News Busters released a report showcasing that the major News Networks each gave less than a minute of coverage to the House Intelligence Committee saying they were shutting down their Russia investigation due to their being no evidence of collusion.
On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee closed its inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, much to the chagrin of the liberal media. The committee confirmed that the Russians were indeed trying to cause chaos in the election, claimed they weren’t out to help candidate Donald Trump specifically and that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. But during their evening broadcasts, ABC and CBS downplayed the findings while NBC ignored them.
CBS Evening News only gave 31 seconds to the House committee’s findings. “Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said there was no collusion or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election,†reported anchor Jeff Glor. “They also say that while Russia tried to interfere with the elections, they do not agree with U.S. intelligence that the Russians were trying to help Donald Trump.â€
Glor followed that up by noting that committee’s Democrats would be releasing their own findings:
Democrats on the House panel are expected to put out their own report with different findings. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also investigating Russian meddling, as is the special counsel, Robert Mueller.
Meanwhile, on ABC’s World News Tonight, they only gave the development 27 seconds, which meant the three major network news outlets (ABC, CBS, and NBC) gave the story less than a minute of combined airtime (58 seconds).
“There’s late word coming in from the House Intelligence Committee, that they are moving up to wrap up their Russia investigation? Republicans on the committee saying they have found no evidence of collusion,†wondered anchor David Muir to Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl.
Karl appeared to be almost irritated by the committee’s findings: “These are the Republicans that control that committee.†“The finding is hardly surprising,†he scoffed. “And given how partisan that committee is, it’s not going to have any impact on the overall debate over Russia.†He wrapped up the segment by holding out hope that the Senate and special counsel investigations would find something incriminating against the President.
While NBC Nightly News completely ignored the committee’s findings, they managed to find time to whine about President Trump’s school safety plan being light on gun control, highlight a Powerball winner, and marvel at billionaire Warren Buffett’s $1 million March Madness bracket challenge. All told, it’s a demonstration of their priorities when a big news story broke.
Transcripts below:
CBS Evening News
March 12, 2018
6:39:50 PM Eastern [31 Seconds]
JEFF GLOR: Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said there was no collusion or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. They also say that while Russia tried to interfere with the elections, they do not agree with U.S. intelligence that the Russians were trying to help Donald Trump. Those are the findings of the Republicans’ draft report today.
Democrats on the House panel are expected to put out their own report with different findings. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also investigating Russian meddling, as is the special counsel, Robert Mueller.
ABC
World News Tonight
March 12, 2018
6:42:31 PM Eastern [27 seconds]
DAVID MUIR: And Jon, I mentioned a moment ago, there’s late word coming in from the House Intelligence Committee, that they are moving up to wrap up their Russia investigation? Republicans on the committee saying they have found no evidence of collusion?
JON KARL: These are the Republicans that control that committee. The finding is hardly surprising and given how partisan that committee is, it’s not going to have any impact on the overall debate over Russia. And it certainly won’t stop the investigations that continue, David, in the Senate and, of course, Robert Mueller.
The reason this is such a huge deal is because of how obsessive the media has been with this story. A July 20 report from News Busters pointed out just how obsessive the major networks have been.
How much has the media’s obsession with the ongoing Russia investigation smothered the rest of the Trump policy agenda? A Media Research Center study of every broadcast network evening newscast in the five weeks since the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller on May 17 found a whopping 353 minutes of airtime devoted to the Russia probe, or 55 percent of all coverage of the Trump presidency during those weeks.
The networks’ relentless coverage of Russia meant little airtime was spent on important policy topics, as the investigation garnered 20 times more attention than the new health care bill, 100 times more attention than the administration’s push to improve the nation’s infrastructure, and a stunning 450 times more coverage than the push for comprehensive tax reform.
The study also found one-third (34%) of the networks’ Russia coverage was based on anonymous sources, some of which later proved erroneous.
The media has completely moved its attention to Mueller. They are now coming to realize that the intelligence committees will end up with nothing and are putting all of their eggs in Mueller’s basket. They know he likely won’t find anything either but they are hoping he can find something to get Trump on.
