Sun Critic to Liberal TV Press, “Good for Fox News”

The following was originally published and is the sole property of NewsBusters.org and the Media Research Center.

David Zurawik, a TV critic for The Baltimore Sun, has called for the ?TV press…to step back and question how it is covering President Barack Obama.? Moreover, Zurawik gives a laudatory nod to Fox News for its balanced coverage of the President: ?I hesitate to write these words, but good for Fox. It must be doing something right, if it has the President complaining about the tiny bit of scrutiny he gets on TV.?

The Sun critic is referring to a CNBC interview this past Tuesday, where President Obama complained that “one television station is entirely devoted to attacking” his administration. While he declined to name the network when asked by CNBC interviewer John Harwood, it is undoubtedly the Fox News Network.

Zurawik opines on this in The Baltimore Sun blog by praising Fox News for ?questioning Team Obama as it pushes for the kind of massive change in American life not seen since the era of Franklin Roosevelt.? If not for Fox News, there would be no network scrutinizing the President?s policies, present and proposed. Moreover, Zurawik concedes that ?the TV press, as well as media critics like me (Zurawik), should be profoundly embarrassed, and vow to start doing a better job — immediately.?

-sam

Katie Couric: A Unpopular Idealogue

CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric recently addressed Princeton University graduating seniors and opined on what it means to be a successful woman and delivered blows to conservatives Donald Rumsfeld and Rush Limbaugh. The liberal journalist instructed the newly minted graduates that they avoid “nastiness” and then mocked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Miss California Carrie Prejean, while praising Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama and Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
She began her address by saying, ?Coming here was a real no brainer! After all, I can see New Jersey from my house!? Couric was obviously referring to an interview Palin gave to ABC News during last year’s presidential campaign, in which Palin had said of Russia, ?They?re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.?

On “Saturday Night Live” comic Tina Fey, who impersonated Palin, mocked that remark by changing it to: ?And I can see Russia from my house!? Unfortunately, while Palin did reveal that she may not be ready for national office, that comment from a professional journalist such as Couric, is rude, juvenile, and frankly, beneath her.
The anchor also took a swipe at traditional-marriage-defending Miss California Carrie Prejean in the same passage that she praised Judge Sotomayor and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In this instance, Couric likened Prejean to Anita Bryant, a popular singer from the 1950s through the 1970s, who led a successful campaign in Miami to repeal a pro-homosexual ordinance. This seems ridiculous to me as statistics prove that most Americans are in favor of traditional marriage. Furthermore, Prejean holds the same view that President Obama holds and nobody is crucifying him for his position on the issue.
It seems interesting to me that people such as Couric and much of the left all pay lip service to tolerance, yet this is a perfect example of how they are often the most intolerant. Couric should spend more time working on attracting more viewers to her show than criticizing conservatives, as the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had its lowest viewership yet. In fact, it’s the lowest viewership since at least the 1991/92 season, as far back as Nielsen records track.

-sam

Why Won’t The Media Show The Tea Parties?

Anti-Stimulus Tea Parties are occuring all over the country.? But why aren’t they getting more media attention?? Initially it was reported that there was strong support for the stimulus.? But as American’s actually had time to review the bill after it was shoved through Congress, things are not sitting so well with the public.

Tea parties have received little to no coverage, even on media outlets that traditionally lean conservative like Fox News.

Why?? Well, I think I have the short answer.

It simply doesn’t suit their desires.? Channels like Fox News benefit from the negative press associated with the tactics of the Obama administration.? Allowing “disaster scenerios” to occur brings them higher ratings, and higher ratings equal increased ad revenue.? While traditionally liberal outlets like CNN benefit from sweeping over negative press of the Obama administration because it will cause their viewers to change the channel.? In the end, it’s all about money, and even the media is a free market operation designed to bring in revenue, and not necessarily the truth.

There’s really not much more to say.

Check out photos from various tea parties across the state, courtesy of faithful reader Chris O’Neal.

-nick

14 Deaths Buried by the Obamedia

This is the story you have most likely heard nothing about.? For all the rhetoric of the Obama campaign about moving away from the “Bush policies” it was quite interesting last Friday when anything and everything that Obama could sneak under the rug was pushed through.? Friday’s are generally days when readership/viewership in the news medium is at its lowest, and if a politician wants to do something controversial, Friday is the day to do it.? There is a good chance that by Monday, anyone that heard about it forgot about it. Or something will have happened over the weekend that makes the headlines for the new week and whatever happened on Friday is old news and not covered.

This is precisely what happened last week when Obama authorized air strikes in Pakistan that led to the deaths of 14 people.? Now bear in mind, most if not all of these individuals were involved in terrorist activities, and I am in no way condeming the strikes or saying that the decision by Obama was a bad thing.

The issue here is the deception.? Out of one side of Obama’s mouth we have been hearing about how he would do things differently.? Sit down with individuals, or make sure that we were not using military action unilaterally.? But then when it came down to it, he acted in the exact opposite manner, and additionally tried to do it under the cover of the slowest media day.? Consider that I work in policy and my head is burried in the news 24/7 and I just heard about this today.? That is the effectiveness of doing something like this on a Friday.

In addition, another point to consider is that if this was Bush, it would be all over the news with talking heads debating the move at length.? Honeymoon or not, why is no one pointing out the inconsistencies of his actions after only two weeks in office, and what we heard on the campaign trail.

It’s gonna be a long four years folks…

-nick