Found via Libertas, Gay Patriot spots a blatant example of a so-called "objective" MSM shifting from reporting to cheerleading:

For those of who want to speak out on politics, movies and whatever, it’s sad to see the success of someone who has based his entire career on distorting the facts, pulling quotes out of context and otherwise misrepresenting his adversaries. But, then again, what he does is little different from what many left-wing bloggers (and even some on the right) do every day. Indeed, we see it frequently in the comments section of this blog, coming from both sides, but more often from our critics than our supporters.

If the MSM were truly devoted to portraying things as they are, instead of heralding Michael Moore, they would treat him as they do right-wing propagandists. They would note his many deceptions and wonder at his success.

It’s a sad sign for our country that such a hateful and dishonest man has achieved such prominence. But, then again, his success gives his critics the opportunity to take issue with his lies and address the real issues at hand.

And note that by and large, Moore's critics aren't the people who actually are film critics--as they too, at least since Pauline Kael's gone off to the great matinee in the sky, function much like a high school pep squad whenever a new Moore film is released.

Meanwhile, Brent Bozell spots an even more brazen example of MSM cheerleading:

You could add together all the contributions to liberals uncovered in this MSNBC report and still they pale in size compared to the donation about to be made to the political left by MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal.

On July 7, Dedman’s employers at NBC Universal are launching a massive extravaganza, 75 hours devoted to coverage of Al Gore’s Live Earth "climate crisis" concerts on all seven continents (including some British scientists jamming in Antarctica, presumably going for that ever-elusive Penguin Vote).

In addition to devoting the entirety of NBC’s Saturday prime-time hours to this Gorestock, hosted by Ann Curry of NBC News, there will be seven hours on CNBC, 18 hours on Bravo, 22 hours on both the Sundance Channel and the Universal HD channel, and three hours combined on Telemundo and Telemundo 2. On top of that, NBC’s press release added that "MSNBC will broadcast special coverage of this global concert event throughout the day with live reports from the concerts in New York and London."

It’s an enormous in-kind campaign contribution. Can you imagine how many millions of dollars this 75 hours of air time would cost a billionaire politico like Ross Perot if he tried to buy it? But NBC is just giving it away to Al Gore, even as liberals press him to run for president in 2008. "NBC Universal is proud to be the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of this historic television event," said Jeff Gaspin, the president of NBC Universal’s cable and digital content. This concert’s "historic" status is certainly multiplied up by all the hours and hours of free publicity.

Have NBC executives convinced themselves, a la Randy Cohen, that Al Gore’s concerts are really "nonpartisan"? If so, they’re not reading the press accounts. In Rolling Stone, Live Earth organizer Kevin Wall is saying the concert will press their demands: "no more f—ing excuses...No more coal-fired energy plants can be built. Three percent a year reduction in carbon emissions in all industrialized nations...We have to mobilize an army, and that’s what we’re about to start doing."

These nostalgic corporate "global citizens" at NBC are not in the news gathering business. Rather, they are looking to make the news by creating the next Woodstock, and the leftist utopia always looming around the corner in their minds. It is impossible to defend as non-ideological an agenda that mobilizes "an army" for Al Gore to put a big government-enforced dent in our energy use.

Especially because, in addition to the money that reporters routinely donate to politicians on the left, their employers throw even larger sums at environmental causes.

In and of itself, I have no problem with any of this, as long as it's disclosed to the public, so they understand that what they're seeing is largely political grandstanding. But too many in the MSM who still blindly claim to be objective are instead holding on to talking points born in the 1920s and badly in need of updating for a new century with infinitely more media diversity.