ABC – CNS Election Watch

May 6, 2017

ABC focuses on weaponry workings, looks past North Korean connection

In recent weeks, the U.S. has unleashed powerful weapons on the Middle East as a show of power and as a warning. In response to the April 4 chemical gas dropped on Syrian civilians, President Donald Trump authorized an airstrike of 60 Tomahawk missiles on Syria...

ABC / Blog Post / CBS / NBC

May 6, 2017

Spicer’s ‘Hitler’ comments steal leads in all three newscasts

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made waves on April 11 when he claimed that Hitler never used poison gas during World War II. That left an implication that Hitler was less of a threat than Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, who used them on his own...

ABC / CBS / NBC / Trump

May 4, 2017

Networks Delay Spending Bill Coverage

President Trump just overcame another high-pressure challenge: a government shutdown if Congress couldn’t agree on a spending bill. Government funding expired April 28 which coincided with Trumps hundredth day in office. The administration aimed to fulfill key campaign promises before time ran out on the first 100 days....

ABC / Trump

April 26, 2017

ABC Shows Lengthy Press Room Exchange with Sean Spicer

Journalists try not to make themselves a part the news, limiting the amount of airtime a reporter is on screen during a story. That wasn’t the case when ABC’s Jonathan Karl reported on former national security adviser Michael Flynn on March 31. “Flynn talked a lot...

ABC / CBS / NBC

April 22, 2017

CBS focusing more on ad loss instead of Trump defense of O’Reilly

When President Donald Trump defended Bill O’Reilly, ABC and NBC treated it as a major story. CBS barely mentioned it. On April 5, the network evening newscasts reported O’Reilly and Fox News paid $13 million in sexual harassment settlements and that President Donald Trump defended O’Reilly in a...

ABC / Blog Post / CBS / NBC / Trump

April 9, 2017

Questioning Loyalties to the President

On March 14 NBC’s evening news showed both parties’ lack of support for the healthcare bill. It also showed House Speaker Paul Ryan saying he is not going to defend President Donald Trump. NBC correspondent Peter Alexander said, “The fight over health care is also raising new...

ABC / Bannon / Blog Post / CBS / NBC / Trump

March 25, 2017

Mixed Coverage of Bannon Rare Appearance

All three networks covered Steve Bannon’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference differently, but why did CBS spend a significant amount of time on him, while NBC and ABC didn’t? On Feb. 23, White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon made a rare appearance at CPAC....

ABC / CBS / NBC / Trump / Twitter

March 21, 2017

Spell Checking Becoming the New Fact Checking

Both ABC and CBS pointed out a typo in one of President Donald Trump’s tweets, but NBC didn’t. Is it newsworthy that the president made a spelling mistake in a tweet? On March 4, Trump tweeted four times, accusing former President Obama of wiretapping Trump...

ABC / CBS / Trump

March 17, 2017

NBC omits “tapp” tweet while ABC, CBS tackle spelling error head on

On March 4 President Donald Trump tweeted his unsubstantiated claim that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower. In that tweet the word “tap” came out “tapp.” When the networks reported this accusation on March 6, the question became how to deal with the president’s...

ABC / Blog Post

March 9, 2017

ABC focuses on Trump’s cost to taxpayers, highlights hypocrisy

On Feb. 17 ABC did a three-minute story focusing on how much Trump is costing taxpayers. ABC’s Mary Bruce reported directly from Mar-a-lago, President Donald Trump’s weekend home in Florida. Bruce noted Trump’s previous criticism of Obama’s numerous vacations and golf sessions. However, she pointed out, this was...

Category: ABC