More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.
In a rare acknowledgment of media responsibility, on Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer declared that it was up to the press to properly cover the first Republican presidential debate: “...that idea of substance versus sizzle, one-liners versus issues. That's on us tomorrow as well. We’ve got to make sure that we cover what they talk about, the issues as opposed to those one-liners.”
The segment began by Lauer asking Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd: “If you're one of the ten primetime candidates tonight, do you have to come with some kind of a one-liner in your pocket that you're going to deliver no matter what you're asked, just to make the highlight reels tomorrow?”