most unfor the in >> howard kurtz used to be at the "washington post", does a show for cnn, newt the daily beast said a blunder of enormous proportions. i think that's the final word in terms of the way the media reacted. i'm hard-pressed to find anybody that thinks it is a good idea that juan got fired except cair. >> time for a break. first check out our new website keep an eye on the big media stories in the watchlist sections then go behind the scenes and listen to the discussions we have during our commercial breaks. >> next, the midterm madness continues. are the media adding to the craziness? . >> the gloves are off, political punches are plying. the mean midterm election gets closer is the media fanning the flames and pushing the politics divide farther? >> bristol palin is working hard for her money. getting the spotlight dancing in primetime. why are some in the media so bitter? answers, next on news watch. [ male announcer ] think you can only charge one thing at a time...? consider this: drop & go charging for up to 4 devices at once... the duracell mygrid™. simple and sm

. >> also, howard kurtz jumping ship from the "washington post" heading for the daily beast. >> interestinghe trends we've been talking about on this show from print to the electronic media. what is interesting, he remains as several commentators pointed out, a walking conflict of interest. now instead he have writing for the "washington post" and appearing on cnn, he's going to be appearing on cnn talking about the daily beast. so we have not eliminated the conflict here, not at all. >> time for another break. first, if you come across a story you think shows media bias, e-mail us at newswatch. >> when picking which stories to cover, do the media play fair? >> his story made headlines and national attention. her story did not. how does the news media pick and choose? >> this company wants nothing to do with this company. is there an image war inside the peacock's pen? details, next on news watch. . >>> last month, rutgers's student tyler clementi committed suicide after his roommate streamed live video on the internet of his gay sexual encounter. days before, jessica moore a sophomore from

years ago but now we're starting to see blogs go mainstream people like howard fineman people like howard kurtz kurtz who would be the last people you would think who would become sort of digital journalists have entered into this fray and what you're seeing is these sort of the growing pains in the pains of an industry that's dying you know just say a rational blogger is like saying in a rational person who uses a telephone i mean it's a medium and this distinction is becoming less and less relevant people are being measured by the reporting they do whether they do it in a blog or. paper it doesn't matter and so yeah i think it's a combination of a jerk. industry that is afraid with the changes that are happening and i also think it's a certain amount or is it that these people are out hustling them in certain instances but do you think we have to start perhaps questioning those people that are left on t.v. because as you mentioned we have a lot of very notable journalists that are now leaving print leaving t.v. and heading towards blogs and at the same time i mean you have people like this br

i'm howard kurtz and this is "reliable sources." >>> anyone who makes his living in front of a microphone is going to say dumb things now and then but rick sanchez delivered a reckless rant on n a satellite radio interview that went on and on late friday cnn issued a terse statement saying is he no longer with the company. he brought a lot of passion to his job first at in the nbc and cnn, he was reading messages from his many twitter followers or one strange stunt getting tased. >> to show you how it works, i'm about to receive 50,000 volts of electricity. do it. oh, yay-yah! oh! it hurts. i was just asking chad, how can you get a volcano in iceland? isn't it too -- when you think of a volcano you think of like hawaii and long words like that. you don't think of iceland. you think it's too cold to have a volcano there but no, there it is. i'll be honest with you, i am a naturalized u.s. citizen. i was not born in the united states. i was born in cuba, and then later on in my life i became a naturalized u.s. citizen and i've always been curious about how the naturalization process works.

i'm howard kurtz and this is "reliable sources." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> the debatever afghanistan has been pretty well covered by the media, at least when it hasn't been crowded out by attack ads, witch craft and quarterbacks behaving badly. president obama's handing of the 9-year-old conflict and his decision to dispatch more troops has been making headlines again thanks to one behind the scenes account. >> a new book causing a stir today, obama's wars by bob woodward who spent almost two years talking to more than 100 people behind closed doors. >> now the white house is already reacting to the book this morning. senior administration officials putting out a fairly lengthy memo about the book. >> woodward spent a year and a half researching the way the white house, the pentagon and the military have struggled to shape the strategy in afghanistan, and as usual, none of his sources are named, except for the president of the united states. the book is called "obama's wars," and i spoke to him earlier here in the studio. bob woodward welcome. >> thank you. >> given th

up next, more "fareed zakaria gps" and after, "reliable sources" howard kurtz' interview with bob woodwardersify my workforce, i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. >>> we are back with steve rattner, going to talk about how he rescued the car companies and whether it was a good idea. at what point does obama decide i can't let these car companies go under? what happens that focuses this issue and makes him think about it? >> president obama really knew from the moment he first engaged in november on this issue, november of '08 that he was going to have to take some action and that's why they began reaching out for somebody to help organize a group of people within the administration to address it. >> and a

i'm howard kurtz. "state of the union with candy crowley" begins right now. >>> here's what passes as good news for democrats these days. a new poll showing republicans are ahead by seven points when likely voters are asked how they'll vote in their district. that's good news for democrats because last month they were down by nine points. cue the optimism. >> if we see the generic ballot, that's closing dramatically. >> for all those that are already dancing in the end zone and celebrating, this is what's happening everywhere i go. >> i think we'll have the senate and have a chance to win the house because i believe the democrats including the base starting to come back. >> polls almost always tighten up in the final weeks before an election. but in this climate, democrats are happy to find any port in the storm. >>> today, 23 days to the election, two key strategists in the battle for the house, democrat chris van hollen and republican, kevin mccarthy. >>> then, measuring the mood of the electorate wi

i'm howard kurtz. join us next sunday morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, for another critical look at the media. "state of the union's" florida senatorial debate begins right now. >>> from the university of south florida in tampa, this is a special edition of "state of the union." i'm candy crowley and this is the florida u.s. senate debate. the three men vying to win that seat are with me here today. democratic congressman, kendrick meek, was first elected to congress in 2002. republican marco rubio served in the florida house of representatives for eight years, rising to the position of speaker of the house. and governor charlie crist was elected in 2006. he quit his bid to become the republican nominee. now running as an independent. i am also joined by adam smith, political editor for the "st. petersburg times." now, the candidates have agreed to keep their answers short so we can cover a lot of ground, one-minute answers with 30-second rebuttals. but first, before we begin, a word about florida, a state in deep trouble. unemployment, 11.9%, f

but we will talk about this with howard kurtz who is a cnn reporter. >> well, you gave a caveat thatdo this and it does not cast dispersions amongst journalists, and they had to know that putting out the donations to the republican governors and chamber of commerce, they would reinforce the criticism out there that fox news is alive or in the pocket of the gop. >> but there is other, time warner, and general electric which is the parent company of nbc, they give a lot of money as well, but what you are saying is that not necessarily as a lump sum, is that what you are seeing and hearing? >> nothing approaching a $ 1 million lump sum. although, they have contributed to other kanld dapts in the past, this is so unbalanced for the fair andle le bale -- and balanced network to give money to the lobbyists who works closely with the republican lobby, and at a time when president obama criticized fox news for having a destructive point of view, this does create the perception problem, even though it is the parent company and not the journalists, and not the news executives creating the perc

eastern on "reliable source" with howard kurtz' interview.n townsend who is a adviser to ci, and homeland security department. and also joining us is the host of "state of the union" candy crowley, and also contributor and democratic strategist paul begala, and thank you all for coming in. two different people. and general jones with military background and 40 years in the marine corps, and tom donlin, an attorney, and worked in the state department under clinton and two different men. >> well, while we like to read the political tea leaves, a president needs change over time. when he came in, there was little experience with the military for president obama, and so general jones gave the president credibility, and in that two years he has made big and important decisions on iraq and afghanistan and agree or not, and he does not need anybody else's credibility anymore and while tom donlin is not a household name, he has played a critical role not only in politics, but in the white house in the disruption of the threats. >> well, candy, it is

this is really interesting article on the front page of "the washington post" by howard kurtz. >> wasn't>> he's leaving. >> i thought he was gone. >> not yet. >> he's going to be there a while. >> joining "the daily beast." >>> outlets increasingly provide partisan platform for candidates on the left and right. listen to this. the article says this, among other things, the increasing polarization of cable news is transforming and in some ways shrinking the electoral landscape. what has emerged as a form of narrow casting allowing candidates a welcoming platform that helps them avoid hostile press questioning, and in some cases minimized the slog and slipups of retail campaigning. it goes on to say this, there's no question it's contributing to the splintering of the political system and the means by which people get information about that system says robert thompson who runs the bleier center for television and pop culture at syracu syracuse. if there's no standard baseline of fact and reporting, where can if conversation go. >> tim russert would say if you can't face tough questions, yo