ABC CBS NBC Cover Trump Scandals 4-1 over Clintons says Report

TV News Feasts on Trump Controversies While Ignoring Hillarys Scandals Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C.  Much has been made of all the free media Donald Trump has received but a watchdog report on Monday found that much of the coverage has been negative and that ABC CBS and NBC have covered his controversies more than Hillary Clintons by a 4-to-1 margin. Voters who have relied on the network evening newscasts for information about the 2016 Presidential Candidates saw four times more airtime devoted to controversies involving presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump than to the scandals surrounding his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.    Indeed the only Clinton scandal to receive more than a minimal amount of attention from the networks during the primaries was the ongoing investigation of Clintons use of a private e-mail server and her mishandling of classified information while serving as Secretary of State.

Compared to Clinton a much higher percentage of Trumps airtime (40 or 432 minutes) was spent discussing the controversies surrounding the Republicans candidacy. Only 18 of Clintons coverage (105 minutes) was spent discussing similar controversies as network reporters paid scant attention to stories that would have garnered far more airtime had Trump been involved. For example the lingering questions about Clintons handling of the 2012 Benghazi attack drew only 77 seconds of evening news airtime from January 1 through June 7. Clintons participation in a racially-charged comedy skit with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (about running on CP time cautious politician time as opposed to colored people time) was skipped by ABC and NBCs evening broadcasts getting just 51 seconds of airtime on the April 12 edition of the CBS Evening News.

Sifting through the stories Noyes said that Clintons email scandal was the biggest controversy covered. He produced a Top 20 list of controversies by minutes of TV news and found that Clintons email scandal was the top story getting 47 minutes 21 seconds. The only other Clinton scandal on the Top 20 were reports on former President Bill Clintons adultery. The rest were devoted to Trump. And on the adultery issue said Noyes

Most of the network coverage was framed not around the controversy of Clintons actual conduct but the notion that Trump was going too far by raising the issue of the former presidents infidelity.

On the May 19 Evening News for example CBSs Nancy Cordes labeled it harsh of Trump to bring up the case of Juanita Broaddrick who in 1999 accused Clinton of raping her in 1978.

That same night ABCs David Muir said Trump was proving nothing is off limits while NBCs Andrea Mitchell accused Trump of engaging in aggressive personal attacks.

He also found a pro-Clinton bias even in silly stories for example when she seemed to suggest support for the believe in aliens from outer space. Noyes (below right) wrote:

When in May Clinton suggested on a radio show that she believed in space aliens (There are enough stories out there that I dont think everybody is just sitting you know in their kitchen making them up) only ABCs World News Tonight bothered to tell viewers with a light-hearted one minute 43 second story on a Sunday night broadcast.

Clintons enthusiasm is winning over one part of the electorate ABC correspondent David Wright wryly noted. Finally tweeted one sci-fi fan she has my vote.

Added Noyes If Donald Trump had suggested little green men had visited Earth his comments likely would have been highlighted as evidence that the Republican candidate is unsuitable for the presidency. The networks have left no stone unturned in their vetting of Trump but this is a race between two candidates and they have an equal obligation to report on the scandals controversies and gaffes surrounding Hillary Clinton.