[UPDATED BELOW] CNN's blackout on the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell has resumed after a three-week silence was broken for a day on April 12. The network hasn't touched the story in nine days, and despite live coverage of the disasters in Boston and Texas the network has still managed to report on stories like airport traffic, Mark Sanford's "soap opera," and the "North Pond hermit" thief in Maine.
On Friday, April 12, CNN covered the Gosnell trial for the first time since March 21 and basically shelved the story after that. The one exception came in a 90-second discussion by media critic Howard Kurtz of the media coverage of the trial, on the April 14 Reliable Sources. Kurtz lamely offered that CNN had aired a "half dozen segments" on the trial. [Video below.]
Even MSNBC picked up on the story on Tuesday, with anchor Tamron Hall reporting new developments in the trial that a Philadelphia judge tossed out nine charges against Gosnell. But despite CNN.com producing three stories on the trial since April 12, the network remained silent.
And while CNN continues to report live from Boston, the network has now begun touting other stories like "long delays" at airports and the "juicy political story" of Mark Sanford's "soap opera." Gosnell has not resurfaced on the network, even though MSNBC reported on the trial on Tuesday.
MSNBC reported the Gosnell trial for a second time on Tuesday, as Chris Matthews led a segment about it on Hardball starting at 5:36 p.m. ET.]
On the afternoon of April 24, CNN finally mentioned the Gosnell trial for the first time in 11 days. Host Jake Tapper spent 30 seconds on new developments in the trial, during the 4 p.m. ET hour of The Lead.
