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18 Aug 2010 10:29

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Politics: Rupert Murdoch definitely isn’t shy about campaign donations

  • $1 million went to the Republican Governors’ Association source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2010 00:19

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Politics: Max Headroom: Ted Olson has all the answers on gay marriage


  • Ted Olson just gets itChris Wallace is having trouble keeping up with the former Solicitor General, whose handiwork in the suit ensured that it would pass muster. Chris Wallace throws talking points, and Olson just swats them away like they were softballs.

  • John Boehner’s fake tan Dude, did you seriously do the whole spray-on thang? Whether or not Boehner got a fake tan, the lighting during his conversation about birthright citizenship makes him look like he got on the air after a long night of drinking.
  • Olbermann’s new gameIt is a slightly sad time for Keith Olbermann, who won’t be featured on NBC’s “Football Night In America” anymore. But that’s OK; he has another game. The game? Making Sharron Angle look like a freaking idiot. LOL.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jul 2010 13:18

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Politics: Peter King & Anthony Wiener: The Lemmon & Matthau of politics

  • Mediaite totally played up this Fox News clip as a “great television moment,” but before the two minute point or so, we were a bit skeptical. The issue? 9/11 first responder health care benefits – a bill which didn’t pass the House despite it being, you know, 9/11 first responder health care benefits. In the clip, Peter King first gets his point across, Anthony Wiener just stands there, livid. The second Wiener starts talking, it immediately lives up to the hype. For fans of wonkery, this is your “Citizen Kane.” (Side note: Thanks to Mediaite for improving your embeds!) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2010 19:57

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U.S.: Snaps: Iowa’s broken Lake Delhi dam – a major flyover state story

  • After the Tennessee flooding in may, the mainstream media was criticized. Why? Because they underplayed a major tragedy that affected a lot of people – but people in a smaller state not on the East or West Coast. So, with that in mind, here’s a quick comparison of the coverage the dam breakage in Iowa has been getting so far. As of 8:29 p.m. EST, it’s not on the Reuters or BBC front pages at all. The New York Times only just put it up moments ago, and they’ve buried it. How about other sites?
  • MSNBC: Main imageMSNBC: Main imageIt’s the lead story at MSNBC, complete with a very dramatic photo to top it all off – pretty much the kind of play you’d expect.
  • CNN: Lead story (Breaking news)CNN appears to be pulling out all the stops for this story, asking for reader reaction to go with the photos on the site.

 

  • Washington Post: Lead imageIt seems like it might initially easy to miss, but the story, complete with dramatic photos, is on the front of the site.
  • Google News: Lead itemGoogle’s algorithms put it right up top, with the oil spill and the Afghanistan story. Earlier today, the German festival stampede was up top.

 

  • AOL News: Secondary leadThe site we occasionally freelance for chose to go with stampede at the German festival instead of the flooding as lead, though it’s up there.
  • Fox News: Secondary leadFox News had it on their front page, but it was below the captured NATO soldiers story and tied to other rain-related stories.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

23 Jul 2010 23:42

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Politics: Rick Sanchez’s journalistic high horse rings hollow to South Florida

  • One thing you may not know about Rick Sanchez is, before he became the iconic anchor who obsessed over finding interesting tweets, he was a longtime if-it-bleeds-it-leads-style anchor in South Florida, often focusing on the most lurid, ratings-grab stories he could find – which reportedly hit a peak during the overblown Elian Gonzalez era. At least thats how Broward-Palm Beach New Times puts it. So, the irony of him talking about journalistic integrity, as he does in the Fox News-chiding clip above, is a little striking to folks in the Miami area. (Thanks Billy Wachsberger) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

22 Jul 2010 09:17

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Politics: Bill O’Reilly: I’m sorry for my comments on Shirley Sherrod, but …

  • Bill O’Reilly, just like a lot of other people (see: the White House), jumped to conclusions in the Shirley Sherrod case, causing him to humble himself for a moment and admit that, uh, well, he was wrong. But he found a different way to tackle them, so good for him! He still has a line of attack, so he has something to rail against on the program! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jul 2010 11:57

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World: Snaps: Fox News completely ignoring the Climategate findings

  • Reuters is also greatly underplaying the story at the very bottom of their front page. But at least they’re playing it, unlike Fox News, which spilled a lot of ink on it when it first broke. It’s only on their world page as a result of partner member The Wall Street Journal running a story about it (and them linking to it at the very bottom of the page). While not the biggest story on the digest, the initial controversy around Climategate – often a punching bag for skeptics of climate change – makes it a pretty important story to have something about. Other sites are covering it like so:
  • CNN: Lead storyIn a lot of ways, the controversy around climate change is stronger in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world, so big play here makes sense.
  • Guardian: Lead StoryNo individual source owned the Climategate story as much as The Guardian did, so it’s not surprising to see them giving it big play.

 


  • Google news: A lead itemWhile the Russian spy swap and the NBA’s free agency craziness are ahead of it, Google’s algorithms are giving it decent play.
  • BBC: Secondary storyDespite the fact that the controversy is based around a British university, the BBC chose to play up Nicolas Sarkozy instead.

 

  • New York Times: DownpageWhile given decent play, it’s not the site’s lead story this morning. They went with the Russian spy-trading story instead.
  • MSNBC: DownpageYou have to go nearly halfway down the page to see the site covering this at all, which is pretty strange if you ask us.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Jul 2010 09:49

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Tech: Glenn Beck has an online university, a crazy demeanor

  • If this shows up on a resume, potential employer, you know what to do. The Fox News and radio host, who has a tendency to bring up Nazis at a moment’s notice, is starting an online university, complete with professors, which plans to “show you how they influence America’s past, her present and most importantly her future.” It’s kinda like Regent University or Oral Roberts University, except the graduates come out even stupider than before. If Julius had his own university, he’d teach you how to rant in 200 words or less. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jul 2010 11:37

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U.S.: Snaps: The Democratic Republic of Congo oil blast, underplayed?

  • We needed a new feature, and we think we have a pretty good one. Basically, we’re going to take a big story and see how it’s being covered on the front page of major news sites. Is it getting underplayed? Overplayed? This time around, We’re tackling the horrific oil tanker blast in Congo, which is new enough that a lot of people haven’t heard about it (it broke in the middle of the night in the U.S.). Otherwise, it’s a slow news day. On the downside, though, the story has no art, which might hurt its play. Let’s compare:
  • BBC: Top of the pageAs might be expected, considering the nature of the very deadly incident, BBC gave it top-of-the-front-page treatment.
  • CNN: Secondary lead storyWhile it was CNN’s top news story for a while (and worthy of an alert), it was replaced by a story about slain cops.

 

  • New York Times: BuriedThe New York Times, on the other hand, didn’t even bother to give it display play, instead putting it in their wire-stories-only slot.
  • Google News: right at the topGoogle News, which chooses its stories by computer algorithms, gave it much nicer coverage, just above Serena Williams.

 

  • MSNBC: Huge headlineMSNBC.com made the story their main news item with a huge headline, while giving Serena Williams art play off to the side.
  • Fox News: BuriedFox News buried the story even further than the New York Times did, preferring instead to lead with Joe Biden’s visit to Iraq.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 May 2010 23:27

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Politics: Max Headroom: Dr. Uncomfortable is ready to see you


  • Never discuss this again On Fox News today, this doctor discusses how women’s sexual desires go down as a result of taking birth control pills. The awkward silence at the end, just a second or so, feels like 20 minutes.

  • playing politicsThe Obama/Joe Sestak thing is kind of annoying because it happens often enough that calling people out for it is lame, but you expect more from Obama. At least this “Meet The Press” panel does.

  • Not a man from NantucketJames Carville sounds like the angriest human being alive in claiming that the entire federal government would’ve helped if the oil spill happened in Nantucket. We’re trying not to rhyme.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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