Editing Bob Costas (section)

===2014 Winter Olympics===
During his coverage of the [[2014 Winter Olympics]], Costas was criticized by some conservative members of the media, including [[Michelle Malkin]] and [[Glenn Beck]], for allegedly praising Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]]'s role in defusing tensions surrounding [[Syrian civil war|Syria]] and [[Nuclear program of Iran|Iran]].<ref name="NBC Steers Clear">{{cite news|last1=Farhi|first1=Paul|title=In coverage of Olympics, NBC has largely steered clear of controversy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/olympics/in-coverage-of-olympics-nbc-has-largely-steered-clear-of-controversy/2014/02/21/5e68a088-99aa-11e3-80ac-63a8ba7f7942_story.html|access-date=October 28, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> Other conservative media commentators, including [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] and [[Bernard Goldberg]], defended Costas's remarks as factually correct and pointed out that Costas had also voiced considerable criticism of both Russia and Putin while broadcasting from [[Sochi]]. During an interview on [[Fox News Channel|Fox News]], Goldberg said "...{{nbsp}}the idea that Costas somehow portrayed Vladimir Putin as a benign figure is ridiculous."<ref name="Josh">Feldman, Josh (February 14, 2014) "O'Reilly, Goldberg Defend Bob Costas from Conservative Critics over NBC Putin Coverage" ''Mediaite''. Retrieved February 22, 2014 [http://www.mediaite.com/tv/o%E2%80%99reilly-goldberg-defend-bob-costas-from-conservative-critics-over-nbc-putin-coverage/]</ref><ref>O'Reilly, Bill (February 14, 2014) "Politics and the Olympics" ''Fox News Channel—The O'Reilly Factor''. Retrieved February 22, 2014 [http://video.foxnews.com/v/3204562554001/politics-and-the-olympics/#sp=show-clips]</ref> Costas defended himself on O'Reilly's broadcast on March 3, reiterating that he criticized Putin immediately preceding and following the statements that were questioned. O'Reilly then aired a portion of an Olympic commentary in which Costas was pointedly critical of the Russian leader. Costas also indicated that Senator [[John McCain]], who had been among those who had initially criticized Costas, had called Costas to apologize after hearing the full segment in context.<ref>{{cite news| author = [[Erik Wemple|Wemple, Erik]] | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/03/04/nbcs-bob-costas-sen-john-mccain-mend-fences-on-putin/ | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | title= NBC's Bob Costas, Sen. John McCain mend fences on Putin| date= March 4, 2014 | access-date = August 18, 2014}}</ref>