While FOX receives the bulk of criticism from pundits and media watchdogs, the other two major 24/7 television "news" networks often fly under the radar without examination.
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MSNBC cancels host for being "anti-war", "anti-Bush"
(2/25/2003)
MSNBC cancels host for being "anti-war", "anti-Bush"
(2/25/2003)
After having a program on MSNBC for less than a year, host Phil Donahue's show is cancelled. The initial reason given is low ratings; however, a leaked internal memo reveals that MSNBC felt Donahue would be a "difficult public face" in a time of war. "He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush, and skeptical of the administration's motives."
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MSNBC hires, and then fires, homophobic talk show host
(3/8/2003)
MSNBC hires radio talk show host Michael Savage to do a one-hour segment. Savage is known for making homophobic statements, but MSNBC insists on giving him the "benefit of the doubt".
Four months later, the following comments are made to a prank caller on his show and he is fired from his job at MSNBC as a result:
"Oh, you're one of the sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig. How's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig. You got nothing better than to put me down, you piece of garbage. You have got nothing to do today, go eat a sausage and choke on it. Get trichinosis."
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MSNBC host Chris Matthews: "We're all neocons now."
(4/9/2003)
After a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled (an event staged for the networks), Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball", says: "We're all neocons now."
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MSNBC host Chris Matthews: Women like this war
(5/1/2003)
“We’re proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who’s physical. They want a guy who’s president. Women like a guy who’s president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It’s simple. We’re not like the Brits.”
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MSNBC host Chris Matthews: George W. Bush "won [Iraq] war"
(5/1-4/2003)
Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball", says President Bush "deserves everything he's doing tonight in terms of his leadership. He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics. Do you think he is defining the office of the presidency, at least for this time, as basically that of commander in chief?"
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MSNBC host Chris Matthews meets with Iraq war supporters
(6/29/2005)
Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball", presents viewers with a "town meeting" featuring a panel dominated by Iraq war boosters.
As reported by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR):
"The two-hour coverage, hosted by Chris Matthews, was anchored by a panel discussion that featured MSNBC reporter Norah O'Donnell, Islam scholar Reza Aslan, and four conservative Bush supporters: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson, Bobbie Patray of the Eagle Forum of Tennessee and Jerry Sutton, pastor of the Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where the event was held.MSNBC's coverage also included interviews with Newsweek's Jon Meacham, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden (who called for "more boots on the ground"), and Republican senators John McCain and John Warner."
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MSNBC declines joining PBS propaganda op investigation (4/24/2008)
PBS reports on a Pentagon propaganda operation which utilizes retired military officers as "independent military analysts" to promote the Iraq War. CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX News either decline to participate in the report, or do not respond.
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MSNBC's parent company, General Electric, donates $2m politically
(11/15/2010)
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, MSNBC's parent company, General Electric, "made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company's political action committee, or PAC). The top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio."
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MSNBC plays "crucial" role hyping 2011 Tuscon Shooting
(1/26/2011)
Paul Bond, a writer for "The Hollywood Reporter", publishes an article accusing MSNBC of being a "crucial" element in "driving the narrative" that the man responsible for the 2011 Tuscon Shooting, Jared Loughner, was "egged on by violent political rhetoric", particularly from Sarah Palin. Bond also writes that "even after it was learned that the shooter was an atheist, flag-burning, Bush-hater", MSNBC still did not let up.
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MSNBC host Ed Schultz advocates support for Obama
(3/23/2011)
MSNBC's Ed Schultz, host of "The Ed Show", writes an opinion piece on the Huffington Post supporting US involvement in bombing Libya.
He writes that the "president of the United States, Barack Obama, deserves the benefit of the doubt and our support in his decision to use military force in Libya."
On March 30, 2011, he invites Jeremy Scahill on to his program and debates the issue, once again showing his support for the conflict because of Libya's involvement with the downing of Pan-Am Flight 103.
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MSNBC President tells show host Cenk Uygur that channel is part of "establishment" and host needs to "act like it" (April 2011)
From the New York Times: "[...] in late June the channel’s president, Phil Griffin, decided to try out Mr. Sharpton, and offered Mr. Uygur a new contract that included a weekend show, but not a higher-profile weekday show.Mr. Uygur, who by most accounts was well liked within MSNBC, said in an interview that he turned down the new contract because he felt Mr. Griffin had been the recipient of political pressure. In April, he said, Mr. Griffin “called me into his office and said that he’d been talking to people in Washington, and that they did not like my tone.” He said he guessed Mr. Griffin was referring to White House officials, though he had no evidence for the assertion. He also said that Mr. Griffin said the channel was part of the “establishment,” and “that you need to act like it.”"
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MSNBC host Ed Schultz calls Laura Ingraham a slut
(5/24/2011)
On his radio program, Ed Shultz calls Laura Ingraham a slut. He says:
"Rain, thunderstorms, winds getting whipped into tornadoes of horrific proportions. Hot weather, all of this stuff. And what are the Republicans thinking about? They're not thinking about their next-door neighbor. They're just thinking about how much this is going to cost. President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday. But you know what they're talking about? Like this right-wing slut, what's her name, Laura Ingraham? Yeah, she's a talk slut. You see, she was, back in the day, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama's doing it, they're working him over."
MSNBC announces the next day that Shultz will take one week off, unpaid, as a result of the comments.
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CNN invites PSYOPs Team to Georgia HQ
(3/24/2000)
CNN allows the "4th Psychological Operations Group (PSYOPs) based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina" to briefly work at their Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters.
As reported by "Democracy Now", an "enterprising Dutch journalist named Abe De Vries came up with this important story[...] and he remains properly astounded that no mainstream news medium in the United States has evinced any interest in the story."
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) also covered this. They received a response from CNN, which can be read here.
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CNN guest suggests dealing with 9/11 attackers via killing, even if some who die in the process were not "directly involved" (9/11/2001)
After the 9/11 attacks, major news networks, including CNN, largely turn their coverage on to themes surrounding retaliation.
"There is only one way to begin to deal with people like this, and that is you have to kill some of them even if they are not immediately directly involved."
--former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger (CNN, 9/11/01)
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CNN and other networks limit Osama broadcasts
Additional Resources
He writes that the "president of the United States, Barack Obama, deserves the benefit of the doubt and our support in his decision to use military force in Libya."
On March 30, 2011, he invites Jeremy Scahill on to his program and debates the issue, once again showing his support for the conflict because of Libya's involvement with the downing of Pan-Am Flight 103.
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MSNBC President tells show host Cenk Uygur that channel is part of "establishment" and host needs to "act like it" (April 2011)
From the New York Times: "[...] in late June the channel’s president, Phil Griffin, decided to try out Mr. Sharpton, and offered Mr. Uygur a new contract that included a weekend show, but not a higher-profile weekday show.Mr. Uygur, who by most accounts was well liked within MSNBC, said in an interview that he turned down the new contract because he felt Mr. Griffin had been the recipient of political pressure. In April, he said, Mr. Griffin “called me into his office and said that he’d been talking to people in Washington, and that they did not like my tone.” He said he guessed Mr. Griffin was referring to White House officials, though he had no evidence for the assertion. He also said that Mr. Griffin said the channel was part of the “establishment,” and “that you need to act like it.”"
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MSNBC host Ed Schultz calls Laura Ingraham a slut
(5/24/2011)
On his radio program, Ed Shultz calls Laura Ingraham a slut. He says:
"Rain, thunderstorms, winds getting whipped into tornadoes of horrific proportions. Hot weather, all of this stuff. And what are the Republicans thinking about? They're not thinking about their next-door neighbor. They're just thinking about how much this is going to cost. President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday. But you know what they're talking about? Like this right-wing slut, what's her name, Laura Ingraham? Yeah, she's a talk slut. You see, she was, back in the day, praising President Reagan when he was drinking a beer overseas. But now that Obama's doing it, they're working him over."
MSNBC announces the next day that Shultz will take one week off, unpaid, as a result of the comments.
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CNN invites PSYOPs Team to Georgia HQ
CNN allows the "4th Psychological Operations Group (PSYOPs) based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina" to briefly work at their Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters.
As reported by "Democracy Now", an "enterprising Dutch journalist named Abe De Vries came up with this important story[...] and he remains properly astounded that no mainstream news medium in the United States has evinced any interest in the story."
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) also covered this. They received a response from CNN, which can be read here.
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CNN guest suggests dealing with 9/11 attackers via killing, even if some who die in the process were not "directly involved" (9/11/2001)
After the 9/11 attacks, major news networks, including CNN, largely turn their coverage on to themes surrounding retaliation.
"There is only one way to begin to deal with people like this, and that is you have to kill some of them even if they are not immediately directly involved."
--former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger (CNN, 9/11/01)
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CNN and other networks limit Osama broadcasts
(10/11/2001)
Five major US television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and FOX News) agree to "limit broadcasts" of Osama Bin Laden and his associates out of fear that audio/video tapes may contain coded messages designed to wake "sleeper cells" in the U.S.
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CNN Chairman orders correspondents to balance reporting from Taliban POV with reminders that Taliban harbor 9/11 terrorists
(10/31/2001)
CNN chairman Walter Isaacson orders his staff to balance CNN coverage of US-led civilian devastation in Afghan cities with reminders that the Taliban harbor those who attacked the United States on 9/11.
In an internal memo (cached) to CNN correspondents, Isaacson writes:
"As we get good reports from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, we must redouble our efforts to make sure we do not seem to be simply reporting from their vantage or perspective. We must talk about how the Taliban are using civilian shields and how the Taliban have harbored the terrorists responsible for killing close to 5,000 innocent people."
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CNN anchor cuts broadcast of press conference with Iraqi Information Minister because US gov't "would disagree" with content
(3/26/2003)
“All right, we’re going to interrupt this press briefing right now because, of course, the U.S. government would disagree with most of what he is saying.”
—CNN anchor Carol Costello
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CNN and FOX misrepresent toppling of Saddam statue
(4/9/2003)
CNN covers the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in central Baghdad, Iraq. It is portrayed as a spontaneous event started by liberated Iraqis overjoyed with the U.S. presence in their country. However, it is later revealed to be entirely the work of a Marine colonel who decided to take down the statue. As reported by the Los Angeles Times: "[It] was a quick-thinking Army psychological operations team that made it appear to be a spontaneous Iraqi undertaking."
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CNN: Why report civilian deaths in Iraq?
(4/15/2004)
CNN anchor Daryn Kagan interviews Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief, Ahmed Al-Sheik, and uses the opportunity to badger Al-Sheik about whether civilian deaths in Iraq are really "the story" inFallujah.
"Isn't the story, though, bigger than just the simple numbers, with all due respect to the Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives-- the story bigger than just the numbers of people who were killed or the fact that they might have been killed by the U.S. military, that the insurgents, the people trying to cause problems within Fallujah, are mixing in among the civilians, making it actually possibly that even more civilians would be killed, that the story is what the Iraqi insurgents are doing, in addition to the response from the U.S. military?"
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CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Hurricane Katrina victims: "they are so black"
(9/2/2005)
Covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Wolf Blitzer says:
"You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals, as Jack Cafferty just pointed out, so tragically, so many of these people, almost all of them that we see, are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people."
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CNN briefly banned from Iran over "mistranslation" of Iranian leader
(1/2006)
CNN is briefly banned from Iran after "mistranslating" Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying Iran has the right to use nuclear "weapons", rather than nuclear "technology".
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CNN's Anderson Cooper interned with CIA
(9/6/2006)
It is revealed that CNN's Anderson Cooper "spent his summers interning" at the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, "in a program for students interested in intelligence work", as reported by Rawstory.
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CNN declines joining PBS propaganda op investigation (4/24/2008)
PBS reports on a Pentagon propaganda operation which utilizes retired military officers as "independent military analysts" to promote the Iraq War. CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX News either decline to participate in the report, or do not respond.
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CNN quotes "official", neglects evidence, blames murders on Taliban
(4/16/2010)
CNN quotes a "senior military official" who claims that several recent deaths in Afghanistan were the result of an "honor killing", a "murder carried out by a family or community member against someone thought to have brought dishonor onto them."
The unnamed official suggests the Taliban could be responsible. CNN incorporates this claim by the "official" into their article headline:
"Bodies found gagged, bound after Afghan 'honor killing'"
The other side of the story is picked up by the Associated Press:
"Relatives of the dead accused American forces of being responsible."
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CNN's Rick Sanchez: Obama is the "cotton picking president"
(8/30/2010)
CNN's Rick Sanchez refers to Obama as the "cotton picking president".
"I'm just sitting here just shaking my head. He is the cotton-picking president of the United States!" He continues: "If the president of the United States doesn't have enough of a bully pulpit to convince people of a lie- that a lie is a lie, I should say, then- you know, where are we? What kind of planet are we living on? What the hell is going on here?"
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CNN's Sanja Gupta and his close relationship with drug companies
(10/19/2010)
CNN's medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, and his colleague, Robin Meade, have in the past "hosted a fluffy health information show on AccentHealth, a network of closed circuit TVs in doctor and hospital waiting rooms nationwide, sponsored by drug companies." As reported byBNET, "Gupta has been an AccentHealth host since 2003. AccentHealth says its clients are “primarily pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods companies.”"
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CNN's weekend host advises President Obama on foreign policy
(5/13/2011)
CNN's Fareed Zakaria, host of the weekend show Fareed Zakaria GPS, admits on CNN that he has been advising President Obama on foreign policy matters.
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Five major US television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and FOX News) agree to "limit broadcasts" of Osama Bin Laden and his associates out of fear that audio/video tapes may contain coded messages designed to wake "sleeper cells" in the U.S.
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CNN Chairman orders correspondents to balance reporting from Taliban POV with reminders that Taliban harbor 9/11 terrorists
(10/31/2001)
CNN chairman Walter Isaacson orders his staff to balance CNN coverage of US-led civilian devastation in Afghan cities with reminders that the Taliban harbor those who attacked the United States on 9/11.
In an internal memo (cached) to CNN correspondents, Isaacson writes:
"As we get good reports from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, we must redouble our efforts to make sure we do not seem to be simply reporting from their vantage or perspective. We must talk about how the Taliban are using civilian shields and how the Taliban have harbored the terrorists responsible for killing close to 5,000 innocent people."
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CNN anchor cuts broadcast of press conference with Iraqi Information Minister because US gov't "would disagree" with content
(3/26/2003)
“All right, we’re going to interrupt this press briefing right now because, of course, the U.S. government would disagree with most of what he is saying.”
—CNN anchor Carol Costello
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CNN and FOX misrepresent toppling of Saddam statue
(4/9/2003)
CNN covers the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in central Baghdad, Iraq. It is portrayed as a spontaneous event started by liberated Iraqis overjoyed with the U.S. presence in their country. However, it is later revealed to be entirely the work of a Marine colonel who decided to take down the statue. As reported by the Los Angeles Times: "[It] was a quick-thinking Army psychological operations team that made it appear to be a spontaneous Iraqi undertaking."
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CNN: Why report civilian deaths in Iraq?
(4/15/2004)
CNN anchor Daryn Kagan interviews Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief, Ahmed Al-Sheik, and uses the opportunity to badger Al-Sheik about whether civilian deaths in Iraq are really "the story" inFallujah.
"Isn't the story, though, bigger than just the simple numbers, with all due respect to the Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives-- the story bigger than just the numbers of people who were killed or the fact that they might have been killed by the U.S. military, that the insurgents, the people trying to cause problems within Fallujah, are mixing in among the civilians, making it actually possibly that even more civilians would be killed, that the story is what the Iraqi insurgents are doing, in addition to the response from the U.S. military?"
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CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Hurricane Katrina victims: "they are so black"
(9/2/2005)
Covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Wolf Blitzer says:
"You simply get chills every time you see these poor individuals, as Jack Cafferty just pointed out, so tragically, so many of these people, almost all of them that we see, are so poor and they are so black, and this is going to raise lots of questions for people."
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CNN briefly banned from Iran over "mistranslation" of Iranian leader
(1/2006)
CNN is briefly banned from Iran after "mistranslating" Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying Iran has the right to use nuclear "weapons", rather than nuclear "technology".
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CNN's Anderson Cooper interned with CIA
(9/6/2006)
It is revealed that CNN's Anderson Cooper "spent his summers interning" at the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, "in a program for students interested in intelligence work", as reported by Rawstory.
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CNN declines joining PBS propaganda op investigation (4/24/2008)
PBS reports on a Pentagon propaganda operation which utilizes retired military officers as "independent military analysts" to promote the Iraq War. CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX News either decline to participate in the report, or do not respond.
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CNN quotes "official", neglects evidence, blames murders on Taliban
(4/16/2010)
CNN quotes a "senior military official" who claims that several recent deaths in Afghanistan were the result of an "honor killing", a "murder carried out by a family or community member against someone thought to have brought dishonor onto them."
The unnamed official suggests the Taliban could be responsible. CNN incorporates this claim by the "official" into their article headline:
"Bodies found gagged, bound after Afghan 'honor killing'"
The other side of the story is picked up by the Associated Press:
"Relatives of the dead accused American forces of being responsible."
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CNN's Rick Sanchez: Obama is the "cotton picking president"
(8/30/2010)
CNN's Rick Sanchez refers to Obama as the "cotton picking president".
"I'm just sitting here just shaking my head. He is the cotton-picking president of the United States!" He continues: "If the president of the United States doesn't have enough of a bully pulpit to convince people of a lie- that a lie is a lie, I should say, then- you know, where are we? What kind of planet are we living on? What the hell is going on here?"
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CNN's Sanja Gupta and his close relationship with drug companies
(10/19/2010)
CNN's medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, and his colleague, Robin Meade, have in the past "hosted a fluffy health information show on AccentHealth, a network of closed circuit TVs in doctor and hospital waiting rooms nationwide, sponsored by drug companies." As reported byBNET, "Gupta has been an AccentHealth host since 2003. AccentHealth says its clients are “primarily pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods companies.”"
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CNN's weekend host advises President Obama on foreign policy
(5/13/2011)
CNN's Fareed Zakaria, host of the weekend show Fareed Zakaria GPS, admits on CNN that he has been advising President Obama on foreign policy matters.
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How to tame the media, not be tamed by it
Tips for Identifying Reliable Websites
No Coverage Zone: Media Ignores Brutal Crackdowns By US Allies Bahrain And Yemen
Media Scrambles as Bin Laden Story Crumbles
Excessive Quoting of Anonymous "Officials" During Coverage of Osama's Death
The media's Pentagon worship in action
Media acting as enablers with excessive coverage of “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen
Role of "Political Rhetoric" Leads Shooting Coverage
After 9/11: Media March to War
Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting
Other notable "news" organizations that weigh heavy on the Scale of Fail:
Press TV
EU Times
Veterans Today
War Made Easy - this documentary "reaches into the Orwellian memory hole to expose a 50-year pattern of government deception and media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after another" from Vietnam to Libya.
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