- The National Journal fact checks and compares Obamacare and Romneycare.

- Hysterical. Jeopardy contestants can’t identify Rachel Maddow:

Obviously they, along with most of the country, don’t watch MSNBC.

- Newt Gingrich isn’t the only thing Marianne Gingrich helped to propel to #1 last week.

- Twitter can now censor Tweets in certain countries:

The social network Twitter is facing a storm of criticism from users, after revealing that it has implemented a system that would let it withhold particular tweets from specific countries.

The company has insisted that it will not use the gagging system in a blanket fashion, but would apply it on a case-by-case basis, as already happens when governments or organisations complain about individual tweets.

The new system, which can filter tweets on a country-by-country basis and has already been incorporated into the site’s output, will not change Twitter’s approach to freedom of expression, sources there indicated.

- Washington City Paper notes the obvious and asks: Where are the women and non-white media critics? The problem? They rattle off a list of known progressive white male critics. When you look at only super far left progressives wherein diversity is a rhetorical device rather than observed practice, of course you’d wonder.

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Nothing could be more repugnant than ridiculing the actions of a grieving family after the death of a child. It has not been a surprise that Leftists, who celebrate a culture of death, would pile on presidential candidate Rick Santorum and his wife for their actions following the death of their child. Nothing is off limits to the left and their politics of personal destruction.

Scott Olsen/Getty

Jake Tapper, one of the few true journalists left in the main stream media, recently wrote a blog entry discussing the progression of this attack on Santorum. Most of the left’s high-profile, atrocious hit pieces have been covered at Big Journalism here and here so there is no reason to cover them more. Tapper brought attention to a new piece, a column in the Boston Herald, by Jessica Heslam.

It was a pleasant surprise to see the Boston Herald publish a column written by a person who’s actually suffered through a trauma similar to the horror the Sanotrums experienced. The article is very poignant, indeed heart-wrenching.

I was 26 weeks pregnant with my first child, and it had been a blissful pregnancy. But on that beautiful July morning, something wasn’t right. I hadn’t felt my baby move, so I called my doctor’s office.

As I lay on the table in the dark ultrasound room, the technician glided the wand over my swollen belly. She then quietly slipped out of the room to get the doctor. My mind was racing and tears streamed down my face as I desperately held the hand of my husband, Herald reporter Dave Wedge.

It is impossible to imagine a loss of this magnitude without having experienced it personally. In spite of this reality, leftists have continued to peddle the meme that the manner in which the Santorums dealt with the death of their child is somehow weird or the result of some odd right-wing extremist quirk. As Heslam points out, that is far from the truth,

We were gently encouraged to hold our stillborn baby. I was terrified. I had no idea what to expect. No idea what my baby would look like. How on earth could I hold a child whose smile and cries I would never see or hear?

One of the nurses swaddled my daughter and put her in my arms — an act for which I am eternally grateful. Despite our fears and trepidation, the nurse assured us that holding our baby daughter would help us through our ordeal. As painful as it might seem, it would help us heal.

Grace was beautiful. She had my husband’s lips and my big toe. We told her how much we loved her and how sorry we were. Our families got to see her, too, and a priest came to our hospital room to bless her.

This story is eerily similar to the story the Santorums describe about their own loss and how they were counseled to manage it.

The Santorums’ actions are in line with American Pregnancy Association guidelines, which urge grieving parents to talk to and touch their stillborn babies — and for family members to spend time with them as well.

(more…)

Larry O’Connor’s well-caught “sound bite for the day” yesterday deserves further elaboration.

Yesterday, on MSNBC, left-wing journalists Chris Hayes of The Nation and Ezra Klein of the Washington Post–no strangers to Democrat-media collusion–revealed that they had been part of an off-the-record White House briefing in which it was made clear that President Barack Obama planned all along to let the temporary payroll tax holiday expire, and then blame Republicans.

The meeting may have been the one first revealed on December 19, 2011 by ABC News’s senior White House correspondent, Jake Tapper, who tweeted that day that “a group of progressive media stars” had attended a private meeting at the White House with the President.

However, if Hayes is to be believed, the message of that meeting may have extended far beyond the “progressive” media niche at MSNBC, and reached a broader audience in Washington.

According to Hayes, “everyone in Washington” knew that Obama wanted the payroll tax extension to fail–and yet the same journalists eagerly covered the subsequent payroll tax debate as if Republicans were the only obstacle to an extension. The result of the media’s collusion was a year-end political victory for Obama and the Democrats at the expense of House leaders, the Tea Party, and Republicans in general.

Here is the exchange between Hayes and Klein (0:44 to 1:04), with MSNBC contributor Melissa Harris-Perry chiming in encouragingly (transcript follows):

- The 10 Most Powerful In Television News.

- Jake Tapper introduces ABC’s “OTUS.”

- Plus: ABC’s new tagline “See the whole picture.”

- The NYT sells off 16 regional papers.

- Ha. Politifact names Democrats’ claim that GOP killed Medicare as their “Lie of the Year.”

PolitiFact debunked the Medicare charge in nine separate fact-checks rated False or Pants on Fire, most often in attacks leveled against Republican House members.

Now, PolitiFact has chosen the Democrats’ claim as the 2011 Lie of the Year.

It’s the third year in a row that a health care claim has won the dubious honor. In 2009, the winner was the Republicans’ charge that the Democrats’ health care plan included “death panels.” In 2010, it was that the plan was a “government takeover of health care.”

A complicated and wonky subject with life-or-death consequences, health care is fertile ground for falsehoods. The Democratic attack about “ending Medicare” was a pervasive line in 2011 that preyed on seniors’ worries about whether they could afford health care.

Even when explained accurately, the Republicans’ Medicare plan was not particularly popular with the public, nor with some independent health policy analysts. But the plan was distorted and attacked again and again.

(more…)

- Huffington Post said they simply couldn’t allow Andrew Breitbart on their pages due to “ad hominem,” but this didn’t stop them from publishing the same from Bill Maher.

- Michelle Malkin and Sean Hannity disagree on 2012 candidates. Malkin: “It’s not ‘nitpicking,’ Sean …”

- Latest ratings show AC360 beating Lawrence O’Donnell’s over-acted Shakespearian drama.

- Screencap of the day: Obamaney

Megyn Kelly joked: “As it turns out they are not the same man. Not philosophically, not ideologically, not in any other way… our apologies for that error.” Some voters would disagree.

- The Internet: Jake Tapper was robbed. (more…)

Potential good news via the New York Post:

Christiane Amanpour may soon be giving up the anchor chair on ABC News’ “This Week.” Sources say network honchos are mulling who might replace the award-winning journalist, who has struggled in the ratings since she jumped from CNN to take the reins of the public affairs show in August 2010. “There are discussions of Amanpour’s role changing to that of a global affairs anchor,” a source said. Possible names to fill her seat include ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Terry Moran, Matthew Dowd and Jake Tapper. “Good Morning America” anchor George Stephanopoulos, who hosted the show for eight years, may take back his role and “pull double duty” by hosting the morning show and the Sunday political talk show.

“This Week” has never recovered from the loss of David Brinkley, a legendary newsman respected by both left and right for his objectivity and probing intelligence. Placing former Clintonista George Stephanopoulos in that chair seemed like the worst idea ABC News could’ve possibly made, at least until Christiane Amanpour was hired to take his place.

Regardless, both of those left-wing partisans who disguise themselves as objective journalists were slaps to the face of Brinkley’s legacy, but there have been brief, shining moments when the “This Week” planets have realigned.

(more…)

Brian Williams was as cool as they come as sirens went off in the NBC Studios at Rock30CenterFellerLand–or whatever it’s called these days. Alarms go off and he stays cool and calm and keeps reading that ‘prompter.

I admire a news anchor who can keep his cool while flames may be sweeping across the anchor desk and mess up his hair at any moment, but excuse me if I don’t get all that excited having “been there, done that.” Actually, my suit was on fire. Watch this quick anchoring bit from a few years back (I’m the kid in the video) when a light blew in the studio during a live interview and lit up my suit. Boxing champ Virgil Hill thought I might spontaneously com-bust right in front of him, I did not, but I ruined a good suit. I kept going with the interview and was glad they gave me a clothing allowance.

NBC is hoping alarms go off with their viewers on Williams’ new show Rock Center (how’s that for a transition?) It’s the Monday night replacement for the cancelled Playboy Club, and the failed experiment with Jay Leno in the 10pm time slot. Seems NBC has still not recovered from losing Hill Street Blues, ER, Law & Order, and Texaco Star Theatre. Since Nightly News outdraws NBC’s prime time lineup, they have chosen to take Nightly News to prime time. Not a bad idea and it might even work because, through their programming, the other networks are trying desperately to help NBC get back into the game.

(more…)

- Apparently, calling your viewers “bastards” may affect your ratings.

- The DNC attacks Jake Tapper for not being a lapdog.

- Mitt Romney complains to Bret Baier that Baier’s questions were “overlyaggressive.”

If Romney thinks Baier is “too aggressive,” wait until he gets a load of the Iranians. Sheesh.

- Apple TV is coming:

Apple analyst Gene Munster just reiterated his belief that Apple is going to launch a TV next year.
He made the comments at our IGNITION: Future of Media conference this morning.
In fact, Gene is so sure an Apple TV is coming that he told anyone in the audience who is thinking of buying a TV to wait, because Apple’s is going to be awesome.

- More on Gingrich vs WaPo.

(more…)

—–

Last week, after the Romney campaign released its first ad attacking our failed president’s failed leadership of his failed economy, you would’ve thought the former Massachusetts Governor closed the ad with, “I’m Mitt Romney and I approve of eating Obama’s children.”

The ensuing media storm over the ginned up accusation that the ad took Obama out of context lasted two days, and still this week I hear left-wing pundits disguised as objective pundits talking about how “it might hurt Romney’s credibility.”

It was pure nonsense and merely a way for the MSM to create the phony outrage needed to protect Obama from a pretty effective salvo against his failed record — which is what they intend to do throughout this campaign. The Romney ad was merely making a point in attributing those words to Obama, not playing gotcha. The only ones playing gotcha her were Obama’s Media Palace Guards.

But take a look at the ad above, which was just released by the Democratic National Committee. The DNC actually does take Romney out of context in trying to make it sound as though he was in favor of Obama’s failed stimulus when he most certainly was not. When you’re talking about out-of-context within the realm of  intentionally attempting to mislead, there is no better example.

(more…)

News reporters have always loved the reference to those vicious animals that protect the junk yards late at night. Some of the most frightening, realistic scenes from movies depict the bad guy climbing over a chain link fence only to be confronted by a large, nasty looking creature that has been trained to destroy intruders. Once the junk yard dog latches on, there is no letting go and … well …you know how this story usually ends, and it isn’t pretty for the perp.

The best news reporters love the junk yard dog reference. Every news room has at least one of them and they are not just the junk yard dogs, they are the Alpha Dogs in the news room. “I will take you down!” Or something like that, is what the promos usually say.

We have two very clear examples of news stories that need junk yard dogs: Solyndra and Fast and Furious. The list is long on potential scandals here.

Solyndra is the so-called “Green Energy” company that blew more than half-a-billion of our tax dollars in less than two years (stimulus anyone?). Fast and Furious is the gun running operation to Mexico that was approved and perpetuated by the Obama administration and has led to at least two deaths of U.S. enforcement agents. Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder has already been caught in an apparent lie over what he knew and when he knew it. The President stands behind Holder, even after these facts have been reported.

Tell me there isn’t something there to latch on to that might ruin the perfect crease in his pants.

The media has started to cover these stories. Started. Props have been given here on BigJournalism to reporters, like Jake Tapper of ABC and Sharyl Attkisson of CBS who have started digging into these issues. Rush Limbaugh calls them “random acts of journalism.”

So far, groundwork has been laid by these reporters on Solyndra and Fast and Furious and they stand apart from the much larger group of poodles hiding in the corner “covering” this administration. To preserve our democracy we need junk yard dogs covering any administration.

(more…)

I can hear them right now in newsrooms  across the country—

“Are you sure we need to cover this story about a possible fraudulent solar power company?”

“Won’t we look bad when we promote ‘Green Week?’”

“Should we show that video of the Obama at the Solyndra plant, or just act like we lost that file video?”

“But we have been saying for years that Green Jobs will save our future and our economy, how do we walk this back?”

“Won’t this make the Stimulus look bad?”

“If we just ignore it, it’ll go away, besides, we have the Michael Jackson doctor story to lead with!”

“How much did Obama know and when did he know it?” Wait, forget that last question, they won’t be asking that.

These questions might not be asked out loud at meetings, but they don’t have to be.

Don’t worry my media friends, I know how you roll, I’ve been in those meetings, you are hoping the public is much more stupid than they are (they are not) and hoping that they are not paying attention (and they are.) Some of those viewers actually have the internet and they know how to use it. They might even (gasp) listen to Evil Talk Radio.

The Obama connection with Solyndra is an easy one to make. Perhaps that’s why we’re not seeing the story. Protect Dear Leader.

(more…)

Even after it was thoroughly debunked, Obama mentioned it anyway to drum up dollars at his ritzy $35,800 per plate Facebook fundraiser tonight.

Jake Tapper and Ed Henry live-Tweeted the speech.

An individual, via those in attendance, hollered at the health care story and the audience rebuked them. Two men booed the gotcha question posed by a gay soldier and they were so strongly rebuked for booing that the audience’s hisses and shushes overpowered the volume of the rude men’s outburst.

I’d say that the President “grossly misstated” the true nature of these incidents, but that would be inaccurate. It was a lie to willfully misstate that the actions of a couple of individuals were instead from the entire audience.

(more…)

Kudos to Jake Tapper for showing his fellow White House press members, save for Ed Henry, how journalism is done.

Media is supposed to be antagonistic towards the government; they are its check and balance. When media doesn’t do its job, government runs amuck, and the citizenry suffers. When media dropped the ball decades ago, the citizenry revolted, and, aided by new technologies, took up the mantle of watching the government.

(more…)

There was an interesting exchange between Jake Tapper and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney earlier this week. Just a short while after Carney proclaimed that the President would “not rest until everyone in America who wants a job has a job,” the White House announced that the President will be taking a nine-day August rest in Cape Cod.  This means that Obama plans to have unemployment fixed within the next two weeks or his “not to rest” promise dropped very quickly even for this President.

Tapper decided to ask Carney about the contradiction.

Jake Tapper from ABC News asked Carney if the vacation was appropriate.

Jake Tapper, ABC News: “You said the President will not rest until the joblessness and the economy are worked out, but the President is obviously going on vacation…. Is there any concern about the impression that the President going to Martha’s Vineyard for 9 or 10 days might leave on the American people? And also, if this is such an important issue for Speaker Boehner, for Harry Reid, for President Obama, why the R&R?”

Jay Carney, WH press secretary:... I don’t think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the President would spend some time with his family. It is also, as I think anyone who has covered in the past, either in this administration or others, there is no such thing as a presidential vacation. The Presidency travels with you. He will be in constant communication and get regular briefings from his national security team as well as his economic team. And he will of course be fully capable, if necessary, of traveling back if that were required. It is not very far.”

I don’t begrudge the President from taking a vacation either, except the timing does seem to be a bit inappropriate. Also the man who defended the President’s vacation, Jay Carney, bashed President Bush for taking one ten years ago. (more…)

Well, what is the president doing? We know that he went to a — – he went to fundraisers last night. What’s he doing today?

This is what journalism looks like.

(more…)

By now, you’ve all seen it.  Gawker has reported on it, as has Huffington Post and Jake Tapper, among others.

It was tweeted this afternoon from the official Secret Service Twitter account and subsequently deleted by its author.  But Twitter has no mercy … delete can only delete if no eyes ever saw it in the first place.  Unfortunately for one Secret Service employee, eyes saw it.

I called the Secret Service Office of Public Affairs to ask for a comment.  I asked the question and almost immediately after identifying myself, was transferred to the voice mail of spokesman Robert Novy.  Luckily, Jake Tapper had already reached the office and received an official statement:

“An employee with access to the Secret Service’s Twitter account, who mistakenly believed they were on their personal account, posted an unapproved and inappropriate tweet,” Special Agent in Charge Edwin M. Donovan said in a statement to ABC News. “The tweet did not reflect the views of the U.S. Secret Service and it was immediately removed. We apologize for this mistake, and the user no longer has access to our official account. “

My first question was, ‘why is the Secret Service monitoring FOX News in the first place’?  But then I realized that such agencies monitor news outlets all the time – if they didn’t, they wouldn’t know which person in Congress just said something stupid that might prompt a foreign entity, or perhaps terrorists, to get really pissed at us.  And for other generally harmless reasons, too, of course.  It’s their public affairs staff doing the monitoring.  And besides, it’s Twitter.  We all know, Twitter is a public sandbox – you get in and play, and anyone can see you, and play with you.

I will admit however, I was slightly irked when I saw this in Jake Tapper’s report:

(more…)

Very stark difference between Jake Tapper and George Stephanopoulos’s reporting and that of Andrea Mitchell. Stephanopoulos/Tapper reported the fallout from the videos, namely, that it has resulted in the canning of NPR’s two chieftains and more momentum behind the push to defund it. Mitchell tried to discredit the source and defend NPR’s work. One comes across as journalism, the other pure advocacy. Watch the videos and see if you can tell the difference:

“The culture war with new and old media, an undercover upstart has dealt a major blow to the establishment.”

(more…)

Like most conservatives I am of course thrilled to see my political nemesis Keith Olbermann gone from his perch at MSNBC. His Angry Ted Baxter routine in which he hurled insults and dishonesty like a monkey hurls his own poop, was never a pretty sight. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t at least somewhat respect Olbermann for flying his partisan flag. With Olbermann gone, the news media is somehow even more dishonest today than it was yesterday.

Olbermann stridently declared, “I’m coming to get you Righties,” and then hurled away. Fair enough. Politicio, Mediaite, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, the rest of the broadcast networks, the New York Times, etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum — they all do the same in the department of poop hurling, but without hoisting their partisan flag. And that is all the difference in the world.

And so, if for no other reason, I do credit Olbermann for not attempting to hide his agenda behind some sanctimonious veil of objectivity. The others, however, the so-called “objective” outlets are contemptible spies, out of uniform, and deserving of nothing more than our own brand of contempt. The whole idea of objective journalism is a lie, a conceit, a ploy for Leftists to declare what truth is and float above the debate. Any day of the week, I will take a thousand Keith Olbermanns over a single Christiane Amanpour –I will embrace Olbermann’s Tokyo Rose over this endless parade of Walter Durantys.

Yes, there are exceptions, we are fortunate enough to benefit from a few truly objective journalists, chief among them Brett Baier, Jake Tapper, and Chris Wallace. But so few exceptions in a media ocean of willful dishonesty, only serves to prove the rule. (more…)

Sure seems like it.