- Home
- News
- Opinion
- Letters
- Sports
- Prospecting
- Essentials
- Obituaries
- Real Estate
- Comics
- Gallery
- Classifieds
- Advertisers
- Coupons
- Contact Us
Share Article
372
945372945
It is widely perceived that the national television news industry skews left and in some cases actively supports liberal political candidates. While that is debatable on a case-by-case basis, the evidence is overwhelming that the folks who deliver the news to the nation are sympathetic to liberal causes, and that obviously favors President Obama during this election cycle.
Let’s run it down:
• “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams interned for the Carter administration early in his career. He has no registered political affiliation, and I can find no political donations he has made. However, he has denigrated conservatives on late-night TV.
• ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer once worked for Richard Nixon. She has no political affiliation and no donations on the record. She is perceived to be a social liberal but downplays any partisanship on television.
• “CBS Evening News” anchor Scott Pelley is not affiliated with any party and has given no donations. He plays it straight on TV.
• Anderson Cooper hosts a primetime program on CNN. In 2004, he was a registered Democrat. No political donations have been made in his name. He has openly criticized the Tea Party on a number of occasions and is perceived to be liberal.
• Piers Morgan is also a CNN primetime host. A British subject, he is openly liberal on the air and earlier this month wrote an opinion article for London’s Daily Mail newspaper in which he called Mitt Romney all kinds of names.
• Charlie Rose co-hosts “CBS This Morning” and was a registered Democrat early in his career. He is widely considered sympathetic to the left but has asked tough questions of liberal politicians on occasion.
• George Stephanopoulos co-hosts ABC’s “Good Morning America” and is a registered Democrat who worked as an adviser to President Clinton. Stephanopoulos downplays his political affiliation on the air.
• Matt Lauer is the co-host of the “Today” show on NBC. He is not registered with a political party, and there are no political donations in his name. Widely considered to be socially liberal, Lauer is generally courteous to all points of view on the air.
• The one thing all of the above news people have in common is that none of them is conservative. Also, I would be stunned if any of them votes for Mitt Romney.
• So, how will that affect press coverage with the election around the corner? Well, the actual on-air reporting will likely be straight, but expect stories unfavorable to the president, such as Libya, to be downplayed. In addition, any gaffe the governor might make will definitely be highlighted.
• As Walter Cronkite, a devoted liberal, once said: “And that’s the way it is.”
• But it shouldn’t be that way. There should be more balance among TV news anchors. That will never happen in this country, but such is life.
Veteran TV news anchor Bill O’Reilly is host of the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor” and author of the book “Pinheads and Patriots: Where You Stand in the Age of Obama.” To find out more about Bill O’Reilly, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at creators.com. This column originates on the Website billoreilly.com.
Copyright 2012 BillOReilly.com
Distributed by Creators.com
The Mountain Democrat does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy
chrispyOctober 30, 2012 - 8:38 am
Shut up Bill. You stink.
James E.October 30, 2012 - 4:54 pm
Looks like O'Reilly left out Rush, Hannity, Beck, and all those folks on Fox News. I received my issue of The Kiplinger Letter today, and this is how it begins: "A bitterly split nation seems set to elect Barack Obama over Mitt Romney. This isn't an endorsement, just straight talk about the probably outcome." Sigh, just one more week.
James E.October 30, 2012 - 4:55 pm
*** probable
James E.October 30, 2012 - 5:01 pm
ADDED: While I motored down to Sacramento this afternoon, I listened to conservative radio and noted they are suddenly all over the governor of New Jersey. Could this be connected to the governor saying nice things about the president concerning the storm disaster? Couldn't be, could it? Tea/Republicans wouldn't do that, would they?
cookie65October 31, 2012 - 4:05 am
James, why blur the lines between what is opinion media, which does not claim to be anything else and so-called journalism which attempts to disguise its bias? Call it bias, skewed, left leaning, preferencial, tainted, leftist, selective or whatever you want, it is leftist promoting leftist. To claim otherwise is either intellectual dishonesty or one serious case of ignorance. Omission is every bit as dishonest and misrepresentation of fact. Our leftist media has total ownership of the single most dumbdown audience in American history. Being told what to believe is not the same thing as being informed. It is what is so hysterical about the left, they all share the identical groupthink and don't have the slightest clue how it happened.
Jim RiordanOctober 31, 2012 - 3:55 pm
Bill, So why have we not heard on the national news broadcasts the huge story that Lockheed Martin is going to lay off 123,000 defense workers due to Obama's downsizing of the military. This hit the Drudge report yesterday. The law requires Lockheed to give 60-day notice to all to-be-fired employees within 60 days. That drop dead date would be November 1st. Since this would be BAD FOR THE ELECTION, Obama has promised that our government would cover all Lockheed severance packages to fired employees if Lockheed would not release the names and locations of those losing their jobs until AFTER the election! What a POS. He is determined to win at all costs doing even worse things than he is accusing Romney of. This posting is from a defense contract newspaper called The Hill. Read details below: http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/industry/259517-graham-says-hell-block and also see: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/at-white-house-request-lockheed-martin-drops-plan-to-issue-layoff-notices/ This piece of garbage is accusing Romney of sending jobs offshore . .while Obama is not even sending them anywhere but home according to these reports. This alone ought to knock him right out of this race. What a two faced Obamanation.
Jim RiordanOctober 31, 2012 - 4:06 pm
Bill, So why have we not heard on the national news broadcasts the huge story that Lockheed Martin is going to lay off 123,000 defense workers due to Obama's downsizing of the military. The law requires Lockheed to give 60-day notice to all to-be-fired employees within 60 days. That drop dead date would be November 1st. Since this would be BAD FOR THE ELECTION, Obama has promised that our government would cover all Lockheed severance packages to fired employees if Lockheed would not release the names and locations of those losing their jobs until AFTER the election! What a POS. He is determined to win at all costs doing even worse things than he is accusing Romney of. This piece of garbage is accusing Romney of sending jobs offshore . .while Obama is not even sending them anywhere but home according to these reports. This alone ought to knock him right out of this race. What a two faced Obamanation.
JohnNovember 01, 2012 - 12:38 am
Unhindered by facts, Riordan is now the conspiracy theorist par excellence. Lockheed is getting rid of employees because its F-35, which costs nearly $300 million per unit fully loaded with avionics and weapons, cannot fly. The plane is supposed to produce its own oxygen for the pilots. Unfortunately, the system produces carbon monoxide and it has killed several pilots. The F35 is grounded. So, Mr. Riordan, why have 125,000 Lockheed employees sit around while the Pentagon tries to find the problem. See??? Nothing nefarious about Obama on this one except what is in your twisted little mind. The F35 started under Bush One.
JohnNovember 01, 2012 - 12:40 am
Chuck Norris! Now Bill O'Reilly. The MD is desperate for free articles and it appears they'll take anything--anything at all, as long as it contains lots of red meat for the low-information, low-intelligence voters.
Jesus H ChristNovember 01, 2012 - 10:24 am
Loofas for sale or rent.....