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 [1]
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 [2]. 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 [3]
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.