ABC's Gibson, Stephanopoulos sharply criticized on debate performance

Outrage as ex-Clinton staffer runs debate
Lucy Battersby
April 17, 2008 - 2:36PM

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US voters have expressed outrage over the decision to allow Bill Clinton's former press secretary to moderate today's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The two Democratic senators went head-to-head in Philadelphia in the run-up to the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.

The debate was moderated by ABC journalists George Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton staffer, and Charles Gibson.

More than 7000 viewers...

http://www.theage.com.au/news/us-election/chair-lift-for-hillary/2008/04/17/1208025351372.html

Ratings, criticism big for ABC presidential debate
Thursday April 17, 4:31 pm ET
By David Bauder, AP Television Writer
ABC's Gibson, Stephanopoulos sharply criticized on debate performance

NEW YORK (AP) -- ABC News drew both record ratings and a heap of complaints about how Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos moderated the Democratic presidential debate, criticism that Stephanopoulos on Thursday called a sign of how much people care.

By midafternoon Thursday, more than 15,600 comments were posted on ABC News' Web site, the tone overwhelmingly negative. A prominent TV critic, Tom Shales of The Washington Post, said Gibson and Stephanopoulos "turned in shoddy, despicable performances."

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080417/tv_abc_s_debate.html?.v=1