Acting as a Clinton campaign spokesperson on her Thursday MSNBC show, host Andrea Mitchell spun Hillary Clinton's upcoming testimony before a congressional hearing on the Benghazi and State Department e-mail scandals as exactly what the Democratic presidential candidate wanted: "Well, they are, frankly, very confident about that hearing. They think that at the end of the day, Hillary Clinton can take on that committee, and they're going into it almost welcoming the opportunity, I think, to try to clear the air."
Benghazi
By Curtis Houck | May 4, 2015 | 11:35 PM EDT
On Monday night, English-language networks ABC and CBS joined Spanish-language networks MundoFox, Telemundo, and Univision in ignoring the news that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has finally agreed to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi regarding the 2012 terror attack in Libya and her usage of a private e-mail account while at the State Department.
By Curtis Houck | March 31, 2015 | 9:01 PM EDT
On Tuesday night, ABC and CBS declined to cover the latest in the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal as the House Select Committee on Benghazi requested a private meeting with the former Secretary of State while a separate deadline concerning her e-mail server approaches. Days after the committee requested Clinton turn her private e-mail server over to an independent party for review, the panel looking into the deadly 2012 terrorist attack in Libya wants Clinton to sit for a private interview in addition to a public hearing by May 1 at the latest.
By Curtis Houck | January 7, 2015 | 9:33 PM EST
On Wednesday night, the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC ignored the contradicting statements made by President Obama in condemning the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris as an attack on free speech, but stating in a 2012 speech at the United Nations that “the future does not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam.”
When it came to discussing the terrorist attack in France on Wednesday, the President struck a different tone from 2012 when it came to the freedom of speech and expression: “Our universal belief in freedom of expression is something that can't be silenced because of the senseless violence of the few.”
By Curtis Houck | December 31, 2014 | 11:33 AM EST
Each of the network morning shows devoted some time on Wednesday to looking back at the biggest news stories of year and, while they certainly could not have included every story in the allotted time, they all failed to spend even a few seconds on topics such as Jonathan Gruber, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, President Obama’s unpopularity, and the Hobby Lobby case to name a few.
In addition, the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC each mentioned the midterm elections and how Republicans were able to win control of the Senate (in addition to the House), they devoted a scant 21 seconds to the topic over the course of their roundups, which totaled 42 minutes and 50 seconds.
Networks Yawn at Second Benghazi Hearing; Find Time for Royal Twins in Monaco, Slovakian Lake Instead
By Curtis Houck | December 10, 2014 | 10:38 PM EST The House Select Committee on Benghazi that is looking into the 2012 terror attacks in Libya held another hearing on Wednesday and focused on the lack of sufficient security that was in place in Benghazi which, based on the hearing, remains the case across many State Department facilities.
When it came to the major broadcast networks reporting on the hearing, the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC all punted and refused to cover it in any capacity during their evening newscasts.
By Curtis Houck | October 15, 2014 | 12:34 AM EDT
Major broadcast networks ABC and NBC both refused to cover the news on Tuesday night that the lone individual the United States has in custody relating to the 2012 terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya has been charged with murder on multiple counts with 17 total charges that could bring the death penalty if convicted. As for those that did cover it on their Tuesday evening newscasts, both CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley and the Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier offered news briefs on the subject.
By NB Staff | October 8, 2014 | 10:59 PM EDT
Graham pointed out that when the former Secretary of Defense gave his first interview to CBS’s 60 Minutes, neither one of the other two major broadcast networks (ABC or NBC) covered it and the result was the same with O’Reilly’s interview.
Speaking on how “especially upsetting again” it was that none of the networks joined O’Reilly in asking Panetta about the Obama administration’s response to the 2012 attack in Benghazi. On what Panetta said about Benghazi, Graham thought that “Panetta's answers on that were really weak.”
By Curtis Houck | September 17, 2014 | 10:56 PM EDT
The major broadcast networks on Wednesday refused to cover the first hearing held by the House Select Committee on Benghazi to begin assessing what happened in the 2012 attack that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith, and CIA contractors Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty dead.
Between their morning and evening newscasts, the “big three” networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC neglected to offer any stories on the bipartisan hearing chaired by Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who promised that: “[O]ur fellow citizens deserve all of the facts of what happened before, during, and after the attacks in Benghazi and they deserve an investigative process worthy of the memory of those who died and worthy of the trust of our fellow citizens.”
By Matthew Balan | September 17, 2014 | 5:42 PM EDT
CNN and MSNBC viewers on Wednesday would have to switch channels if they wanted to watch the first hearing of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. CNN aired a 15-second news brief at the top of the 10 am Eastern hour, mere minutes before the nearly three-hour meeting began, but didn't cover the proceedings live. MSNBC set aside 12 minutes worth of segments to the event, and sometimes showed split-screen video, but didn't provide the audio. By contrast, Fox News Channel provided nearly 41 minutes (40 minutes, 51 seconds) of live coverage of the congressional committee's hearing during the 10 am and 11 am Eastern hours.
By P.J. Gladnick | September 16, 2014 | 7:13 PM EDT
Despite the fact that Politico is reporting about groups that have formed to defend Hillary Clinton during the Benghazi hearing in Congress, no mention is made about Sharyl Attkisson's bombshell report about the scrubbing of documents by her advisers.
CBS, NBC Continue Fawning Over Hillary In Iowa; Refuse to Cover Clinton Advisers Scrubbed Benghazi Docs
By Curtis Houck | September 15, 2014 | 9:57 PM EDT CBS and NBC continued to provide positive coverage of Hillary Clinton’s visit to Democratic Senator Tom Harkin’s steak fry event in Iowa on Monday night after both networks gushed over her appearance in their morning shows and NBC’s Meet the Press wondered on Sunday if she might not be liberal enough for Iowa Democrats in 2016. The nearly three minutes of coverage between the two networks was in comparison to their zero coverage of news from investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson that aides to Clinton when she was Secretary of State engaged in a weekend meeting that included the removal of documents related to the Benghazi attacks that portrayed her in a negative light.