ScandalWatch

ABC, NBC, Telemundo, Univison Ignore News 30K Lost Lois Lerner Emails Have Been Recovered

curtis.houck — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 01:26:39 +0000

Curtis Houck

On Friday afternoon, it became known that as many as 30,000 emails belonging to former IRS official Lois Lerner that were thought to be lost had been recovered.

— Curtis Houck is News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Curtis Houck on Twitter.

John Kerry Clears State Dept. Officials Over Benghazi; ABC, NBC Yawn

matthew.balan — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:00:23 +0000

Matthew Balan

Tuesday's CBS This Morning stood out as the only Big Three network morning newscast to cover the latest development in the controversy surrounding the September 11, 2012 Islamist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya.

CBS Mentions IRS Scandal for First Time in a Month; Drops It the Next Morning

matthew.balan — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 18:45:57 +0000

Matthew Balan

Scott Pelley devoted a minute and a half segment to the IRS scandal on Wednesday's CBS Evening News, the first time that the Big Three newscast had mentioned the issue in a month.

Charlie Rose Wonders If Reported IRS Scrutiny of Liberal Groups Makes Scandal Look 'Less Partisan'

matthew.balan — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 21:12:00 +0000

Matthew Balan

Charlie Rose forwarded the latest liberal spin about the IRS scandal on Tuesday's CBS This Morning. The anchor hyped how the agency apparently placed liberal groups on "be-on-the-lookout" lists, and asked Rep. Paul Ryan, "Does it look less partisan with this new information?"

Networks Ignore 'Audit the IRS' Rally; Minimize Coverage of $70 Million in IRS Bonuses

matthew.balan — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 19:05:31 +0000

Matthew Balan

The Big Three all punted on covering the Capitol Hill "Audit the IRS" rally on their Wednesday evening and Thursday morning newscasts. CBS This Morning played a four-second soundbite of Senator Ted Cruz addressing the thousands of Tea Party activists in attendance, but CBS, along with ABC and NBC, didn't air a full report or news brief on the protest.

Charlie Rose Takes His Time to Raise NSA Controversy with Obama; Ignores Other Scandals

matthew.balan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:51:03 +0000

Matthew Balan

On Monday, Charlie Rose was more than halfway through his 47-minute interview with President Obama on PBS before he finally brought up one of the several scandals surrounding the liberal's administration.

CBS's John Dickerson: Obama White House Scandals are 'Little Fires'

matthew.balan — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:19:34 +0000

Matthew Balan

John Dickerson downplayed most of the recent scandals surrounding the Obama administration on Thursday's CBS This Morning, asserting that the White House was "trying to get something done on immigration....they're trying to stay focused on the things that really matter to this presidency, and only trying to spend a small amount of time putting out these little fires."

Top NY Times Editor Rejects ‘Atmosphere of Scandal,’ Claims Public Wants to Give Obama Credit for Improving Economy

brent.baker — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:45:44 +0000

Brent Baker

See no scandal, report no scandal. Jill Abramson, Executive Editor of the New York Times, came down to DC on Sunday to defend President Obama on the scandals and the economy, stressing the leaks cases is the only supposed scandal she cares about as she contended “I’m just not sure” the leaks cases, IRS and Benghazi “come together and create, you know -- quote, unquote -- ‘an atmosphere of scandal.’”

An atmosphere the New York Times is working to prevent.

Gregory Frets Obama Losing ‘Scope’ to ‘Usher in Economic Restoration,’ Friedman Sees ‘Tragedy’

brent.baker — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:24:14 +0000

Brent Baker

Pivoting to the downside for President Obama of the swirling scandals, Meet the Press host David Gregory fretted over “a bigger issue that the President faces, which is where is his agenda left in all this?” Citing a poll showing the public thinks fixing unemployment should be a higher priority than investigations, Gregory despaired: “The President’s coming under fire for losing his scope, effectively, in a second term to rebuild America, to usher in economic restoration.”

“Well, that’s the tragedy for him. It’s a tragedy for all of us,” New York Times columnist Tom Friedman agreed.

CBS Spotlights Perjury Investigation, 'Drumbeat' for Eric Holder to Quit; ABC, NBC Skip

matthew.balan — Wed, 29 May 2013 20:27:38 +0000

Matthew Balan

Wednesday's CBS This Morning zeroed in on the House Judiciary Committee's inquiry into whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his testimony regarding the Justice Department's controversial investigation of journalists.

NBC and CBS Tout Obama Efforts to Distract from Scandals, Show 'Government at Its Best'

kyle.drennen — Tue, 28 May 2013 16:42:49 +0000

Kyle Drennen

Leading off a report on Tuesday's NBC Today about President Obama's trip to survey recovery efforts along New Jersey's shoreline after Hurricane Sandy, White House correspondent Peter Alexander proclaimed: "[The President's here] really to see the improvements to this area, and also to refocus the conversation away from some recent headlines.

Evening Newscasts an Obama Scandal-Free Zone; ABC Touts Obama as ‘Consoler-in-Chief’

brent.baker — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:28:59 +0000

Brent Baker

Not a syllable Friday or Saturday night on ABC, CBS or NBC about any of the several Obama scandals, but on Saturday night ABC’s World News trumpeted President Obama’s role as “consoler-in-chief.”

With “Consoler-in-Chief” on screen, anchor David Muir announced: “President Obama will be in Moore, Oklahoma tomorrow. ABC’s Reena Ninan already there tonight as the President prepares to fill the role he so often has in the last few months.”

Taranto: ‘Obama Presidency Has Given Liberal Media Bias a New and Dangerous Form’

brent.baker — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:19:25 +0000

Brent Baker

“Liberal media bias is an old complaint,” the Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto noted in his “Best of the Web Today” column this past Monday on responses to the Obama scandals, before warning: “The Obama presidency has given it a new and dangerous form. Never has the prevailing bias of the media been so closely aligned with the ideological aims and political interests of the party in power.”

He recognized “the American media remain free and independent, or you would not be reading this column,” but zinged, “to a large extent they have functioned for the past few years as if they were under state control.”

Moving On: ABC Spends Only 16 Seconds on IRS Official's Suspension

matt.hadro — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:21:45 +0000

Matt Hadro

Friday's Good Morning America spent a scant 16 seconds on the newest development in the IRS scandal, the suspension of agency official Lois Lerner who oversaw the division responsible for processing tax-exempt status requests. Lerner headed the division while the IRS gave extra scrutiny to Tea Party groups applying for tax-exempt status.

CBS Hits Holder's 'Outrageous Overreach', But Defers to Obama to Act

matthew.balan — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:44:10 +0000

Matthew Balan

Friday's CBS This Morning, unlike NBC's Today, briefly picked up on NBC journalist Michael Isikoff's significant reporting from Thursda