Transcripts For CNNW Reliable Sources 20130303

Minister of education and that prompted a backlash. Video after video after video of tunesians proudly doing the harlem shake in defiance. And then theres egypt, where the authorities went further and the backlash was worse. Four pharmaceutical students were arrested for doing this harlem shake in front of the pyramids and that set off a big reaction. Late in the week in cairo, there was a mass shake in front of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters to protest. Now, who says americas Popular Culture exports have no value . The answer to our question of the week was, arnlsh a. According to the vatican city, it has about 450 official citizens, many of whom actually live else where. According to the cia fact book the total population, including citizens of other nations who live there is around 800. Thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. I will see you next week. Stay tuned for reliable sources. Bob woodward is best known for vacuuming upinformation from one white house to another. This week he went to war with this white house. After criticizing president obamas handling of the budget battle, upped the ante by saying the administration was pushing back hard at him. It was said to me in an email by a top what was it. It was said very clearly, you will regret doing this. I mean, it makes me very uncomfortable to have the white house telling reporters, youre going to regret doing something that you believe in even though we dont look at it that way, you do look at it that way. But it turns out the white house email gene spurling said he was offering that advice as a friend. So did woodward falsely suggest this was an attempt at intimidation . Are the media swallowing the obama line on the deep budget cuts that just took effect . Michelle obama on another tv blitz with some critics giving one appearance a big thumbs down. Now for the moment we have all been waiting for. And the oscar goes to argo. Congratulations. Are the media surrendering the airwaves to the first lady . Plus, how did yahoo melissa mayor go from Silicon Valley icon doesnt matter which way you cut it. This woman is seen as a rock star and superstar in the ceo streets of the world. To media ridicule for asking workers to show up at the office. Im howard kurtz and this is reliable sources. Bob woodward has been embroiled in controversy since he and Carl Bernstein were unearthic the watergate scandal, but this one is different. President obama was wrong in insisting that the white house didnt suggest the automatic budget cuts before the republicans agreed to them. Then woodward accused the president of changing his stance on whether the current round of budget cuts would include tax increases, as well as spending cuts. You talk about the president moving the goal posts. What do you add . He was absolutely desperate to get something. So, he got his benefit and now he wants to come back and say, wait a minute, lets put some taxes in here which he agreed in the sequester not to do. The evidence on that point is mixed. But woodward doubled down by disclosing that a Top White House official had yelled at him in a lengthy phone call and then emailed that woodward would regret taking this position. When politico obtained the actual email the tone was, well, less than threatening and that became a story in itself. I apologize for raising my voice in our conversation today. But i do truly believe you should rethink your comment about saying that the president asking for revenues is moving the goal post. I know you might not believe this, but as a friend, i think you will regret stacking out that claim. Jackie kucinich and tim carney political Senior Reporter for washington examiner. Doesnt it kind of look like bob woodward exaggerated this apparent push back from the white house . Look, i love it when anyone challenges the government whether its republicans or democrats. He stepped in it. He went too far and he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Not just jean sterlings email but his email back to him. Oh, my friend, you never have to apologize to me. Woodward responding to sperling. You get wound up because you were making your points and you believe them. I welcome a little heat. More given the importance. I also welcome your personal advice. So, woodward make a mountain out of a relative email mole hill . When jack lew and president obama said, we didnt want the sequester that jack lew and president obama were being misleading. They may have been dishonest. If woodward stopped there, it would have been great. Making it sound like he was threatened and even the goal post saying he went too far. He should have stopped after he did his part of reporting. He didnt say he was threatened. I think it was the clear implication but bob woodward reporting on administrations for four decades be intimidated by one angry phone call and an email . It sounds like he blew this out of proportion. One particular publication that reported this happened and then debunked it like three days later. And by really saying, it rhymes with molitico and there was a little bit of that going on and other publications, of course, were jumping into it. I think he had help blowing this out of proportion. The right wing also jumped in. The right wing media saying look what the Obama Administration is doing. They back pedaled. Oh, bob, what did you do . I did snarky tweets until the full email came out and then you realize the white house involved in the position where youre getting those emails. Every single one of us have. Thats part of the exchange with some of these officials in all ranks of government. I want to pick up your point about the conservative media, but i dont want to let this slide. The number of journalists have been saying that the Obama White House, in particular, is very aggressive in pushing back against stories that it does not like, that officials can raise their voices and use words we cant repeat on television. You had that experience yourself . I have had colleagues. I covered congress and the Romney Campaign and i dont cover the white house. I heard about, you hear that, i dont think thats unique to this administration. And im not saying this is a contact sport, but a lot of people say the Obama White House, you would think because as a Democratic White House would get along better with journalists but, in fact, rougher on journalists than some of its predecessors. I think everybody is doing their job, if it is. Let me play more sound for you. Bob woodward the other day talking about this very question. Did he mischaracterize or overdramatize, shall we say, the email from sperling. Lets go with that first. Do you think you overstepped the way you described this scenario . No, the emails speak for themselves. Its often a technique employed by white houses unintentionally or intentionally to say, oh, lets make the conduct of the press the issue rather than what they did. And sperling, the white house economic czar was out on several shows this morning. Lets see what he said about this contra talk with woodward. Bob and i have known each other for 20 years and always had a friendly and respectful relationship. Anybody that looks at the emails that went from me and came back from him can see that theres respect and friendliness. Does the president think that is a good idea to say to reporters that youre going to regret staking out that claim . David, i had a 20year relationship with bob woodward. Those emails are very substantive. Theyre cordial. Are you threatening him in any way . Of course not. David gregory on meet the press. Gene sterling is saying no big deal. He wants to put this aside and talk about the administration. Now, theres a lot i disagree with the administration on. Gene is basically 100 right. When he told bob woodward, hey, you might regret this. Turns out he was exactly right. Bob woodward totally regrets it. At this point everybody is talking about how woodward screwed up. Instead of talking about the fact that obama and jack lew were misleading when they said they didnt want the sequester. The president and the secretary of the treasury are very comfortable revising history in a false way, just to make them severals look better. Not talking about his reporting, but talking about him. No reporter wants to be the story. Unless you like having your name in lights which woodward doesnt need, of course. A clear idealistic, some defending woodward liberal commentators who, who feel that obama is being attacked unfairly, but i cant help but notice because woodward went on Sean Hannity Fox new show that people on your side of the political spectrum who never had much use for bob woodward and now hailing him as a truth teller because hes taking it to the white house. Little bit of ideological convenience there. Its red shirt, red jersey, blue jersey is what i describe people get on a team and root for whoever is attacking the other team without paying very much attention to the detail of the matter and i think conservatives are doing that now. The funny thing is, everybody confused to why woodward is so aggressive against obama. Three books that were incredibly soft on bush and hard on obama. Woodward is a republican. Its not that big he would not identify himself with either party. Youre characterizing i would be really surprised if woodward wasnt voting republican. You describe his books as soft on bush. The last book was very critical of bushs but he had cooperation from the Obama White House and writing the behind the scenes narrative. Maybe next time, not so much, buddy. Thats a really important point and one that is the most important out of all of this. Its about access. If you dont play ball, your access gets taken away. Thats the most dangerous thing in the media. Media has to rally left wing, right wing, center. Were not going to let you get away with that any more. Youll have to report it as it is. Individually, every reporter has to be ready to lose access. If youre not going to be telling the truth. If youre constantly guarding your access to power. I have to ask you this because im sure some people out there watching today are thinking, were having 85 billion in automatic budget cuts, the socalled sequester taking effect. Impact on peoples lunch. You in the media are talking about bob woodward versus Gene Sperling and this must seem like inside the beltway ball to a lot of folks. It is inside the beltway ball. There was this great question by paul that was about how this is like the weirdest washington inside the beltway naval gazing story ever because it really, really is. This is washington crystalized. Because it involves a couple wellknown personalities in this feud, but in your view, perhaps overplaying it a tad . Yes, absolutely. At the same time, the access issue is important. The larger issue and, you know, frankly sharing private emails is a little bit, as a reporter, is a little bit unsavory. Who actually put out the emails . Thats the thing . Im going to go on a limb and say probably it was the white house. But i am saying that as a reporter you think about the private emails youre sending back and forth to sources, no, the larger issue, of course, were talking about access. Were talking about bob woodward, i think its a little over let me get to the substance in the remaining time. How television is covering and has been covering up until they took effect friday at midnight the socalled sequester budget cuts. The white house stepped up its campaign to pressure republicans. And listing the secretary of Homeland Security to suggest that the layoffs could make it more difficult to prevent terrorist attacks. 10,000 teachers could lose their jobs. Airport security could be cut by 323 million, 70,000 kids would be kicked off head start. Planes wont fly, trains are going to suffer. Troops are going to feel the belt tightening in all branches of the service. Suquesteration isnt going to mean armageddon for america, but the press and political class, mostly on the left, are trying to tell you otherwise. Youre nodding your head, tim carney. That the sky is going to fall and cats and dogs are going to be sleeping and all that stuff. Use the word massive when theyre talking about sequesteration. Less than 3 of a cut. So, yes, i think theyre way overplaying it. I agree with tim, again, on this issue. I love ed, but, come on. Everybody is getting fired. The world is on fire. I dont believe the government, i think that theyre hyping it up. I think its politics. I think there is room for a lot more skeptical reporting. Washington post had a great frontpage story the other day, arne duncan who said, there are literally now teachers who reting gore are getting pink slips. Little investigation that is not the case. If the press had put in, say, 10 of the effort that was investigating beyonces lip syncing to the actual effect of these budget cuts. When we come back, mitt and ann romneys first interview. Well look at the Chris Wallace sit down in just a moment. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Its not what you think. 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[ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. Now, thats progressive. Call or click today. I use bounce outdoor fresh sheets because theyre just that much fresher and they help keep static off in the cold so my clothes will never embarrass me. Mommy, i dressed the snowman how do you get your bounce . Less static yearround. Mitt romney with his wife, ann, breaking their postelection silence with an interview on Fox News Sunday and host Chris Wallace asked him among other things about that postelection conference call, which leaked, of course. In which romney talked about how president obama won the election by giving gifts to various constituencies. Lets take a look. Fairly or not, you know a lot of Republican Leaders roasted you for those remarks. Did that hurt . Did in a sense did you feel you were being pushed out of the party . Im not going to second guess what people had to say. I dont look back, i look forward. You never like it. And im like a shelion when it comes to defending mitt. From what you saw wallace asked the questions on why romney lost the elections and a lot of people think fox is soft. I thought the first part of the interview was definitely too soft and might have been, really, because the shelion was sitting there. The second half of the interview ann wasnt there. It was oneonone and wallace was more cutting in his questions. Even in the last question he asked, which was critical, he softened it. The first half, i thought, was too soft. Chris usually does a much better job that the average fox host to be fair. Hes not sean hannity and representing the republican party, so, i dont take issue with chris questioning. It was pretty good overall. Do they feel better about it and you got the sense ann romney definitely feels bitter and mitt romney is trying to get beyond it, et cetera. He got to the essence of why he thought they lost, which theyre still wrong about. Obamacare was a gift and latinos wanted obamacare and thats why they voted for obama. Thats not true. That just makes himself feel better. Thats not the case at all. To romneys yecredit, he sai he made mistakes in the campaign. I dont think anyone expected him to come out and be a different person. So somebody who had tried to cover that campaign and had little access to romney and his inner circle, what did you make of the interview . I think its newsworthy because the better part of last two years covering him. The fact what hes doing now is absolutely newsworthy, but i think, you know, he rightly said that he accepted responsibility. That the campaign accepted responsibility for what they did wrong and they didnt reach out to minorities. He didnt say how they could have done that better. But, yeah, i think that it was, it was interesting. But, also, on the second part of the interview, i didnt hear anything new. I heard, pull the string mitt romney talking points that i listened to all last year. Let me play a second bite from the fox news interview and here, ann romney was asked about whether or not the country got a good picture of her husband or a picture of him as being rich and out of touch. The descriptions we heard so often during the 2012 campaign. It was partly true, but it was not just the campaigns fault, i believe it was the medias fault, as well. Is that he was not giving, being given a fair shake that people werent allowed to see him for who he was. Medias fault, as well . I think a republican blaming the media for being unfair to it is like a Football Player saying, oh, we lost because it so cold in this playoff game in november. She is wrong where the media was at all fault. I didnt think the media was too hard on mitt romney, i thought the media was too soft on barack obama and didnt go into his deceptions or problems of his first term. They were rich and out of touch, that was the problem. Thats the one thing the media did do right. Present it that way, its true. The fact that they are rich is a fact. Whether theyre out of touch is an opinion. Okay. Some thought the media provided a kind of caricature of the romneys. But at the same time, always came back to the question, what was romney doing giving very few interviews, by the way, to drive a positive message about himself. They covered it accurately. The Obama Campaign pushed the bain days and destroyed a lot of jobs. His years as a venture capitalist at bain capital. Secondly, he said the 47 number. So, you cant blame the media for covering it. 47 of americans about benefits. People within the campaign who wanted thime come out more and be more of himself and even at the end people were saying, i dont know this guy. I think that is romney. The romney is the guy saying to his rich donors, hey, 47 are bums. So youre saying dont blame the media for that portrait. The media did their job in showing you who romney really was. Comes down to the fact that romney somehow didnt think it was his job to push these stories. When romney finally said, im being misrepresented on what i said about detroit, you got people Fact Checking obama and misleading. It took until the last debate. Let me jump in, we could talk about this for the next couple of hours. Dennis rodman just back from a trip from north korea, the eccentric former pro basketball player talked to george stefnepilous about his meeting with kim jungun. He want obama to do one thing. Call him. He wants a call from president obama . Thats right. He said, if you can, dennis, i dont want to do war. I dont want to do war. He said that to me. One question i didnt hear which is, Dennis Rodman, what are you doing going to north korea and meeting with this leader and a guy who allows no human right and Testing Nuclear weapons that he could use against the u. S. When did Dennis Rodman become an american pseudo diplomat. I think youre right, it was a weird interview. To stephanopoulos credit. Rodman said he may go back to north korea a second time. Report on human rights abuses and maybe you should read it and ask him about it. Kind of making clear that didnt know what he was talking about when it comes to the communist country. This is part of the problem. You get an athlete to talk about politics and you expect them to Say Something intelligent and some of them can and some of them cant. He went with vice and vice usually does terrific documentaries and well have to see what the final product is. But hes, obviously, not prepared for what north korea actually is. He came back and said kim jungun was awesome and i dont like him, i love him. Thats just, thats ridiculous. Is that a technical diplomatic term. Awesome. Thanks very much for stopping by this morning. Up next, my two cents on Sean Hannitys shout fest with democratic congressman keith ellison. Which one behaved badly . , you t. Except its 2 every year. Go to etrade and find out how much our advice and guidance costs. Spoiler alert its low. Its guidance on your terms, not ours. Etrade. Less for us. More for you. Im up next, but now im singing the heartburn blues. Hold on, prilosec isnt for fast relief. Cue up alkaseltzer. It stops heartburn fast. Oh what a relief it is these are sandras homemade yummy, scrumptious bars. Hmm . I just wanted you to eat more fiber. Chewy, oatie, gooeyness. And fraudulence. Im in deep, babe. You certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. [ man ] excuse me miss. [ gasps ] this fiber one 90 calorie brownie has all the deliciousness you desire. The brownie of your dreams is now deliciously real. Chances are, youre not made of money, so dont overpay for motorcycle insurance. Geico, see how much you could save. Sean hannity isnt exactly known for being shy but when he got into the heated confrontation, it was the guest that picked the fight. Keith ellison went on the offensive immediately after hannity tried to blame president obama for the stalemate. He did it in a highly personal way. You are the worst excuse for a journalist ive ever seen. What you just displayed was not journalism, it wasnt anything close to try to tell the American People what is really going on and, i mean, just shocking to me. To play obama in his own words is yellow journalism. I have to say, hannity tried to engage ellison in some kind of conversation, but the minnesota lawmaker kept talking over him, barely allowing him to ask another question. I was there august 2011 when the republicans, your party, which you shamelessly im not a republican. Let me correct the record. You are nothing but a republican. Yes, you are. Sir, sir, i am a registered sir, congressman. I am not a registered republican. Im a registered conservative. Now, hannity often defends the gop, but he isnt a registered republican. What was troubling here that ellison accepted the invitation to come on and then only attacked hannity. In this case, he wasnt wrong. Ellison told me in a statement i stood up to sean hannity because of what the sequester will mean for millions of americans who will be forced to work harder while they get by with less. The president is not being an alarmist in chief or president panic when he talks about these cuts, he is leading. I have to deduct on what hannity did later in the week having written two papers as a law student and suggesting that ellison might be the equivalent of the cku klux klan. With that. Coming up, Michelle Obamas media blitz. Is the first lady information that matters. Art my individual health profile. Not random statistics. They even reward me for addressing my health risks. So im doing fine. But shes still going to give me a heart attack. Were more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. Thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. Michelle obama has become more of a Television Presence than any first lady, at times she seems to be everywhere. What have you accomplished with lets move and what remains to be done . When we started, there were a lot of people in this country who would have never thought that Childhood Obesity was a health crisis. This is my midlife crisis. The bangs. I couldnt get a sports car, they wont let me bungee jump, so, instead i cut my bangs. You went for the bang. Youre the boss of your hair. I can do this. This is all mine. Theres so many different activities you can do indoors or outside. Get moving. Its good for you. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Getting tired just watching this. Her decision to join the oscars and announce the best picture award for ben affleck and argo which left some pundits asking, how much is too much . Shes the first lady, shes not just a hollywood celebrity. I heard a lot of people say, not too sure about the academy awards. Should she have been there at all . From my vantage point, absolutely not. This is not a horrible crime in the scheme of things. She was an uninvited guest. Joining us now to examine the first ladys media blitz sally quinn and in new york barbara lippert. Sally quinn, clearly, michelle showing up at the oscars rubbed some people the wrong way. Overreaction . I was absolutely baffled by the reaction. I thought it was fine. What i thought was that our movies, the american movies are the greatest ambassador we have to the world. Even our worst enemies. Even the taliban, even kim jungun, i mean, all of these people watch american movies and theyre riveted by it. Theyre all watching this show and out comes our first lady who is a black American Woman who can appeal to people in developing countries and shes talking about the importance of the message that were trying to send. The American People. Are you suggesting some of the criticism might be by the fact that shes an africanAmerican Woman . No, im saying that is a positive thing for the united states. I think she was a great ambusder for this country, as our movies are. I thought it was a brilliant idea to have her on there. The one thing that struck me as potentially valid, barbara lipert, in all the Media Chatter about this. If you dont want to watch Michelle Obama on jimmy fallon or ellen you can turn it off. When this mass event where we all watch the oscars every year, people didnt know it was coming and therefore they couldnt avoid her. Thats exactly right. I did she did elevate an evening that really needed elevating. She lent some grown up at it. But it wasnt her terms and her agenda. When shes on jimmy fallon and with big bird, shes so delightful. Even the worst curmudgeon on the right could not criticize her for getting kids moving. The white house thing was a little awkward, a little staged, a little stiff. The beaming military behind her certainly didnt help and just opened the door for conservatives to criticize her about the hollywood money and donors. Well, i thought it was a great idea. And i thought that she, you know, were looking for so many ways to improve our image across the world. And i think what about this point, yes, there were military people behind her and you know that they were having the governors conference dinner that night. She was already in black tie and those mill fare people were escorts. They always have escorts at the white house parties. But i think maybe whats at the heart of this, why it is a media story, beside the fact that we like talking about Michelle Obama and her bangs is that it maybe seems in this second term that shes more enamored of being a celebrity as opposed to carefully staging her media appearance to drive an agenda, in her case has to deal with Childhood Obesity. I think she needs to focus exactly on what she wants to achieve. I think the Childhood Obesity is a great thing to do. Some criticism of her recently saying why didnt she focus more, why doesnt she focus more on womens issues the way Hillary Clinton does. She could do that and i think the more attention she gets, the more people will respond to her. I think this is a way for her to do it. There has been some criticism even from liberal columnists, why doesnt Michelle Obama take on more issues, issues that are less safe, given her popularity as first lady. Barba barbara, instead, we get all of this talk that shes hanging out with the liberal hollywood crowd. Right. I think that her initiative, the lets move initiative is about women. Its about families. Its about human beings and children and the women that l little girls will become. She is connecting on that level. She said, whatever i do, i will get criticized for. I understand that. Even if its as dumb as my hair and my bangs. I think she is taking something which is beyond criticism, which is her lets move agenda and i think the appearance that oscars may have diluted that a little and opened her to people saying she is overexposed. I think the first lady has a healthy attitude towards all the static that swirls around her, even my bangs can start a national conversation. At the same time, if youre not, if you dont particularly like the obamas. Another administration and another first lady for those who are on the other side of the political fence, can it, are we reaching a point where it seems like theyre inescapable, theyre on everything. President at the super bowl and michelle at the oscars. There could be some danger in that kind of overexposure. They are the president of the united states. That doesnt mean they have to visit us every single day. No, i just want to say one thing. Are they going hollywood . First of all, hollywood is liberal. And obamas are liberal. And, so, there is always going to be that kind of collection. Clinton eastwood was as hollywood as they could get. His reviews werent as good. Complaining about her going hollywood is a little over the top. Barbara, is this a phony media controversy that we use to fill some of the time in between talking about the sequester shes so delightful and beautiful, that we love talking about her. But the thing is shes not the person to appear from the white house at the academy awards. Franklin del nor roosevelt did a radio show where he spoke for six minutes including the things the lease act and laura bush appeared in a film about films in 2002 and she said her Favorite Movie was giant because the guy was falling apart and destitute. I guess other politicians have appeared on sesame street with big bird, but this seemed more memorable. Why are the media on melissa mayor on the ban over employees working at home. My friends, they do surround me i hope this never ends and well be the best of friends [ male announcer ] introducing the reimagined 2013 chevrolet traverse. All set . All set. With spacious seating for up to eight. Imagine that. Chevrolet. Find new roads. Try capzasinhp. It penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. Capzasinhp. Take the pain out of arthritis. When Marissa Mayer left google to take over yahoo she was a young ceo who happened to be pregnant at the time. She got a big platform with a today show interview. A lot of people, of course, know you took on this job of being ceo but you had another big job of being mom. I have been ceo for seven months and i would say that i wouldnt miss a minute of either experience. They have both been great. Does take a lot of focus. But now the press seems to have turned on mayer in the wake of a memo ordering employees who work at home to start coming to the Office Every Day or lose their jobs. Every one was looking to her as the 37yearold new woman face of a ceo fortune 500 company and shes adopted the boys rules of everybody come to campus. Show up at the office or quit. Thats the memo that yahoo just sent its employees. Barbara lippert, why are the media making this so intensely personal, long running dispute of work and family when it comes to Marissa Mayer . It comes down to email. The employees were so outraged at getting this thing from hr. It wasnt even her internal memo, it was from human resources. They were all outraged that they sent it to cara to leak it. Cara swisher working so, it was leaked in the worst possible way. Even if it makes sense, you know, yahoo has been a struggling company forever. It has no distinct advantage in the marketplace. She really needs all hand on deck and to do whatever she has to. But she needs to do it in a flexible way. If she built herself a nursery, the one yahoo nursery will make your life easier. Were going to have vans going back and forth all the time, we understand youre working parents. So, if you have a sick child, you can bring your child to the yahoo nursery rather than announcing if you have the cable guy coming, you might use your judgment, but otherwise, youre out of luck. I have to ask you sally quinn, if a male ceo issued the same policy, would there be this kind of media storm . Well, there are all these extenuating circumstances. I mean, we just heard that she built herself a nursery with her own money. How many people can do that and where are they going to get the space . Paid more than 100 million and did build a nursery right next to her baby next to her office. She doesnt have to worry about leaving the baby. What that does is wipe out any credibility she has on this issue. I think today if a male ceo made the same request or demand of the employees, there would be an outcry and there would be an outcry because what happens in a lot of these offices and particularly in the internet, people do work at home. They often are more productive at home. Now, i think people are looking at this as black or white. Either you can work at home or you cant work at home. Well, obviously, for instance, at Washington Post, if everybody worked from home, there would be nobody in the office. So thats not going to work. Certain people who can and certain people who cant depending on what their jobs are. I, for instance, work from home but go into the office two or three times a week and i think its important for me to be there because we have meetings and we talk to each other. Its not black or white. Exchange ideas. Its dran make any sense. By the way, barbara, many men telecommute but somehow morphed into a debate about working mothers. Absolutely. The engineers are going to be up in arms too. She comes off as terribly impers you when i think shes just tone deaf. You showed a clip of the today show and she chose to go on the today show to show the new design of the front page, when yahoo has a deal with abc and the very day she was on the today show Robin Roberts returned and they got a million more viewers. When she did reveal the new home page there was nothing new there. Savannah guthrie almost said as much. So she also when interviewed she speaks in power point. People want her to say oh, something more than the baby is fun and her job is fun. They want her to be a role model for women and she refuses to be. Well the other thing, howie, she said she wasnt a feminist. But i dont know what that means. I mean, anybody who believes in equal equality is a feminist. The idea of saying im not a feminist doesnt make sense. Part of whats going on here, when she got this job and she was young, attractive, come from google and she was pregnant, media made her into a huge celebrity. How many Silicon Valley ceos can most name. Once we built somebody like that up you know what next step is and now we seem to be tearing her down. Right. Final thought on that barbara, going through that cycle . Were not just tearing her down. Shes, you know, this was a really bad move, a really hamhanded move out like that. Maybe it was. But if this had been done at microsoft or some other way, wed be debating the working policy, not steve balmer. Were debating Marissa Mayer because we made her famous and that made her a target. What shes advocating looks like a way backwards as yahoo help people work at home. Totally agree. We will end on this point of consensus and Marissa Mayer i think needs to speak out and talk a little bit, defender herself rather than hiding behind pr people. Thanks for joining us this morning. Still to come, the Washington Post ends the ombudsman position. Businessweeks over cover and the parting shot at the New York Times and the cute animal tale that was too good to be true. Media monitors straight ahead. On something that concerns all of us. Obesity. And as the nations leading Beverage Company we can play an important role. That includes continually providing more options. Giving people easy ways to help make informed choices. And offering portion controlled versions of our most popular drinks. It also means working with our industry to voluntarily change whats offered in schools. 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Time now for the media monitor, our weekly look at the hits and errors in the news business. The cover of Bloomberg Business week headlined the Great American housing rebound but the cartoon illustration was a psychotic looking black man waving cash, a six yi latino woman and crazed woman africanamerican with a dog. How could any editor have thought these offensive stereotypes were okay to publish . Josh told politico our cover illustration last week got strong reactions which reregret. Our intense was not to incite or offend. Now that is an understatement. The odd thing is the cover artist is a latino who sees nothing wrong with the drawing. The Washington Post has abolished the ombudsmans job after 43 years, turning its back of having an inhouse critic. They will name a reader representative to deal with outside complaints and write online but not produce a weekly column. This reader rep will not be a contractor with guarantee independence as the previous om budsmen were but a post employee. In a era of budget cutbacks this is a sad development and mistake. Some journalists have been secretly taking money from the government of malaysia. One of them according to buzz feed is conservative commentator Joshua Trevino paid 390,000 over a threeyear span and paid out smaller sums to other right leaning journalist was to white about malaysia. He lost his job about not coming clean to the payments lied to politico saying i was never on any malaysian entitys payroll. He now says the