Veterans Administration

NBC Touts Obama’s Promise to Fix the VA and IG Report Despite Concerns from Whistle-Blower
By Curtis Houck | August 26, 2014 | 9:35 PM EDT

On Tuesday evening, NBC Nightly News offered a soft news brief on the scandal-ridden Veterans Affairs (VA) Administration by promoting President Barack Obama’s calls that the VA’s many issues will be fixed on his watch. In addition, substitute anchor Lestor Holt made quick mention of an inspector general’s report that the actions of the agency in delays in veterans waiting for care did not result in any veteran’s death. 

What NBC Nightly News failed to mention in their one-sided report was that skepticism surrounding the VA remains as both widows of veterans who died awaiting care and one of the whistle-blowers who brought the problems at the VA to light are publically raising doubts about the report’s findings. [MP3 audio here; Video below]

NBC Omits Coverage of Agreement on VA Hospital Bill; Mentions Robots in South Korean Ballpark Instead
By Curtis Houck | July 28, 2014 | 1:50 PM EDT

Over the weekend, leaders from the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees reached an agreement on legislation to reform the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs with the full details unveiled during a press conference Monday afternoon. When it came to the major broadcast networks covering this breakthrough in their Monday morning news shows, NBC’s Today decided not to inform their viewers of the story. Maybe it was because NBC was too concerned telling them how Congress wasn't working to notice.

Between the two networks that did cover the latest in the VA scandal, ABC and CBS, ABC’s Good Morning America clocked in with the lowest amount of air time (no surprises here) with only a 16 second news brief during the 7:00 a.m. hour. Meanwhile, CBS This Morning had a report from CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes on the bipartisan negotiations and included numerous details of the plan. [MP3 audio here; Video below]

Networks Continue to Provide Minimal Coverage of VA Scandal
By Jeffrey Meyer | July 23, 2014 | 12:21 PM EDT

On Tuesday, July 22, Robert McDonald, President Obama’s nominee to take over as Secretary for the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs, appeared before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, yet his testimony received a minuscule 24 seconds on ABC, CBS, and NBC. 

In fact, the only “big three” coverage of McDonald’s testimony came on Tuesday morning, before the actual hearing occurred, courtesy of NBC’s Today. None of the network newscasts covered the actual nomination proceedings on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. 

ABC, CBS Ignore Upcoming VA Secretary Confirmation Hearing; Will Networks Cover News Tonight?
By Curtis Houck | July 22, 2014 | 1:25 PM EDT

ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning both ignored the news Tuesday morning that President Obama’s nominee to become the next Secretary of the scandal-ridden Department of Veterans Affairs will testify today on Capitol Hill in his confirmation hearing. 

NBC’s Today did cover the news, but only in the form of a 24 second news brief during the 7:00 a.m. hour from news reader Natalie Morales. Morales reported that: “VA Secretary nominee Robert McDonald will be in the spotlight today when he goes before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee for a nomination hearing. The former Proctor and Gamble Chairman, President, and CEO was nominated by President Obama last month as the permanent replacement for Eric Shinseki. Shinseki resigned in May in the scandal for long waits of appointments and secret waiting lists at VA medical centers.” [MP3 audio here; Video below]

VA Blackout: ABC, NBC Skip Veteran Being Approved for Treatment Two Years After Death
By Scott Whitlock | July 2, 2014 | 12:29 PM EDT

The network disinterest in the Veterans Affairs scandal intensified on Wednesday. NBC and ABC ignored the story of a man whose treatment was approved – two years after death. CBS This Morning allowed a scant 22 seconds on the topic. 

Co-anchor Gayle King related, "Douglas Chase of Rutland, Vermont was diagnosed with cancer back in 2011. The drive to a Boston hospital became too much. His family wanted to move his treatment to a nearby V.A. facility." She added, "Last month, the request was approved, 22 months after Douglas Chase passed away." Considering that coverage of the scandal engulfing Barack Obama's VA dropped 84 percent in June, the scant attention for this story shouldn't be shocking. [See video below. MP3 audio here.]

Fade to Black? TV Coverage of VA Scandal Drops 84% in June
By Scott Whitlock | July 1, 2014 | 9:45 AM EDT

In May, Americans were horrified by the scandal enveloping the Veterans Affairs and the media seemed to agree. World News anchor Diane Sawyer denounced  the secret lists and substandard care as a "national outrage." But as the story grew and evolved in June, ABC, CBS and NBC seem to have already moved past the "outrage." In June, the networks allowed a scant 30 minutes, compared to 180 minutes in May. This is a drop of 84 percent. 

According an analysis by the Media Research Center, ABC devoted 28 minutes in May to the VA controversy, but only five in June. CBS offered 78 minutes in May, but only 15 the following month. NBC's coverage dropped off a cliff in June, falling from 73 minutes to just ten. Journalists lost interest in the story even as big developments kept occurring. Among the examples: 

ABC Ignores 'Scathing' New Report on V.A. Scandal; CBS and NBC Cover
By Matthew Balan | June 27, 2014 | 9:48 PM EDT

Friday's World News on ABC glossed over the release of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Rob Nabors's report on the scandal at the Veterans Administration. President Obama had sent Nabors to look into the long wait times at veterans hospitals nationwide. Instead, the evening newscast set aside almost two minutes of air time to a woman, who is eight months pregnant, competing in a track and field competition.

On CBS Evening News, Scott Pelley led the broadcast with the "bleak picture" detailed in the new report. Correspondent Wyatt Andrews spotlighted how Nabors "combined scathing criticism with ideas on moving the V.A. forward." Brian Williams used the same label as Andrews during his 24-second news brief about the story on NBC Nightly News: [MP3 audio available here; video below the jump]

Giving Obama a Helping Hand: Only Two Minutes of VA Scandal Coverage This Week
By Connor Williams | June 6, 2014 | 11:24 AM EDT

While this week’s coverage of the Obama administration’s exchange of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five senior Taliban officials has been generally critical, the broadcast networks have helped Team Obama out on another front — since Monday, coverage of the Veterans Affairs waiting list scandal has been virtually nonexistent.

Despite the continuously unfolding developments on the scandal, the major news networks of ABC, CBS, and NBC devoted barely two minutes this week to the story. Altogether, the morning and evening shows had a combined 46 hours of air time from Monday through Friday morning, yet offered up a mere 2 minutes and 16 seconds of coverage. Not a single VA story this week amounted to more than 30 seconds in length [MP3 audio here; video below].

Chris Matthews: Unlike IRS, VA Scandal Is Real, Except When He Compared IRS to ‘Profiling’ Innocent Arabs
By Jeffrey Meyer | May 22, 2014 | 10:33 AM EDT

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews seems determined to kill the idea that unlike the Veterans Administration scandal, past Obama scandals such as the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups are not in fact legitimate issues to investigate. 

Appearing on his nightly Hardball program on Wednesday, May 21, Matthews declared “For the first time, President Obama speaks out about the VA scandal and this is no phony IRS or Benghazi nonsense, this is the real deal.” [See video below.] 

Actress Stacey Dash Demolishes Obama on VA Scandal
By Geoffrey Dickens | May 21, 2014 | 4:14 PM EDT

Stacey Dash absolutely demolished Barack Obama on the VA scandal. Appearing on FNC’s Outnumbered, on Wednesday, the outspoken actress called out the President for not keeping his campaign promise to veterans and also took a shot at his signature accomplishment ObamaCare.

First up Dash questioned Obama’s commitment to veterans when she noted that when he was Senator he “missed 19 out of 37 ” veterans affairs committee meetings and slammed “he was told in 2008 this was a problem” and “he did nothing about it!” Then Dash really lowered the boom when she made the obvious connection to ObamaCare. (video after the jump)