Media Matters - ABC World News Tonight

Media Matters - ABC World News Tonight http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/abc_world_news_tonight This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: ABC World News Tonight en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America Broadcast networks falsely suggested that Clark criticized McCain's service http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010001 All three network evening newscasts misrepresented retired Gen. Wesley Clark's comments about Sen. John McCain on Face The Nation, with none noting that Clark praised McCain as a "hero" for his Vietnam war service. ABC's David Wright asserted that McCain's experience as a POW made Clark's comments "especially provocative." CBS' Dean Reynolds falsely suggested that Clark had questioned McCain's patriotism and had "critici[zed]" McCain's "service, including five years as a POW." And NBC's Brian Williams falsely suggested that Clark had impugned McCain's "war record." http://mediamatters.org/items/200807010001 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 01:05:05 EST ABC's Gibson aired McCain's criticism of Obama, but did not mention Obama's response http://mediamatters.org/items/200804160003 On World News, Charles Gibson aired a clip of Sen. John McCain's remarks at the April 14 Associated Press Annual Meeting and Luncheon -- during which McCain criticized Sen. Barack Obama for comments Obama made on April 6 -- but did not note that Obama responded to McCain's comments later that day at the same event. http://mediamatters.org/items/200804160003 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:17:05 EST In reporting "surprising good news on sales of existing homes," ABC ignored 24 percent decline in sales from Feb. 2007 http://mediamatters.org/items/200803250004 Introducing a report on "surprising good news on sales of existing homes," ABC<a href="#note">*</a> News' Charles Gibson stated that "[a]fter falling for six straight months, sales rose almost 3 percent in February." But neither Gibson, nor correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi in the subsequent report, noted that home sales were still down nearly 24 percent from February 2007. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803250004 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:30:49 EST On Iraq war fifth anniversary, NBC and ABC failed to point out that administration's original justifications for war have been debunked http://mediamatters.org/items/200803210009 In their coverage of the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, Nightly News and World News did not mention once that the Bush administration's original justifications for going to war -- including its assertions that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq had operational links to Al Qaeda -- have been repeatedly debunked or discredited. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803210009 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:07:24 EST ABC's Ross falsely claimed that McCain has already released his tax returns http://mediamatters.org/items/200803200006 Noting the National Archives' release of Sen. Hillary Clinton's daily schedule during her time as first lady, ABC's Brian Ross stated, "Senator Clinton, unlike Senators [Barack] Obama and [John] McCain, has still not released any of her tax returns." In fact, McCain reportedly has not released any of his tax returns. http://mediamatters.org/items/200803200006 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:45:33 EST ABC repeatedly noted controversial comments by Obama's "allies," but has yet to report comments by McCain endorsers http://mediamatters.org/items/200803140013 During recent editions of Good Morning America and World News, ABC discussed and aired reports on the "explosive statements" of Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, but ABC has yet to report on controversial comments by two "allies" of Sen. John McCain. For example, evangelist John Hagee has said that "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans," and pastor Rod Parsley reportedly wrote that "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion [of Islam] destroyed." http://mediamatters.org/items/200803140013 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:38:40 EST ABC uncritically aired McCain's false suggestion he received 2007 "ranking" from National Journal http://mediamatters.org/items/200802150008 On World News, Ron Claiborne uncritically aired Sen. John McCain's assertion that "Senator [Barack] Obama had, according to the National Journal, the most liberal senator in the Senate. I have a very high ranking on the conservative side." In fact, according to the National Journal, McCain "did not vote frequently enough in 2007 to draw a composite score." http://mediamatters.org/items/200802150008 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:25:15 EST CBS characterized "attack" as "unusual position" for McCain -- but it's not, even as he has denounced negative campaigning http://mediamatters.org/items/200801300005 Reporting on Republican presidential candidates' final days of campaigning before the Florida primary, Kelly Cobiella of CBS and John Berman of ABC both noted that John McCain criticized Mitt Romney for attacking opponents who "are moving up and succeeding." Neither, however, reported that McCain has been airing attack ads against Romney even while denouncing negative campaigning. http://mediamatters.org/items/200801300005 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:19:50 EST Tapper did not challenge Giuliani's claim that he did not "get[] the information" about Kerik http://mediamatters.org/items/200711090013 In an interview with Rudy Giuliani, ABC News' Jake Tapper let Giuliani claim, without challenge, that "[t]he mistake" he made in "appointing [Bernard Kerik] police commissioner [and] Department of Corrections chair," "was not getting the information" that Kerik had ties to Interstate Industrial, a company with suspected connections to organized crime. However, in April 2006, Giuliani reportedly "acknowledged" in "testimony to a state grand jury" that "the city investigations commissioner ... had told him that he had been briefed at least once" about Kerik's connections to the company. http://mediamatters.org/items/200711090013 Fri, 9 Nov 2007 16:25:30 EST Major newspapers, network news still silent on Romney-Blackwater connection http://mediamatters.org/items/200709260015 On September 22, the Politico reported that Mitt Romney "has remained mum on the alleged killing of 11 Iraqis by a company where one of his top advisers serves as vice chairman, even as the case has led to an uproar in Baghdad and Washington. ... The top counterterrorism and national security adviser to Romney's presidential campaign is Cofer Black, vice chairman of Blackwater USA." But despite prominent reports by the five major newspapers and the three networks on the Iraqi Interior Ministry revoking Blackwater USA's license, none of those outlets has reported on Romney's connection to Blackwater or his refusal to comment on the matter. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709260015 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:37:59 EST Network news did not report CBO assessment that Bush's SCHIP proposal sharply underfunds program http://mediamatters.org/items/200709210015 In reports on President Bush's latest threat to veto legislation increasing funding by $35 billion for a health plan for poor children, neither NBC's Nightly News, ABC's World News, nor the CBS Evening News noted that Bush's alternative proposal -- a $5 billion expansion over five years -- would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, underfund the program by approximately $9<a href="#note">*</a> billion. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709210015 Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:25:26 EST AP, networks mum on Romney-Blackwater connection http://mediamatters.org/items/200709180014 News reports on Iraq's Interior Ministry ordering security firm Blackwater USA to leave the country following the deaths of at least eight Iraqi civilians have continued to ignore Blackwater USA vice chairman Cofer Black's role as chairman of Mitt Romney's counterterrorism policy advisory group. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709180014 Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:55:36 EST Despite hyping lower July death toll, network evening news programs silent on number of troop deaths this summer http://mediamatters.org/items/200708290001 ABC's World News, CBS Evening News, and NBC's Nightly News reported that the death toll for U.S. service members in Iraq was down in July. But none of the programs noted at the time that U.S. troop death numbers for July, while lower than previous months, meant that this July was the deadliest July of the war. And none of the programs have reported the fact that the current number of troops killed in Iraq for the months of June, July, and August makes the summer of 2007 the bloodiest summer of the war for American soldiers. http://mediamatters.org/items/200708290001 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:20:48 EST NY Times, networks ignored Sen. Craig's record on gay and lesbian issues http://mediamatters.org/items/200708280013 In reporting on Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea on disorderly conduct charges, the nightly network news broadcasts and The New York Times all ignored Craig's positions on legislation concerning gay and lesbian rights, including voting against legislation to ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. http://mediamatters.org/items/200708280013 Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:35:09 EST ABC's Gibson ignored Padilla's three-year detention without charges http://mediamatters.org/items/200708170011 In reporting that Jose Padilla "was convicted ... of supporting terrorism," ABC's Charles Gibson stated that Padilla "was originally accused of plotting with Al Qaeda to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb, but that charge was dropped." In fact, Padilla was never "charge[d]" in relation to the alleged "dirty bomb" plot. Indeed, Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was held without charges for more than three years, a fact that Gibson did not mention. http://mediamatters.org/items/200708170011 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:53:04 EST