from the air. Congress is expected to vote next week on granting the President the authority to provide those arms. Nancy Cordes is on Capitol Hill, and, Nancy, will the President win that vote?

NANCY COREDES: At this point, Scott, it looks like he will, although lawmakers from both sides do have some pretty serious misgivings. They worry that it's going to take years to turn these rebels into a true fighting force that's able to work with the U.S. to quash ISIS, and, so, House Speaker John Boehner and others wondered today who's going to fight on the ground in the meantime?

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: Air strikes alone will not accomplish what we're trying to accomplish and the President's made clear that he doesn't want U.S. boots on the ground. Well, somebody's boots have to be on the ground.

CORDES: [TO BOEHNER] Do you think that the President is wrong then to take U.S. combat troops on the ground in Syria off the table right now?

BOEHNER: I would never tell the enemy what I was willing to do or unwilling to do, but he is the Commander-in-Chief. He made that decision.

CORDES: No one here on Capitol Hill is advocating that U.S. combat forces get sent into Syria right now, but Republicans in particular, Scott, argue that it's impossible to predict what our military needs will be as the strategy unfolds.

PELLEY: Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill for us, Nancy, thank you very much.

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http://newsbusters.org/blogs/curtis-...s-rally-around

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"It's a war the President inherited with decisions made now shaping his legacy and his successor's as well.

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FLASHBACK… Obama in 2007:
I Strongly Disagree… That We Have a Future Catastrophe If We Phase Down Troops in Iraq (Video)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, September 13, 2014, 6:00 PM

In January 2007 then Senator Barack Obama went on Face the Nation to share his words of wisdom. First the Illinois junior senator refused to tell Bob Schieffer if he would cut off funding for our troops in Iraq. Then he added this:

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“One of the things that I strongly disagree with Senator McCain is, this notion that we have future catastrophe to look forward to if we start phasing down troops…

…And so those of us who object to what I consider to be a disastrous policy on part of the Bush Administration, have in fact put forward a different approach. One that by the way tracks what the Iraq study group talked about. Two months before the Iraq study group came out with its proposal, I suggested that, if we initiate a phased withdrawal that provides us leverage to make sure the Iraqis are actually doing what needs to be done to arrive at a political accommodation. And Senator McCain and the President seem to believe that only a military solution can accomplish our goals there.”

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Even as a junior senator, Barack Obama lived in a fantasy world and was dead wrong on foreign policy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZeS...layer_embedded

Crickets: Networks Avoid Dem Gaffes and Scandals in 2014 Midterms
By Scott Whitlock | September 11, 2014

In 2012, gaffes and scandals by Republican candidates, such as Todd Akin, prompted a wave of coverage by the three networks. Yet, ill-conceived comments by Democrats in the 2014 midterms have created no such attention. Incumbent Colorado Senator Mark Udall made this cringe-inducing comment during last week's debate in Colorado. Speaking of two beheaded Americans, he insisted, "Steve Sotloff and James Foley would tell us, don't be impulsive. Horrible and barbarous as those executions were, don't be impulsive." [MP3 audio here.]

ABC, CBS and NBC didn't bother to report on this gaffe. Only Fox News anchor Bret Baier covered the story. On Tuesday, he explained, "Yesterday, Udall released a statement saying, quote, 'I should not have invoked the names of James Foley and Steven Sotloff. It was inappropriate and I sincerely apologize.'"

In the same debate, Udall proclaimed, "ISIL does not present an imminent threat to this nation." Where were the networks? In addition to ignoring these blunders, ABC has only mentioned Udall's name once in all of 2014.

NBC referenced him four times in eight months. But mostly with positive, rallying comments such as this one from Nia-Malika Henderson on Sunday's Meet the Press: "But look at Colorado here, Democrats have got to feel a little better that Mark Udall in purple-to-blue Colorado is hanging on."

Again, this was the day after his comments on Islamic terrorists.

Another struggling Democratic Senator, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, is under fire for taxpayer-funded-flights.

The Advocate reported on August 16: http://theadvocate.com/home/10005736...ieu-orders-air

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Washington — Moving to defuse a simmering controversy over her use of taxpayer-financed charter flights for campaigning — a violation of federal law — U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said today she has ordered a review of all her air travel in her 18 years in the Senate to make sure no other trips were paid for improperly.

Running for re-election this fall in a deep-red state, Landrieu is a principal target of Republicans’ efforts to pick up six seats and add control of the Senate to their reign over the U.S. House. Her Republican challengers — U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, of Baton Rouge, and ex-Air Force Col. Rob Maness — have sought to capitalize on “chartergate,” criticizing her payment for two campaign-related flights from restricted funds allocated by the federal government for the operation of her Senate office.

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A Landrieu spokesman said the review will look at all payments from her office account for commercial and charter flights dating to when she took office in January 1997, to make sure the trips were for official Senate business — a legal use of the money. The results of the review will be released publicly by the time the Senate returns on Sept. 8 from its August recess, the spokesman said.

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That date has come and gone without a report from the campaign. The networks have failed to notice. Politico reported on August 19: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...ps-110114.html

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On Aug. 23, 2012, Butler Aviation charged $6,787 for an in-state flight for Landrieu that included multiple stops. The flight was from New Orleans to Vidalia to Shreveport to Alexandria and back to New Orleans, according to official disbursement records Landrieu filed with the secretary of the Senate.

On Oct. 18, 2012, Butler Aviation charged $3,437 for a Landrieu flight from New Orleans to Opelousas to Patterson and back to New Orleans.

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Despite missing her self-imposed deadline for an explanation, there's been no outrage from ABC, CBS and NBC.

In 2012, after just three days of coverage, the same networks amassed 96 minutes of outrage on Todd Akin. Apparently, Democratic gaffes and scandals just aren't as interesting.

A transcript of the September 9 Special Report segment is below: http://www.mrctv.org/videos/only-fox...il-dem-senator

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BRET BAIER: Colorado Democratic senator mark Udall is apologizing for comments he made concerning the ISIS beheadings of two American journalists. Here's Udall during a debate against his Republican opponent, Cory Gardner, Saturday night.

MARK UDALL: Well, we stand together. We're going to get our man. I can tell you, 'Steve Sotloff and James Foley would tell us, don’t be impulsive. Horrible and barbarous as those executions were, don’t be impulsive, come up with a plan that will knock ISIL back."

BAIER: Yesterday, Udall released a statement saying, quote, 'I should not have invoked the names of James Foley and Steven Sotloff. It was inappropriate and I sincerely apologize."

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http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-w...-2014-midterms

Landrieu is on the hook to the tune of 330,000 in "misused" taxpayer dollars. She says' "oppsie, my bad, I'll write a check and all is forgiven".

State Dept Spokeswoman Snaps When Reporter Refuses to Stick to Softball Questions
By Caroline Schaeffer 2 days ago

There have been a few times when situations have gotten tense in the State Department briefing room between spokeswoman Marie Harf and AP Reporter Matt Lee. It seems he’s pretty good at bringing up points that Harf just doesn’t want to talk about.

And at Thursday’s briefing, after lauding the broad coalition of countries that have unified to fight against ISIS, Harf got pretty testy when Lee brought up another angle to the story.

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“The Saudis apparently don’t want to speak for themselves, that’s the problem. The Germans said they are not going to participate militarily, you have the Turks saying that, you have the British foreign secretary clearly uninformed about his own government’s position on this.”

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Angry that Lee wasn’t staying on message, Harf snapped back. Washington Free Beacon reports: http://freebeacon.com/national-secur...h-ap-reporter/

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“Why do you always focus on what people say they won’t do instead of the plethora of things they’ve said they will do? Why is that what you focus on? That’s actually not an unfair question, I don’t think, when we focus on our effort here.”

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This “not…unfair question” can be easily answered. Some may argue that it’s because Lee is doing his job as a reporter, and looking for the story that isn’t so obvious. Or because he actually takes his responsibility as a member of the “fourth estate” seriously.

Former Secret Service Agent Slams D.C. Insider Culture With A Message That Goes Beyond Politics
By Justen Charters 6 hours ago

Former Secret Service Agent Daniel Bongino, who is running for U.S. Senate, recently slammed D.C. insider culture with a message that goes beyond politics.

Over the weekend, Bongino was at a press conference on Capitol Hill for the family of one of the victims of the Benghazi terror attacks. And what he witnessed helped him realize how out of touch the Beltway is to Main Street America.

Bongino posted to his Facebook page:

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Over the past few weeks I’ve read a number of articles about DC insiders, from both the elected and bureaucratic-classes, being “surprised” by American public opinion on a range of topics.

Whether it be the “surprise” backlash against the proposed presidential amnesty plan, or the “surprise” at the shift in public opinion on ISIS, the DC elites seem to be consistently caught flat-footed.

They may be surprised, but I’m not. While on Capitol Hill this week, and speaking at a press conference with the family of one of the victims of the Benghazi terror attacks, I watched a number of Capitol Hill staffers and members walk by with that smug, smart-ass look, that only an insulated career in Washington DC can impart upon their out-of-touch faces.

You see, to them this is all a game. A grieving family’s request for simple answers about the death of their son is nothing more than a smug look and a “phony-scandal” sound bite to them. This is all a House of Cards to be gamed for the preservation and consolidation of power, and the very idea that there’s a growing body of beyond-frustrated and angry Americans, fed up with this garbage, is nothing more than a joke at one of their evening cocktail parties.

Whether it be the insider-establishment putting their boots on the necks of grassroots candidates, or Secretary of State Kerry slyly looking into the camera and telling you we’re not at war as the bombs are dropping, the DC insider-crowd has grown into a nearly separate and distinct society which lives completely insulated from what they call “flyover country.”

Well, what they call “flyover country”, the rest of us call Home. Having spent nearly all of my last eighteen-months on the streets, at the county fairs, walking in the parades, and knocking on your doors, I can firmly attest to the fact that the DC insider-class has abandoned real America, and is relying on a compliant press corps to keep the illusion going.

How this story ends is up to you. This cannot continue without the consent of the governed. Changing tomorrow will neither be quick nor easy, but it is most definitely possible. Apathy and surrender are not in our makeup.

We were born of a nearly impossible revolution against the world’s mightiest army, and have emerged victorious over a Great Depression, two World Wars, the scourge of slavery, Communism, Fascism, a Civil War, and crises too numerous to count. This is not all by chance. We are different because we’ve never accepted second-best and, despite this perilous time, we are still the world’s greatest super-power.

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Don’t let the smug, DC laughing class, mock America out of existence. Take hold of tomorrow by acting today. Speak up loudly, show up often, and change our tomorrows by doing something today.

With the latest Gallup poll indicating that 83% of the country disapproves of how Congress is running things, it appears Bongino just said what most Americans are thinking.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/09/1778...yond-politics/

During the first half of 2006, there were 124 network news reports on Bush's approval rating, 2014 Obama,9 . @ABC @NBC @CBS @mmfa bias?

http://twitchy.com/2014/09/17/that-a...g-obama-polls/

Yep. Twitchy readers saw that epic one-graphic proof of bootlicking on Tuesday. But there’s more.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BxLYh-xIMAEaweU.jpg:large