After all three network evening newscasts ignored [1] President Obama dropping his controversial plan to tax 529 college savings accounts on Tuesday, only Wednesday's CBS This Morning noticed the development, giving it a mere seventeen seconds. Neither NBC's Today nor ABC's Good Morning America covered the White House reversal.
This Morning co-host Norah O'Donnell informed viewers: "The Wall Street Journal says President Obama is dropping his proposal to raise taxes on 529 college savings accounts. His plan had faced opposition from Republican House John Boehner and top Democrats. They said it would hurt the middle class. Instead The White House will focus on delivering a larger package of education tax relief."
The morning show only gave the rollout of the proposal twenty-one seconds [2] on January 23, without mentioning the bipartisan opposition in Congress.
NBC's Today briefly mentioned the plan [3] on January 22, with financial editor Jean Chatzky acknowledging that such a tax "would be a big deal if it happens" for families trying to save for college.
While Wednesday's Today skipped the administration backing off the idea, news anchor Natalie Morales offered a single sentence that vaguely referred to the plan: "Back home, the President faces a political collision course with Congress over that massive oil pipeline, immigration, and college savings."
ABC News has yet to cover the proposal at all, let alone it being withdrawn.
— Kyle Drennen is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter. [4]