MediaWatch: February 1997
Table of Contents:
Newt News Triples Clinton
On December 19, Newt Gingrich admitted he misled the House ethics committee, which led off the newest burst of network Newt coverage. How did that burst compare in quality and quantity to emerging news on the Clinton fundraising scandal?
MediaWatch analysts reviewed evening news programs on ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC, as well as morning news shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC from December 15 to January 31. On both morning and evening news, the Gingrich story almost tripled coverage of the Clinton story.
The Gingrich storyline drew 73 full stories and 29 anchor briefs on the evening news programs, compared to 31 full stories and eight anchor briefs for the Clinton money story. On the morning shows, Gingrich received 63 full segments (28 news reports and 35 interviews), as well as 69 anchor briefs; Clinton attracted only 19 full segments (15 reports, 4 interviews) and 11 briefs.
Comparing scandals can be like comparing apples and oranges. Journalists might suggest the disparity comes from differing storylines: the approaching Speaker's election in the House on January 7 left Gingrich's political future in doubt, while a safely re-elected Clinton faced congressional and FBI investigations on a less frantic schedule.
But the quality of journalism on the two storylines was also vastly different. Reports on Gingrich were a drip-drip-drip sequence of repetitive horse-race stories wondering if Gingrich would resign, with little new information. By contrast, the print scoops on Clinton broke new substantive ground, but the networks alternated between spurts of intensity and weeks of disinterest. Especially noticeable is the gap in morning show interview segments about Gingrich and Clinton. CBS aired five interviews about Gingrich, but none about Clinton, and ABC (14-2) and NBC (16-2) were more lopsided. (If you count three interviews on other topics which each included one question on fundraising, NBC's ratio was 16-5).
The difference in drama might explain why the network evening news shows led off 18 broadcasts with Gingrich's ethics, and only three with Clinton's. But a closer look at individual developments demonstrates the differing intensity and substance of TV coverage.
December 15: The Washington Post reported on Page One that the Democrats rewarded large donors with an overnight stay in the Lincoln Bedroom. Network coverage: Nothing on ABC or CNN. CBS This Morning's Bill Plante filed a report eight days later. NBC noted it January 21.
December 20: The Washington Post reported on its front page that Wang Jun, a Chinese arms dealer, was welcomed to a White House fundraising coffee. Coverage: CBS was the only network to air a full story. NBC ran an anchor brief. ABC did nothing. Of the morning shows, only NBC's Today mentioned it.
December 26: The DNC released a huge pile of documents on their fundraising activities. In the next four days, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today all published articles. But the networks never aired a story summarizing the documents. CBS did lead off the news with a report on Thai donor and Clinton coffee attendee Pauline Kanchanalak on the 26th (repeated on This Morning the next day), and added another Thai story on the 27th, as well as a story on White House Asian-American liaison Doris Matsui on the 28th. CNN aired two similar stories. NBC aired nothing. ABC did nothing, but did find time for a John Cochran report on Gingrich losing support.
December 30: A single Republican Congressman, Michael Forbes of Long Island, announced he would not vote for Gingrich. All four networks aired full reports.
January 10: The New York Times reported on its front page the contents of a cellular phone conversation between Republican leaders they reported came from a Democrat, later identified as Rep. Jim McDermott, ranking member of the House ethics committee. Republicans demanded an investigation of McDermott for breaking federal privacy laws.
This was one Gingrich story the networks didn't like. ABC and NBC aired no evening story until the 13th, and neither used the word "illegal" in that night's report. CNN aired three anchor briefs and one full report (which did not mention McDermott) from the 10th to the 14th. CBS aired a full report on Gingrich on each of those five nights. On the 10th, Dan Rather suggested the Times story "raises new ethics questions about Gingrich," with no mention of Democratic illegality. Lawbreaking surfaced briefly on the 11th, but Sharyl Attkisson's report on the 12th focused only on some Republicans "urging Gingrich to step aside." When McDermott's role emerged on the 13th and 14th, on both nights Dan Rather complained the focus was shifted away "from what Gingrich actually said." Reporter Wyatt Andrews added the brouhaha "sidetracked substantive ethics charges against the Speaker."
January 15: The Washington Times and USA Today carried the AP report that Al Gore confessed he used "a poor choice of words" in describing a fundraiser at a Buddhist temple as a "community outreach event." Before the event, Gore sent the DNC a memo explaining the event should "inspire political and fundraising efforts." Coverage: A full story by CNN's Brooks Jackson, followed ten days later by one Today show question to Gore and an evening report by Andrea Mitchell. ABC and CBS aired nothing.
January 16: The Los Angeles Times reported that documents show that contrary to White House assertions, controversial fundraiser John Huang helped shape Asia policy at the Commerce Department. The Boston Globe reported Huang helped convince Clinton to make a major shift in immigration policy wanted by Asian-Americans. And The Washington Post found a couple of attendees at White House coffees had criminal records. Network coverage? Zero. But CNN had time for a live update from Bob Franken on the still-unreleased special counsel report on Gingrich.
January 23: The Washington Times reported Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry admitted senior adviser Bruce Lindsey knew in 1994 the Lippo Group had paid a reported $250,000 to former associate attorney general Webster Hubbell after he resigned in disgrace, raising questions if Lippo paid Hubbell hush money. The Washington Post followed the next day. TV coverage: Five days later, after it came up in a press conference, NBC reported it on its evening and morning shows. ABC, CBS, and CNN: zero.
January 25: Gingrich told a town meeting in his district the liberal media uses a double standard to attack him and ignore liberal groups like the Sierra Club. All four networks covered this story, suggesting Gingrich's contrition wasn't genuine.
