On Wednesday, NBC’s Today show opened with this sensational declaration from co-host Savannah Guthrie: “Raising the stakes. Overnight, Stormy Daniels’ attorney asks a judge to depose President Trump. Will he be forced to testify about the alleged affair and the money paid to silence his accuser?” On Thursday, a judge denied that request, but NBC viewers would never know it because the network ignored the development.
In the report that followed on Wednesday’s Today show, White House Correspondent Kristen Welker proclaimed: “Mr. Trump still hasn’t commented on the controversy, but privately he’s been expressing his concern about it to top aides. All as the White House braces for another day of unwanted headlines.”
She was ready to convict the President:
If successful, [Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael] Avenatti’s motion would require President Trump to explain under oath what he knew about the agreement and what he knew it. The testimony could play a role in determining whether campaign finance laws were broken by the Trump campaign, Cohen or the President.
Wrapping up the segment, Welker touted: “In a new statement out this morning, Michael Avenatti, Daniels’ attorney, says, quote, ‘We are confident that after applying Supreme Court precedent from the Clinton matter, the court will order the depositions and the trial to proceed. We expect to be placing the President and his fixer under oath in the coming months.’”
In reality, the request was dismissed the very next day.
Another report from Welker came at the top of the 8:00 a.m. ET hour, preceded by Guthrie hyping: “There has been an extraordinary development overnight in the Stormy Daniels scandal. Her attorney is going to federal court trying to force the President to testify about the adult film star’s payoff.”
Welker reiterated claims from Avenatti: “In a statement this morning, Daniels’ attorney said he’s confident the request will be granted.”
In total, Wednesday’s Today devoted 4 minutes 20 seconds of breathless coverage to the topic.
ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning similarly gave a great deal of attention to news that day. However, unlike the NBC morning show, on Friday, those broadcasts provided full reports on a judge rejecting Avenatti’s request to depose the President. The Today show said nothing.
The same was true with Thursday’s evening newscasts. Both ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS Evening News covered the legal defeat for Daniels while NBC Nightly News skipped the story.
When the news media usher in such salacious stories with great fanfare, they have a responsibility to update viewers when those sensational headlines fizzle.
