The liberal media are trying their best to exploit the vicious attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), husband, Paul Pelosi for all it’s value with less than a week before Election Day. Despite the fact that violence has been reported from both sides, liberal media tend to be less concerned about conservatives than they are about the other. NewsBusters examined the coverage of the Pelosi attack over five days and found that it was 11x greater than the coverage given by major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS and NBC morning, afternoon, and Sunday morning shows) during the same period as the attempted assassination attempt on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The Kavanaugh story was covered by MRC analysts for a total of 15 minutes, 1 second of airtime in five days from the time it broke. That was June 8. The story was dropped by all three evening newscasts (ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News) on June 9 after covering it that morning (as reported Curtis Houck, NewsBusters managing editor).
The Kavanaugh attack lasted 5 minutes and 44 seconds in the first evening. It was given by ABC at 2 minutes 30 seconds, CBS at 2 minutes 8 seconds, and NBC at 1 minute 6 seconds.
The 911 call was released by authorities on Saturday, June 11. NBC’s Today gave it a 23-second recap, while ABC’s World News Tonight gave it 41 seconds. As Kevin Tober, NewsBusters weekend analyst, reported at the time there was no mention of the attack on Kavanaugh or his family.
Analysts found that the Pelosi attack was covered by the broadcast networks for a staggering 166 minutes, 16 seconds, in five days. This is almost three hours of coverage (2.46:16).
With 6 minutes and 40 seconds, ABC alone beat the total coverage of Kavanaugh’s first night with its coverage. It lasted 6 minutes, 9 seconds, and CBS 5 minutes, 22 seconds. Their first night total was 18 minutes and 11 seconds. The Pelosi coverage for the first night surpasses Kavanaugh’s five-day total.
The only time a broadcast network didn’t mention the attack during those five days was when CBS and ABC’s Saturday evening newscasts were interrupted for college football.
While ABC’s This Week, CBS Face the Nation and NBC’s Meet the Press did not cover the Kavanaugh attack on Sunday June 12, CBS’s Face the Nation and NBC’s Meet the Press did. The attack on Pelosi was their top story, which NBC devoted nearly 31 minutes (30:54). CBS did it in 12 minutes 32 seconds and ABC with 7 minutes 2 second.
The liberal media spent so much time on Pelosi to incite fear among Republicans ahead of the midterm election. Pelosi was interwoven into segments warning about intimidation and possible attacks at polls.
Methodology: Both attacks took place in this year’s midterm election year. They were either at or near the target’s house and both were politically motivated, according to the alleged perpetrator. Analysers looked at the ABC, CBS and NBC evening and afternoon shows, as well as their Sunday roundtable programs, from June 8 through June 12, 2022 for the Kavanaugh attack, and October 28 – November 1, 2022 for the Pelosi attack. Both stories were first reported on-air by the evening newscasts.
