Comparing the networks on Rove coverage tonight

[ginnyinWI]

Using my DVR and an extra tv, I watched ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS coverage tonight to see which ones would do the best job on the same news--namely Plamegate.

The winner? PBS and NBC. Biggest loser was ABC. Here's the breakdown:

ABC:
The White House continues to have confidence in Rove. The Dems are calling for his resignation. No clips or stand-ups.

CBS:
WH correspondent John Roberts: "The White House faced sharp questions today", and "The White House needs to say more about this." No clips.

PBS:
The White House continues to have confidence in Rove. Dems demand that he be fired. Ray Suarez reports: 1)Kerry clip asking for the firing of Rove, including Hillary's comment. 2)cited Newsweek article on Rove, 3) WHPB of Scotty being grilled, 4)clip of Scotty saying Rove was innocent (from 2003), 5) pointed out that the prez ignored a question on Rove.

NBC:
WH correspondent David Gregory: 1) WHPB of Scotty being grilled, 2) Kerry clip asking that Rove be fired, 3)Schumer clip, 4) said that the RNC "pushes talking points" and shows Mehlman clip of him doing it!

In addition, NBC was the only one to have a clip of a Dem comment on the Homeland Security/Mass Transit issue (Biden), AND showed Sen. Specter speaking on behalf of stem cell research, saying that "time is running out".


I know, I need to get a life--but I've been curious about this for a while now. My curiosity is satisfied, and I think I'll be watching NBC and PBS from now on.

[Mark Williams]

1. thanks for the info.

[whistle]

2. Thanks for the run down...

[City Lights]

3. Many of us don't have the stomach (or time) to do this. Thanks!

Nice summary. :thumbsup:

[Son of California]

4. to elaborate

CNN's been all over this all day long, showing great clips of Scotty getting grilled.

[Tommymac]

50. But C(O)NN also does this crap...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4081477

[mdmc]

5. thanks... good work...

[DemInDistress]

18. I just love that photo

Fitting for a traitor

[grannylib]

36. Oh me too...the stuff of dreams, that...

[clydefrand]

6. I agree with you that PBS does a more thorough job reporting

the news, but in fairness today to CNN, they have been on this story all day long and have made all of the points that you have above. And now Larry King is quizzing guests about Rove, etc. So I think CNN is doing its part in keeping the story alive.

[ginnyinWI]

13. I'll have to catch a little CNN later too

I wanted to concentrate on the broadcast channels tonight because more of the public watches them. I'll be interested to see what Aaron Brown has to say.

[Misunderestimator]

20. I agree.. I've been watching CNN this afternoon, and it is pretty much

fulltime coverage. I've seen the McLellan debacle replayed numerous times today.

[Rose Siding]

22. In his intro, Blitzer teased the topic- but only noted one guest: Mehlman

I didn't watch, so I don't know if he actually had anyone other than the GOP chair in his segment.

[ailsagirl]

35. Is there a link for today's WH briefing on Windows Media??

:shrug:

[ginnyinWI]

39. cspan's got it. www.cspan.org n/t

[ailsagirl]

45. Thanks! I just finished watching it now on TV... amazing

[skids]

53. Dobbs devoted half the show to it.

And the news portion of it was pretty brutal. I missed the guest, though.

[donco6]

7. Thanks.

This is interesting and useful to see a comparison.

[Pirate Smile]

8. Great synopsis. Good to know. Don't get a life, keep doing this kind

of stuff :) .

[cry baby]

9. nice work, I now know who I won't be watching for info on this story!

[KT2000]

10. That couldn't have been easy to set up!

Thanks for doing that.

[nashville_brook]

11. NPR had a long story

All Things Considered, July 12, 2005 · The White House is refusing to answer questions about presidential adviser Karl Rove's role in the naming of CIA agent Valerie Plame to the media. Administration officials have asserted that Rove was not involved in the leak, which prompted a criminal investigation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4750615

[jillan]

12. Ginny - you have a life - this is important work you did.

And you are appreciated

[ginnyinWI]

16. thanks

:)

[nittygritty]

14. Yeah, I was doing the same thing, I admit it...

and I agree:

as far as the non-cable networks, NBC had the best coverage.

As far as cable news:

Lou Dobbs rocked!

Almost the first 1/2 hour of his show was devoted to the Rove/Plame story and he had John W. Dean - the guy that wrote "Worse Than Watergate" - as a guest.

He said basically because this investigation has taken nearly 2 years is telling insofar that there is something big in the case that they havn't told us about yet, but will be soon forthcoming.

Facinating.

[tabasco]

19. Except Lou Dobbs kept saying "we don't even know if..

a crime has been committed yet."

Yeah, right, Lou.

[liberaliraqvet26]

I dont think lou likes this administration

[liberaliraqvet26]

37. I dont think lou likes this administration

[mitchtv]

52. John Roberts on CBS tonite said the same

in addition to the other two quotes

[Tsiyu]

15. CBS Roberts' "Cone of Silence" comment

made me turn off the TV, yelling, "What is this? A freaking' 60's sitcom?"

This is our GOVERNMENT we're talking about, not some trivial amusement. Sheesh.....I need to compose my DU activist letter...... Maybe I will calm down.

But, GinnyinWV, thank you kindly for sharing. It helps me to know which networks to pay attention to. I wish you would do this every evening! DO NOT get a life! LOL

:yourock:

[Misunderestimator]

17. I, for one, am grateful for you posting this.

It's interesting that NBC covered it so well. Thanks for posting!

[acmejack]

24. Concur!

My thanks as well, Ginny.

[ginnyinWI]

26. NBC's David Gregory is a true reporter

I often see him scowling at answers he gets from Scotty at the press briefing, and keeps asking follow-ups until Scotty finally cuts him off. I think he was the one a few years ago who spoke to Pres. Chirac in French and kind of put *'s nose out of joint. Then * had to mock him, of course, like any bully would. I'm sure Gregory can not stand this administration!

[grannylib]

38. My hubby and I were saying the same thing earlier; I like it when he subs

on Hardball - he follows up , asks tough questions, etc.
Tweety is such a marshmallow with Republicans; all he can do is fawn and gush all over them, it's a little weird actually.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

46. David Gregory fan here...he doesn't allow himself to get boxed into

repeating the "talking points' and he's a journalist who doesn't hesitate to file reports that reveal the facts rather than spewed "on message" drivel.

That said, it seems that when his facts clash with the WH's fairy tales, he gets a very small amount of time on NBC news.

MKJ

[blm]

21. Thankyou, ginny....I was away all evening and missed the news shows.

Your effort is definitely appreciated.

[Eloriel]

23. Terific report --

I sure wish we could get that kind of report on most things, every day. Well done!

[Smirking_Chimp]

25. Thanks-was wondering about that. n/t

[RagAss]

27. Thank You Ginny !

I get home after the big three evening news. It's good to know this got some fair coverage somewhere.....

[Auntie Bush]

28. But, but, but...What about Fox?

[Francesca]

49. I hate to admit it but

I was checking fox (morbid curiousity) and lets just say their coverage had my husband and I in a complete rage.. I need to stop going there but I want to know what their viewers are being fed so I feel its my responsibility to check it out.. I was so %$#!@ last night I had to take benedryl to sleep.....

[rainman99]

29. David Gregory is the Pulitzer prize winner for this week!

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. Great job! This is just the sort of info we need

[BrklynLiberal]

31. Thanks for the rundown. Somewhat of a surprise about NBC.

[Freedomfried]

32. Is it a DICTATORSHIP yet?

If Rove does not get fired or face indictment, than is the United States of America officially a dictatorship?

[recovering democrat]

33. ABC 's Terry Moran

I watched both of the two days worth of press "grilling" of Scotty shows on C-Span. Moran was almost as tough as David Gregory in questioning so it really surprises me that ABC didn't use his coverage even to showcase their own reporter in the room!

I was also pleased to see additional tough questions from other media in today's grilling. CNN and CBS both had reporters asking hard questions.

Not surprisingly, Cameron from Fox asked about the Supreme Court nominee deliberations.

Thanks for the good info on the different coverage. I usually don't watch any of them so this is good to know!

[gardenista]

51. Interesting observation re: Moran. I wonder if the management is

stifling his voice.

[recovering democrat]

57. Moran "grilling"

Check out http://crooksandliars.com/

There is a video clip of Terry Moran questioning in the press briefing today. Pretty entertaining!

on the crooksandliars page, look for the link to the Video in this section:

"RNC Talking Points -Press Briefing-VIDEO

Terry Moran grilled White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan about recent talking points attacking Joe Wilson which contained information which could only have come from Karl Rove. It was immediately back to the No Comment defense for McClellan.

Video-WMP-

[many a good man]

34. Thanks; I think its a useful exercise

Back when I used to teach government in high school, I gave the kids a similar assignment. We'd compare the stories shown on each of the national news broadcasts: compare which stories were presented, in what order, and how they were characterized. Then we'd analyze the editors' decisions and possible motivations.

With just a little prodding, most teens (and adults) can quickly increase their media savvy. Most youngsters are highly motivated by their sense of injustice. By adulthood it mostly turns into pessimism, unfortunately. If we ever get some inspiring leadership in this country there's no telling what might happen.

(Sorry to go off subject! Topic just gave me a flashback.)

[stpalm]

40. ABC yesterday had good coverage.

Much better than the lame stuff you outlined.

[Czolgosz]

41. I like that you're as much in need of a life as I am. That's a good thing

[Blue_In_AK]

42. Dang...

I KNEW I should have watched NBC, but I just had to see John Roberts making his "Scott McClellan hung on a clothesline and beaten like a rug" comment. It was so .... Rather-like.

[Singular73]

43. Nah, thats not it.

The press is fuming about the non-decision by the Supreme Court regarding the protection of journalists.

That alone will turn them on this administration.

Basically, it hurts their bottom line.

[snot]

44. Thanks! Here's hoping NBC & PBS good deeds go unpunished. nt

[Francesca]

47. Thank you!

I tried doing something similar last night with cable news. If you get MSNBC keith olberman usually does a good job covering the important issues.. I was wondering about abc, cbs, nbc as I could only switch between 2 stations....

[txindy]

48. Thanks for this. You've got a strong stomach, obviously!

;)

Seriously, it does help. Thanks. :hi:

[girl gone mad]

54. I'm going to have to start watching NBC.

I've been tivoing CBS ever since the Rather ordeal, but I think David Gregory is tough and it sounds like NBC has been giving more in-depth coverager to a lot of political stories.

I'm not happy at all with CBS's tepid coverage of the Rove leak. I think they are still shell-shocked from their past dealings with this administration.

[redacted]

55. Credit to ABC, they convered pretty heavily yesterday and on GMA they gave

it a pretty hefty segment with commentary from Begala and some *-wipe from DaddyBush's admin. Taking in to considerations that it was ABC, Begala and Gibson were pretty hard on the conservative.

[ginnyinWI]

56. Nightline

I'm usually a big fan of Nightline (ABC). Sometimes they have really good shows, especially when Ted Koppel is there. Tonight they split the time between London, Rove and the Space Shuttle, and the Rove segment was disappointing. They were mostly trying to give him a big pass. Ted wasn't there, naturally. ABC has some good journalists like Koppel, Moran, Martha Raditz and even Stephanopolis, but overall it seems kind of intimidated by the White House. Hope they decide to get their feet wet soon, so as not to be outpaced by their competition. Let the reporters loose, ABC!

[Celebration]

58. John King of CNN

Did a really good job with the news report part of it. He set the stage well for Dobbs, etc.

[suegeo]

59. I know Scarborough doesn't count as news, but...

On the cable propaganda shows, I caught a segment on Scarborough's Nazi Country re: Rove.

Joe (didn't a woman wind up dead in his office?) had on a filthy republican congressman from N.J. (King).

Of course, no Democrat to provide the other side of the issue appeared, just two republicans, spinning about the traitor Rove.

Both the filthy republicans (Joe and King) adamantly said that Wilson was a liar. (But, didn't Rove lie about being the source/leaker? Oh never mind. He's a republican so it does not count. Even when it damages our national security in a supposed "time of war." That bush the election thief started.)

King (filthy republican) said Rove deserved a medal. And that we are at war, so just keep your mouth shut. Joe lamely said that if this were Clinton's admin, they'd both be up in arms over having the leaker fired.

It was disgusting fascist propaganda, and now I know why I hardly ever watch the crap anymore.