MediaWatch: January 1997
Table of Contents:
TV's Top Ten Undercovered Stories
As Bill Clinton's first term ends and the campaign becomes raw material for historians, how did the media cover Clinton scandals before Election Day? To find out, MediaWatch analysts reviewed evening news programs on ABC, CBS, CNN, and NBC, as well as the ABC, CBS, and NBC morning shows to determine the top ten undercovered scandals, in date order:
Paula Jones. The Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against the President received only eight full evening stories and three stories on the morning shows in all of 1996. Three of the evening stories and two morning stories focused on the RNC ad ridiculing Clinton legal claims that he could not be sued since he's on active military duty as commander-in-chief. The other five merely relayed court actions without elaborating on the charges.
The Iran-Bosnia Scandal. In an echo of the Iran-Contra affair, the Los Angeles Times uncovered on April 5 that the Clinton administration conducted a secret foreign policy encouraging the Iranian government to arm the Bosnian muslims at the same time the administration publicly supported the U.N. arms embargo of Bosnia. Despite the deception of Congress and the American people, and seven front page stories in the Los Angeles Times,ABC and CNN each aired only one anchor brief on the evening news, and CBS and NBC never mentioned the story before the election. The morning shows aired only four anchor briefs the day the first Times scoop broke.
Mike Espy. Independent Counsel Donald Smaltz's investigation surrounding illegal gifts to former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy received no network attention in 1996. Among the developments the networks ignored were the June indictment and September conviction of the large California fruit and nut company Sun Diamond Growers for influence peddling; the July bank fraud indictment of Espy's brother Henry; and the indictment of lobbyist Richard Douglas, a college roommate of Espy's, which also alleged that Espy lied to FBI agents about tickets he got from Quaker Oats.
The FBI Files. Filegate received 64 full stories on the evening news shows and 52 full stories/interview segments on the morning shows. But the networks were slow to pick up the story. On June 7, the White House admitted collecting FBI files on 338 files on past GOP appointees. Only NBC mentioned it in a brief item. ABC, CBS and CNN failed to mention it that night, and all the morning shows passed the next morning.
They were also quick to drop it. Since June 30, the networks aired only six evening news stories and seven morning reports. On July 25, Rep. William Clinger claimed the notes of an FBI agent who interviewed then-White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum in 1993 suggested Hillary Clinton was instrumental in bringing FBI file keeper Craig Livingstone into the White House, directly contradicting the First Lady's denials.
Only ABC's Jackie Judd reported the story, concluding on World News Tonight: "The controversy over the FBI files, to the frustration of Republicans, has stalled out. They believe with this new piece of information, it may be revived." The other networks ignored the story.
On September 25, Sen. Orrin Hatch revealed a six-month gap in the log which listed who at the White House was accessing FBI files on Republicans. On October 4, Hatch released the deposition of White House aide Mari Anderson, who verified that pages of the log were missing. Anderson also said Craig Livingstone and others knew they were procuring the FBI files of Republicans, refuting the White House line of an innocent "bureaucratic snafu." The only coverage was a CNN anchor brief on both days, and a single Good Morning America brief.
White House Drug Use. On July 17, Secret Service agents told the House Government Oversight Committee that the White House instituted a drug testing policy for 21 employees who had not received security clearances because of past drug use. NBC and CBS reported it; ABC and CNN did not. On October 4, Dennis Sculimbrene, the senior FBI agent assigned to the White House from 1986 to April 1996, told The Wall Street Journal that around June 1993 he estimated "about 25 percent of the incoming administration, about one out of four cases, had a problem with illegal drugs. Not just casual experimentation, but a pattern of usage, which to me indicated lack of good judgment and a disregard for the law." No coverage.
The FDIC Report. On September 23, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's inspector general concluded Hillary Clinton had drafted a real estate document with the intent to "deceive" federal regulators. That transaction later cost taxpayers $4 million in the bailout of Madison Savings and Loan. Only CNN's Bob Franken devoted half a story to the report (a day later), followed by an NBC mention 11 days after that.
DNC Donorgate. The Wall Street Journal broke the story of John Huang on October 8, but the networks took six days to begin reporting. From October 14 to November 5, the networks aired 26 investigative evening news stories, plus 30 stories reporting charges from the campaign trail. Individual stories were still lost. The Buddhist temple fundraiser attended by Vice President Gore never drew a full story before the election, just a few passing mentions. Only ABC reported that Yogesh Gandhi gave $325,000 to the DNC but claimed pauper status in a divorce filing.
Jorge Cabrera. On October 19, the Democrats returned a $20,000 contribution from convicted Miami cocaine smuggler Jorge Cabrera. None of the networks reported the story that night. ABC's Brian Ross did a full report on October 22. CNN and NBC followed on the 24th. CBS did not. Two Today anchor briefs were the only morning show mentions of Cabrera.
Nussbaum and Starr. On October 25, a panel of judges asked independent counsel Kenneth Starr to investigate if former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum lied about Hillary Clinton's role in the hiring of Craig Livingstone. Three days later, NBC's Tim Russert insisted on Today: "I don't know how we can dismiss it nine days before an election." But ABC and NBC only had anchor briefs. CBS aired nothing. Only CNN's Bob Franken filed a full report. Other than one Bob Kur anchor brief on Today, the morning shows aired nothing.
Grigori Loutchansky. On November 3, the Associated Press reported Republicans and former Clinton CIA Director R. James Woolsey criticized Democrats for inviting foreign businessman Grigori Loutchansky to a 1994 DNC dinner, where he was photographed with the President. Clinton's own CIA Director, John Deutch, had testified that Loutchansky's company, Nordex, is "associated with Russian criminal activity." The networks did nothing.
