Blatant Bias: Why the GOP nominee had better be a real street fighter

I want to call your attention to an actual headline on CNN today.

Wingnut debt ceiling demands

Yes this is an actual headline on CNN Money today. If you click through to the article, the rest of if is as equally partisan. In 2008 the media came out of the ideological closet to help get Obama elected. In 2012, I fully expect them to operate openly like the communications arm of the White House. They will not hide their intentions and they will be all crazy kinds of unfair.

This is why time and time again on this blog, I have stated that what Sarah Palin has endured these three years will be standard operating procedure for the GOP nominee. It does not make one bit of difference if our nominee is Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin herself. The media will do their best to trash the nominee any way they can.

So as you go about picking your favorites from the potential candidates, make damn sure the person you are picking knows how to take a punch and give it right back in equal measure. In 2012 wimpy Republicans need not apply.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: CNN Money

The Palin Emails: Undoing the damage

Well the Lamestream Media have been pouring over Sarah Palin's emails for three days now and all they have to show for it is a whole lot of nothing. Over the past three days I have been checking out The Washington Post, The New York Times, The LA Times and other sources to see if any of them have found "the bombshell" they were looking for.

Instead of a bombshell, all they have come away with is a collection of silly stuff that they are trying to make hay over. They have even started telling old stories like they are hearing them for the first time. Here is an example from The UK Daily Mail:

Sarah Palin imagined God talking to her in a deeply touching email she wrote two weeks before her fifth child, Trig, was born with Down's Syndrome, it was revealed today.

The poignant message to family and friends, included in 25,000 pages of her private emails made public on Friday, may alter the way the former Governor of Alaska is viewed by the American public.

In April 2008, two weeks before Trig was born with Down's Syndrome, Mrs Palin sent the email to her friends and family from her official government account.

In the touching message, Mrs Palin writes from the voice of God, as 'Trig's creator, your heavenly father'.

She addresses the 'unreal, sad and confusing' news that her soon-to-be born child will have Down's Syndrome.

The letter's existence had previously known, but only very brief excerpts had been made public.

If the Daily Mail would have read Going Rogue, they would have known about the letter and read it in its entirety. This is very old news and nothing bombshell like at all.

The real bombshell that is coming out of these emails appears to be that the media is finding out Palin isn't the evil monster they tried to portray her as. I think in the media's rush to destroy Palin by sensationalizing these emails, they may have just helped Palin to resurrect her public image. Game, match, point Palin!

Via: Memeorandum
Via: The UK Daily Mail

Via: The Washington Post

Via: The New York Times

Via: The LA Times

Video: Condolezza Rice vs. Lawrence O'Donnell

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lawrence O'Donnell was badly out gunned and out matched by Condolezza Rice.  At times it was like watching an old fashion school teacher discipline a wayward child.  It is a shame more Republicans don't know how to argue like Rice does. Then again most Republicans don't have a bachelor's degree at age 19.


The best part of the interview is when Rice mocks the idea that Sadam Hussein could have been toppled by Egyptian style protest.  O'Donnell totally set himself up with that question.


As brilliant as Condolezza Rice is, I do have to question her intelligence for wasting her time doing an interview with MSNBC.  Given MSNBC's tiny audience and O'Donnell's hyper partisanship, what was Rice hoping to accomplish?  Then again, one of the Bush administration's biggest failings was their complete inability to handle the biased media.


Via: The Blaze

Thou Shall Not Interrupt Obama's BS! Video - Obama gets testy with Texas reporter

WAFF: After the interview, Obama pointed out that he doesn't like an interviewer challenging his comments.

"Let me finish my answers the next time we do an interview, all right?" he said.

WAAAAHH! What a crybaby. Obama could never cut it as a Republican, where the media always interrupts, misconstrue your words and try their damnedest to paint you as an idiot or a villain. Obama has own quite accustomed to the royal red carpet treatment from the media. With precious few exceptions, the media never calls out Obama on his obvious flip-flops, lies or distortions. They rarely ask follow up questions to Obama's sloppy long winded answers.

However as far as Obama getting a real media grilling goes, Bret Baier is still the all time champ in my eyes.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: WAFF

Angry white man Ed Schultz to host MSNBC's The Black Agenda

The left loves to paint conservatives as a bunch of angry white men. Yet, the poster child for angry white men shows up nightly on MSNBC in the Ed Schultz Show. YouTube is littered with clips of this angry white boy having a meltdown. So, how does an angry white man get to host a MSNBC segment entitled The Black Agenda? Inquiring minds want to know.

The Blaze: Why why why is Ed Schultz hosting a special on MSNBC called ‘The Black Agenda?’

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What is even more ironic about Ed Schultz hosting The Black Agenda, is that MSNBC did not miss a single opportunity to question the whiteness of the TEA Party movement. Heck, they even made stuff up. Yet, when it comes to racial bean counting in their own backyard, mum is the word. Hypocrisy thy name is MSNBC.

Via: The Blaze

Debate at Reagan Library moved to September 14

The Republican primary debate scheduled for May 2 at the Reagan Library has been moved to September 14. This is the debate that will be cosponsored by Politico and NBC.

Politico: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has postponed its debate for Republican candidates from May 2 to September 14.

The move, announced Wednesday in conjunction with cosponsors NBC and POLITICO, follows an unexpectedly slow start to the Republican presidential nominating contest.Organizers worried that the May 2 debate, which was announced shortly after the midterm elections last November, would not attract candidates who will eventually get into the race but are delaying announcements for legal and political reasons. Only one top-tier candidate, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, has officially created an exploratory committee.

Even with a new date set, Republicans should really consider skipping this debate all together. Since 2008, both Politico and NBC have shown themselves to be less than impartial. Since scores of Democrats flatly refuse to go on Fox News cause they find it biased, why can't Republicans flatly refuse to deal with the likes of Politico or NBC?

I think skipping this debate could be a way for the right to finally call out some of the biggest hacks in the media. I am not going to hold my breath for it though. As Sarah Palin has said, some Republicans have the fighting instinct of sheep.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: Politico

Is Sarah Palin shifting gears?

Greta Van Susteren interviewed Sarah Palin on Tuesday. Palin had just returned from her back to back trips to India and Israel. Palin has also just finished speaking to a sell out crowd in Naples, Florida. One of the big take aways from the interview was Palin saying she is done "whining about the liberal press".

The Hill: Speaking Wednesday night to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News, the former Alaska governor shrugged off what she contends is a double standard in the way conservative women are treated.

"I'm through whining about a liberal press that holds conservative women to a different standard, because it doesn't do any good to whine about it," Palin said. "When a shot is taken at me, it is water off a duck's back because I know the important things we need to concentrate on in life — especially the national and international issues that are so important in our country."

Yesterday, Palin took to her Facebook page to expand on this comment.

Upon my return from an outstanding and productive trip to India and Israel, I’ve been inundated with requests to respond to petty comments made in the media the past few days, including one little fella’s comment which decent people would find degrading.[...]

We must always remember the big picture. The media has always been biased. Conservatives – and especially conservative women – have always been held to a different standard and attacked. This is nothing new. Lincoln was mocked and ridiculed. Reagan was called an amiable dunce, a dangerous warmonger, a rightwing fanatic, and the insult list goes on and on.[...]

Let’s just acknowledge that commonsense conservatives must be stronger and work that much harder because of the obvious bias. And let’s be encouraged with a sense of poetic justice by knowing that the “mainstream” media isn’t mainstream anymore. That’s why I call it “lamestream,” and the LSM is becoming quite irrelevant, as it is no longer the sole gatekeeper of information.

Let’s keep pivoting around media bias, and not get distracted with the vulgar personal shots. Even with limited time we can try to call out lies and set the record straight, but always keep the ball moving. No one ever won a game only playing defense.

I’ll keep correcting false reporting, and I’ll defend others to the hilt; but I won’t spend any more precious, limited time responding to personal, vulgar, sexist venom spewed my way.

The stand out line here is that Palin says her time is precious and limited. I take that as yet another sign she is running. If she was not, she would have plenty of time to hit back at cockroaches like Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin and David Letterman. But if she is running, then chasing the cockroaches is a distraction from the main message.

Also we should note a change in Palin's appearance. A navy blue pinstripe suit, pearls and her signature up-do are far more "presidential" looking than red blazers and contemporary jewelry she normally sports at speaking events. A  political friend of mine said Palin's changes in attitude and appearance are the kind of changes that looks like she is responding to polling data.

Now that Pawlenty has formed an exploratory committee, Bachmann is pretty much out of the gate and Romney is all but declared, Palin is no doubt pressured to step up her game. I suspect we will be seeing Palin making more changes as 2012 grows near.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: On The Record
Via: The Hill
Via: Sarah Palin's Facebook page

VIDEO: NPR Sting Part 2

James O'Keefe has released the second part of the NPR sting.  This one includes telephone conversations between NPR exec Betsy Liley (the gal in the first video) and the fake Muslims.  In the telephone conversations Liley offers to hide the $5 million from a government audit.

The Blaze: James O’Keefe and his Project Veritas have just released part two of their NPR investigation, which claims to show an NPR executive telling a fake Muslim donor how his group can be shielded from a government audit if it donates $5 million.

The video features phone calls between a member of O‘Keefe’s fake Muslim organization and Betsy Lily, the NPR executive who played a supporting role in the original video. It is a lengthy 44 minutes long, but that‘s because O’Keefe claims it also includes the unedited phone calls.

“Senior Director of NPR Betsy Liley says she may be able to shield from a govt audit $5mm donation from a reporter posing as a donor from Muslim Brotherhood front group,” the video’s YouTube description says.

Ms. Liley had better get her resume in order, because I think another head is going to roll at NPR.

Via: The Blaze

The Hits Just Keep on Coming: NPR CEO Vivian Schiller resigns

After yesterday's sting video aired, blabber mouth Ron Schiller (no relation) moved up his resignation from NPR. Now NPR CEO Vivian Schiller (again no relation) is out the door.

NPR: Vivian Schiller quickly condemned Ron Schiller's comments, and he moved up an already-announced decision to leave NPR and resigned effectively immediately. But Ron Schiller's gaffe followed last fall'sdismissal of NPR political analyst Juan Williams, for which Vivian Schiller came under harsh criticism and NPR's top news executive, Ellen Weiss, resigned.

NPR just sent this statement from NPR Board of Directors Chairman Dave Edwards to its staff and member stations:

"It is with deep regret that I tell you that the NPR Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of Vivian Schiller as President and CEO of NPR, effective immediately.

"The Board accepted her resignation with understanding, genuine regret, and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years.

"Vivian brought vision and energy to this organization. She led NPR back from the enormous economic challenges of the previous two years. She was passionately committed to NPR's mission, and to stations and NPR working collaboratively as a local-national news network.

"According to a CEO succession plan adopted by the Board in 2009, Joyce Slocum, SVP of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, has been appointed to the position of Interim CEO. The Board will immediately establish an Executive Transition Committee that will develop a timeframe and process for the recruitment and selection of new leadership.

"I recognize the magnitude of this news – and that it comes on top of what has been a traumatic period for NPR and the larger public radio community. The Board is committed to supporting NPR through this interim period and has confidence in NPR's leadership team."

Once again NPR's mask has slipped and once again we see another left wing organization hiding behind "objectivity" as they leech off the taxpayer. Sorry NPR, but the cat is out of the bag and a change of faces simply will not do.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: NPR

UPDATED: Busted: NPR Execs caught on tape showing their true colors

The Daily Caller: In a new video released Tuesday morning by conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe, Schiller and Betsy Liley, NPR’s director of institutional giving, are seen meeting with two men who, unbeknownst to the NPR executives, are posing as members of a Muslim Brotherhood front group. The men, who identified themselves as Ibrahim Kasaam and Amir Malik from the fictitious Muslim Education Action Center (MEAC) Trust, met with Schiller and Liley at Café Milano, a well-known Georgetown restaurant, and explained their desire to give up to $5 million to NPR because, “the Zionist coverage is quite substantial elsewhere.”

On the tapes, Schiller wastes little time before attacking conservatives. The Republican Party, Schiller says, has been “hijacked by this group.” The man posing as Malik finishes the sentence by adding, “the radical, racist, Islamaphobic, Tea Party people.” Schiller agrees and intensifies the criticism, saying that the Tea Party people aren’t “just Islamaphobic, but really xenophobic, I mean basically they are, they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.”

No liberal bias here, folks [sarcasm off]. If Schiller is correct that liberals are so much smarter than conservatives, how come they keep falling for all these undercover sting videos? Project Veritas had better release the unedited version of this video quickly, because you just know NPR is going to scream that the video is doctored.

For me the real kicker in this video was this part.

Later in the lunch, Schiller explains that NPR would be better positioned free of federal funding. “Well frankly, it is clear that we would be better off in the long-run without federal funding,” he says. “The challenge right now is that if we lost it all together we would have a lot of stations go dark.”

When one of O’Keefe’s associates asked, “How confident are you, with all the donors that are available, if they should pull the funding right now that you would survive?,” Schiller answered this way: “Yes, NPR would definitely survive and most of the stations would survive.”

OK Congress, you heard the man, now how about saving the taxpayer $90 million? If you are interested in making NPR "better off without federal funding" you can sign the petition to defund them here.


UPDATE: Full two hour unedited version

Project Veritas: Project Veritas, in order to offer transparency in reporting, has released the full two-hour video later today related to Part 1 of our NPR Investigation.

 The video, which is largely the raw video and audio of the entire conversation with NPR Foundation's President Ron Schiller, does contain one brief section in which the audio is redacted in order to ensure the safety of an NPR overseas correspondent.  

Click here for the full two hour unedited version.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: The Daily Caller
Via: Project Veritas

AOL buys Huffington Post

New York Times: The Huffington Post, which began in 2005 with a meager $1 million investment and has grown into one of the most heavily visited news Web sites in the country, is being acquired by AOL in a deal that creates an unlikely pairing of two online media giants. 

The two companies completed the sale Sunday evening and announced the deal just after midnight on Monday. AOL will pay $315 million, $300 million of it in cash and the rest in stock. It will be the company’s largest acquisition since it was separated fromTime Warner in 2009. 

The deal will allow AOL to greatly expand its news gathering and original content creation, areas that its chief executive, Tim Armstrong, views as vital to reversing a decade-long decline. 

Arianna Huffington, the cable talk show pundit, author and doyenne of the political left, will take control of all of AOL’s editorial content as president and editor in chief of a newly created Huffington Post Media Group. The arrangement will give her oversight not only of AOL’s national, local and financial news operations, but also of the company’s other media enterprises like MapQuest and Moviefone. [MORE]

Good grief, AOL must have a death wish.  Buying Huffpo is one thing, but giving a leftwing hack like Arianna that much control is just plain crazy.  I can see it now, tasteless Palin jokes on MapQuest.  Thank God for GPS!

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The New York Times

Sarah Palin shows all "57 states" Obama’s verbal gaffes

You all have no doubt heard that the left (and some on the right) got all wee weed up the other day when Sarah Palin made a slip of the tongue when referring to North and South Korea.  Today Sarah Palin posts on her Facebook page funny examples of Obama’s verbal gaffes that never really got the attention they deserve.

Sarah Palin Facebook: My fellow Americans in all 57 states, the time has changed for come. With our country founded more than 20 centuries ago, we have much to celebrate – fromthe FBI’s 100 days to the reforms that bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system. We know that countries like Europe are willing to stand with us in our fight to halt the rise of privacy, and Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s. And let’s face it, everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma and they end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a breathalyzer, or an inhalator. I mean, not a breathalyzer, ah, I don’t know what the term is in Austrian for that…  

Each of the links above are links to YouTube clips of Obama’s gaffes.  Palin goes on in the post to point out the media’s bias when reporting on her vs. Obama.  She even throws in some examples of the media making a few verbal gaffes (I cannot believe I missed Shepard Smith saying this).

It is refreshing to see at least one conservative political figure willing to consistently stand and call out media bias.  Perhaps if more conservative candidates put their foot down we would not have to suffer though crap like the CNN/YouTube debates from 2008.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Left Coast Rebel

Via: The Right Scoop

Via: Sarah Palin’s Facebook page

MSNBC suspends Joe Scarborough

Politico: MSNBC said Friday that it is suspending “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough for two days after he acknowledged giving eight previously unknown $500 contributions to friends and family members running for state and local offices during his tenure at the network, a violation of parent NBC’s ban on political contributions by employees without specific permission from the network president.

“I recognize that I have a responsibility to honor the guidelines and conditions of my employment, and I regret that I failed to do so in this matter,” Scarborough said in a statement. “I apologize to MSNBC and to anyone who has been negatively affected by my actions,” he said, adding that after he was made aware of some of the contributions, he called MSNBC President Phil Griffin “and agreed with Phil's immediate demand of a two-day suspension without pay.” [MORE]

This seems fair enough to me.  If Keith Olbermann had to take a two day break so should Scarborough or anyone else who violated the policy.  However, I still think MSNBC should rethink that policy.  Both Olbermann and Scarborough are not reporters, they are partisan commentators. Everyone knows their political leanings, so why all the fuss about donations?

I wonder when Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow will get their two day unpaid vacations?

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico

Keith Olbermann gets suspended for political contributions to Dems

Well, I’ll be damned!

Politico: MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay after POLITICO reported that he made three campaign contributions to Democratic candidates.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement Friday: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress and failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Olbermann, who acknowledged the contributions in a statement to POLITICO, made the maximum legal donations of $2,400 apiece to Conway and to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. He donated to the Arizona pair on Oct. 28 — the same day that Grijalva appeared as a guest on Olbermann’s “Countdown” show.

NBC has a rule against employees contributing to political campaigns, and a wide range of news organizations prohibit political contributions — considering it a breach of journalistic independence to contribute to the candidates they cover.

A few quick points:

1.    I am not buying for one second that MSNBC did not know Olbermann was giving to the Dems.
2.    I think this suspension is just MSNBC keeping their options open for find a better replacement.
3.    NBC has rules concerning “journalistic independence”? You could have fooled me!
4.    Did anyone check for political contributions from Chris Matthews?

Moe Lane offers up a suitable replacement for Olbermann and as luck would have it, he is recently unemployed too!

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Poltico

Via: Moe Lane

Fox News election coverage vs. MSNBC

The results are in and not only did Fox crush the competition (again), lefty critics are saying Fox’s election coverage was “fair and balanced”.

Mediaite: But don’t just take our word for it, read what other media critics had to say. Writing for Time’s Tuned In blog James Poniewozik seemed to agree that Fox News was fairer than the lot:

To be fair, NBC did join coverage earlier, after an all-new Biggest Loser.) Fox News, for all its image as the Republican-friendly network, actually seemed to have the most reserved coverage in tone of the three big cablers, going with a more reserved set and less flashy graphics (granted, by cable news standards) than its competitors. A whiteboard was even employed.

Credit where due, Fox also had a more, well, balanced panel much of the night than its competitor MSNBC. Holding forth from left of center for Fox were the recently-high-profile Juan Williams and Democratic political guru Joe Trippi. MSNBC’s main lineup, on the other hand, was basically its center-to-left lineup of nightly hosts: Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell.

Politico also drew a similar distinction between the coverage and analysis provided by MSNBC and Fox News:

Although Fox News took the most criticism during this campaign season for its alleged bias, it was MSNBC — whose new “Lean Forward” tagline inspired CNN’s promo — that wore its point of view most on its sleeve Tuesday night.

MSNBC’s election coverage was led by a panel comprised mostly of its opinionated prime-time hosts (Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell, along with frequent contributor Eugene Robinson), with nary a conservative voice in the mix. In contrast, Fox News’s was provided by two anchors from its straight-news dayside, Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier, along with a panel that included conservatives like Karl Rove as well as liberals like Juan Williams. Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity stopped by only briefly.

During the commercials on Fox, I would flip to MSNBC and CNN.  On CNN, I thought I was watching the morning commute on the NYC subways.  Their studio was jammed packed with pundits.  It was impossible to tell what was going on there. 

On MSNBC, it was like watching a bunch of teens talking smack in the locker room, complete with dick jokes.

This is news? This isn’t even decent commentary.  What this is is sour grapes on steroids!  If MSNBC really wants to live up to their new “lean forward” motto, they might start by ditching these pathetic clowns for some more credible personalities.  There are lefties out there that know how to make sane and credible arguments as well as conduct themselves in a professional manner.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: TV By The Numbers

Via: Mediaite

Via: The Daily Beast

Video: Michele Bachmann to Chris Matthews; How’s that tingle in your leg?

Big Journalism: Rep. Michele Bachmann went on MSNBC for an interview with Chris Matthews tonight and handled him with dismissive tone the hack deserved. All he wanted to do was bait her with unprofessional journolisty questions about whether or not the new Congressional majority would investigate Democrats for “un-American activities.”

What Matthews is referring to is a now infamous 2008 “Hardball” interview where Matthews laid a trap for Bachmann, she admittedly stepped into it, and of course two years on, even though she took the comment backand admitted she should’ve been better prepared before agreeing to do the interview, Matthews is still trying to use the gotcha as a way to paint her — as the Left does all Republican women — as a loon.

Tonight, again and again and again, as the left-wing MSNBC fever swamp chuckled in the background, Matthews attempted to insult and bait Bachmann by repeating the same “un-American” question at least three times. But Bachmann was obviously prepared this time and wasn’t about to give Matthews even a moment of satisfaction.

Keeping her composure, the Congresswoman stayed on message about the economy until Matthews became so frustrated he outright insulted her (to the delight of his cohorts) by asking, “Are you hypnotized?”

Bachmann got the last word in, though, when she asked Matthews something to the effect of how that leg thrill was doing on a night like tonight. That shut the fever swamp up.[MORE]

Kudos to Bachmann for bringing up the tingle, but I have to ask why is she wasting her time giving interviews to MSNBC? Memo to Bachmann: Take a page from Sarah Palin and forget giving interviews to clowns.  There is nothing to be gained by going on MSNBC. Did you hear them snickering in the background?  Considering their messiah has been rebuked, you would think they would stop their clowning around.

Via: Big Journalism

Ed Schultz: One Nation rally bigger than Restoring Honor rally

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I just got through saying that MSNBC would do well to ditch Ed Schultz. This kind of delusional BS is exactly why I said that. Aerial photos show without a doubt that the One Nation rally was significantly smaller. Yet, here is Ed trying to pull a Crooks and Liars.

Sorry Ed, but with BS like this you are not ready to take on the big boys at Fox.

Video h/t: The Right Scoop

MSNBC to come out the ideological closet?

New York Times: MSNBC, once the also-ran but now the No. 2 cable news channel, has a new tagline that embraces its progressive political identity.

The tagline, “Lean Forward,” will be publicly announced Tuesday, opening a planned two-year advertising campaign intended to raise awareness of the channel among viewers, advertisers and distributors.

The tagline “defines us and defines our competition,” said Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, his implication being that the Fox News Channel, which is No. 1 in cable news and a home for conservatives, is leaning backward. Fox’s best-known tagline is “Fair and Balanced.” […]

Ms. Otterman’s lesson from that research: “All we have to do is tell our story to more people.”

She added in an interview, “It’s not that the look is changing. It’s not that the programming is changing. It’s that we’re going out and telling people about it now.”

The resulting ads are not day-and-date promotions for specific programs; rather, they are emotional set pieces about the national debate that moves America forward. The MSNBC brand “is about ideas and change and making the country a better place,” Mr. Griffin said.

“It’s an umbrella that’s pretty wide, but that does have a progressive sensibility,” he continued. “We’re confident. We’re strong. Let’s not live in the past, let’s not live by fear.”

Believe it or not I say “Bravo”! One of the most insulting and maddening things about the media is the silly game they play about being impartial. I don’t care whether they lean left or right, for God’s sake be upfront about it!

If MSNBC wants to be the premiere "progressive" cable news station, they would do well to bring in some more credible on air personalities. Aside from Rachel Maddows, the lineup is full of clowns.  If I were a lefty, I still would not like Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews or Ed Schultz. Instead, I would much rather see personalities who had their act together and who had a certain sense of credibility. Keith Olbermann's, Chris Matthews' and Ed Schultz's numerous on air faux pas have rendered them complete clowns.

I think if MSNBC is serious about improving their standing in the cable news war, they will eventually realize a new lineup is in order.  Rich Sanchez need not apply.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The New York Times

Associated Press to Staff: Don’t call it Ground Zero Mosque

It looks like the Associated Press is picking sides in the Ground Zero Mosque controversy. The Associated Press’s Standards Center issued a staff advisory on how to cover the Ground Zero Mosque. 

Here is some guidance on covering the NYC mosque story, with assists from Chad Roedemeier in the NYC bureau and Terry Hunt in Washington:

1. We should continue to avoid the phrase “ground zero mosque” or “mosque at ground zero” on all platforms. (We’ve very rarely used this wording, except in slugs, though we sometimes see other news sources using the term.) The site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque is not at ground zero, but two blocks away in a busy commercial area. We should continue to say it’s “near” ground zero, or two blocks away…

In short headlines, some ways to refer to the project include:

_ mosque 2 blocks from WTC site

_ Muslim (or Islamic) center near WTC site

_ mosque near ground zero

_ mosque near WTC site [MORE] 

Give me a break. If AP is worried about the connotations from the name  “Ground Zero Mosque”, then they are a day late and a dollar short, because the name "Ground Zero Mosque" is already part of the American lexicon. Luckily Sarah Palin is right there to correct AP’s foolishness. 

Sarah Palin via Twitter: Pelosi's investigation of Harry Reid&Howard Dean&others who oppose Ground Zero Mosque will be enlightening,we're sure.(Note to AP: GZM term) 

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Associated Press

Via: The Hill