Stephanopoulos Named ABC's Top DC Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2011—Karl Rove, the former Bush official was named ABC's chief Washington correspondent, the network said Tuesday.

In a world where liberal press bias doesn't exist, such a lede could, theoretically, exist. In the real world, ABC named former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos its chief Washington correspondent Monday afternoon.

With former Mario Cuomo adviser Tim Russert heading NBC's coverage, that means two of the three broadcast networks' political coverage will be overseen by former Democratic officials. From Broadcasting and Cable:

The former top Clinton staffer has already been contributing news and analysis for election and other Washington stories to various ABC news broadcasts, so the stripe is essentially a recognition of the role he has developed over almost a decade at ABC News.

He will do much more reporting for "World News Tonight" as he oversees coverage of Congress and top political and policy stories. He will also report for Nightline, Good Morning America and ABC's broadband news service.

In addition, Stephanopoulos will continue as anchor of ABC's This Week Sunday public-affairs show, which is coming off its best sweeps performance in three years, according to ABC News President David Westin, who announced the new post.

CBS isn't in the clear, however. Its political editor, Dotty Lynch, was a Democratic pollster for decades. In the 1980s, the network appointed Ted Kennedy's former chief of staff David Burke to be news division president. There's even a CBS-Stephanopoulos connection. After the future ABC newser left the Clinton White House, he was pursued by both CBS and CNN.

It's my opinion that some people (of any political persuasion) are capable of setting aside their personal views when informing others about a debate. The fact that the last nationally active Republican to be featured in a prominent, non-commentator role on the "big three" networks, CBS's Susan Molinari, was hounded from the anchor chair by colleagues inside and outside after less than a year on the job indicates that America's elite journalists seem to think only former Democrats are capable of being objective. That the Molinari episode ocurred eight years ago proves the point even further.

Tip of the hat to MRC's Brent Baker for his excellent "revolving door" studies.