The three network morning shows on Thursday devoted a staggering 18 segments
to the revelation that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was having an
affair with a woman from Argentina, adding up to over 54 minutes of
coverage. NBC's Today show spent the most time on the subject, highlighting
the infidelity with six segments and 25 minutes of air time.
Co-host Matt Lauer even talked to disgraced former Governor Jim
McGreevey [1] to get his thoughts on the matter. (However, while NBC made sure
to label Sanford a Republican, the Today anchors failed to do so for the ex-New
Jersey governor who resigned under a cloud of scandal.)
ABC's Good Morning America touted the sex scandal for 17 minutes and 26
seconds, featuring seven stories on Sanford. (It should also be pointed out that
GMA came within seven minutes of Today's total, despite the fact that the NBC
program is four hours, double the time of ABC's show.) During one such segment, journalist Sam
Donaldson [2] insisted that it's hard to forgive Republicans who get involved in
sex scandals: "They thump the Bible. They condemn everyone else, and when they-
human- they don't have much credit in the bank for forgiveness."
CBS's Early Show had the least amount of coverage, offering only five
segments over 11 minutes and 44 seconds. As the MRC's Kyle
Drennen [3] noted in his June 25 posting, all three morning shows repeatedly
identified Sanford as a Republican. However, during the first week's coverage of
former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and his prostitute scandal, he was
labeled a Democrat only 20 percent of the time.
-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research
Center.