Networks Ignore 'Audit the IRS' Rally; Minimize Coverage of $70 Million in IRS Bonuses
The Big Three all punted on covering the Capitol Hill "Audit the IRS"
rally on their Wednesday evening and Thursday morning newscasts. CBS This Morning played a four-second soundbite
of Senator Ted Cruz addressing the thousands of Tea Party activists in
attendance, but CBS, along with ABC and NBC, didn't air a full report or
news brief on the protest.
The CBS morning show also stood out for spotlighting how the "IRS is under fire again...it's paying $70 million in employee bonuses, despite a White House order." CBS This Morning devoted 47 seconds of coverage to this latest IRS controversy, while ABC and NBC ignored the development.
Anchor
Norah O'Donnell gave a news brief noting how Republican Senator Chuck
Grassley blasted the IRS bonuses, and inserted slanted language about
the sequester: "Grassley believes the bonuses are not allowed while the
government deals with massive automatic spending cuts."
Forty-seven minutes later, co-anchors Charlie Rose and Gayle King gave a
second brief on the IRS controversy. King actually pointed out how "the agency is already under fire for targeting conservative groups asking for tax-exempt status." The Big Three's coverage of this earlier IRS scandal has dropped off in recent days. Since June 7, ABC, CBS, and NBC have devoted only two stories to the issue.
Besides the Cruz clip, CBS News also put up a minute and a half montage
on its website that singled out some of the more outlandish
demonstrators at the anti-IRS demonstration on Capitol Hill, including a
man impersonating a minuteman, and a woman who expressed her fear that
ObamaCare's regulations might kill her.
The transcripts of the IRS news briefs from Thursday's CBS This Morning:
06/20/2013
07:02 am EDT
CBS This Morning
UNIDENTIFIED
WOMAN 1 (voice-over) (teaser): The IRS is caught in another
controversy. The agency says it has to pay $70 million in union bonuses.
SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS (from anti-IRS rally): We need to abolish the
IRS, and together, we can get it done. (audience cheers and applauds)
07:17 am EDT
NORAH O'DONNELL: 'The Hill' says Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is
criticizing IRS bonuses. The tax agency says it is legally required to
hand out $70 million in additional compensation. Grassley believes the
bonuses are not allowed while the government deals with massive
automatic spending cuts.
08:00 am EDT
GAYLE KING (teaser): The IRS is under fire again. This time, it's
paying $70 million in employee bonuses, despite a White House order.
08:04 am EDT
[CBS News Graphic: "Bonus Despite Budget Cuts: IRS Paying Out Awards Despite Freeze"]
CHARLIE ROSE: Senate Republicans want to know why the Internal Revenue
Service is set to pay $70 million in employee bonuses. Two months ago,
after automatic spending cuts kicked in, the White House told federal
agencies to cancel all bonuses.
GAYLE KING: That order was written by Danny Werfel, who is now the
acting head of the IRS. A statement says the IRS is 'under a legal
obligation to comply with its collective bargaining agreement'. The
agency is already under fire for targeting conservative groups asking
for tax-exempt status.
