In a January 5 update to her website, author and syndicated columnist Ann Coulter announced that the appearances she was scheduled to make on the January 6 edition of NBC's Today had been canceled, but that she would be appearing that day on CBS' The Early Show. As Media Matters for America has noted, Coulter recently announced that she was scheduled to appear on Today to promote the release of her new book, Guilty: Liberal “Victims” and Their Assault on America, which Media Matters found to contain numerous falsehoods and inflammatory statements. As Media Matters noted, hosts and anchors on NBC itself and affiliates -- including Today co-hosts Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer, Tonight host Jay Leno, Hardball host Chris Matthews, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, and CNBC's Big Idea host Donny Deutsch -- have expressed disapproval of, in Leno's words, Coulter's “harsh” and “nasty” statements, or criticized the media for promoting her.

For instance, discussing Coulter's October 8, 2007, appearance on The Big Idea -- during which Coulter asserted that “we” Christians “just want Jews to be perfected” -- Deutsch said on the October 12, 2007, edition of Today: “And I think that's what -- we're playing dangerous with words in our society that there's no accountability. There's a glibness that we in the media kind of elevate, and I'm here to kind of say I'm personally tired of it, and I think America is tired of it also.” Deutsch later told Vieira that someone might ask, “Aren't we part of the problem?” Vieira responded: “Of course we are. We're perpetuating it.”

In a January 5 blog post, Politico staff writer Michael Calderone also noted Coulter's announcement that her Today appearance had been canceled, writing: “Media Matters has been picking apart the book, and last week asked the following: “Is NBC going to help Coulter sell this book?” Seems like they're not."

From Coulter's website: