On Thursday night, NBC Nightly News became the first broadcast network newscast to bid farewell to murdered University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts despite new developments, including results of the preliminary autopsy report.
ABC’s World News Tonight wasn’t much better, relegating Tibbetts to a news brief in the show’s third block which ran for one second less than the three teases for the brief itself (19 seconds vs. 18 seconds). In contrast, the CBS Evening News stayed on top of the story with a full report.
Following those three teases, Tom Llamas led off the Instant Index as the weekend anchor subbed for David Muir:
And a major new development in the murder of that college student in Brooklyn, Iowa. Preliminary autopsy results show Mollie Tibbetts died from multiple sharp force injuries when she was attacked while jogging last month. Prosecutors say Cristhian Rivera confessed to kidnapping and killing her. Authorities say he is in this country illegally.
With ABC’s 18-second brief and then nothing from NBC, it’s worth acknowledging CBS for having stayed on the story.
Anchor Jeff Glor aired a tease then this lead-in in the show’s A-block to correspondent Adriana Diaz’s report from Brooklyn, Iowa: “New details were released today in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, the 20-year-old Iowa college student whose body was found this week a month after she disappeared.”
Diaz then elaborated on Thursday’s updates on Tibbetts and her alleged illegal immigrant killer (click “expand” for more):
20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts died from “multiple sharp force injuries”, according to Iowa state medical examiner. They ruled her death a homicide. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who has been charged with her murder, told investigators Tibbetts was bleeding from her head before he left her body in a cornfield down this road. The owners of the diary farm where Rivera worked said he used false identification to pass a background check. The Iowa Department of Transportation also says they have no record of a driver's license for Christhian Rivera.
She also interviewed a coworker of Rivera and stated that Rivera didn’t miss work and seemed normal. The CBS correspondent then shifted to the issue of illegal immigration by stating that Tibbett’s murder “has reignited calls for stronger immigration laws” and Trump released a video speaking outside the White House about the topic.
“Rivera’s coworker is an immigrant and, in response to the President's comments, she said, ‘there are bad people in every race.’ Mollie Tibbetts’s Aunt told us she doesn't want Mollie’s memory lost among political agendas. The funeral has been set for Sunday,” Diaz concluded and tossed back to Glor.
All told, CBS allocated one minute and 43 seconds to Tibbetts. I wonder if The Washington Post will declare the Glor-led newscast to be playing politics since ABC spent a few seconds on Tibbetts and NBC moved on.
Of course, it should be footnoted that NBC’s cable network MSNBC was the same place where they had frequent guest and Fordham University professor Christina Greer smear Tibbetts as merely “a girl in Iowa” “Fox News is talking about.”
To see the relevant transcript from August 23's CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor, click “expand.”
CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor
August 23, 2018
6:30 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Autopsy Findings]
JEFF GLOR: And we now know more about how Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was murdered.
(....)
6:38 p.m. Eatern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New Details]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mollie’s Autopsy Released; Iowa Student Died from ‘Multiple Sharp Force Injuries”
GLOR: New details were released today in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, the 20-year-old Iowa college student whose body was found this week a month after she disappeared. Adriana Diaz is in Brooklyn, Iowa tonight.
ADRIANA DIAZ: 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts died from “multiple sharp force injuries”, according to Iowa state medical examiner. They ruled her death a homicide. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who has been charged with her murder, told investigators Tibbetts was bleeding from her head before he left her body in a cornfield down this road. The owners of the diary farm where Rivera worked said he used false identification to pass a background check. The Iowa Department of Transportation also says they have no record of a driver's license for Christhian Rivera.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Mollie’s Autopsy Released; Murder Reignites Calls for Immigration Reform]
This woman worked with him for four years on the farm. She asked that we not use her name and blur her face. [TO WOMAN] When you heard the word “Christhian,” what did you think? [WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH] So you were hoping that it would come out that he's innocent, that the D.N.A. would prove that? She says in the five weeks since Tibbetts’s disappearance, Rivera reported to work every day, acting normally. The case has reignited calls for stronger immigration laws. The President tweeted this video last night:
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: A person came in from Mexico illegally and killed her. We need the wall. [SCREEN WIPE] We need our immigration laws changed.
DIAZ: Rivera’s coworker is an immigrant and, in response to the President's comments, she said, “there are bad people in every race.” Mollie Tibbetts’s Aunt told us she doesn't want Mollie’s memory lost among political agendas. The funeral has been set for Sunday. Jeff?
GLOR: Adriana Diaz, still on the story in Brooklyn, Iowa.
To see the relevant transcript from ABC’s World News Tonight on August 23, click “expand.”
ABC’s World News Tonight
August 23, 2018
6:31 p.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Final Moments]
TOM LLAMAS: Also tonight, that Iowa college student. What investigators are now revealing about Mollie Tibbetts, her alleged killer, and her final moments.
(....)
6:45 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Coming Up]
LLAMAS: The breaking news involving Mollie Tibbetts. What investigators have just revealed about that college student, her alleged killer and her final moments.
(....)
6:49 p.m. Eastern [TEASE]
LLAMAS: And when we come back, the breaking news about Mollie Tibbetts’s final moments.
(....)
6:52 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Final Moments
LLAMAS: And a major new development in the murder of that college student in Brooklyn, Iowa. Preliminary autopsy results show Mollie Tibbetts died from multiple sharp force injuries when she was attacked while jogging last month. Prosecutors say Cristhian Rivera confessed to kidnapping and killing her. Authorities say he is in this country illegally.
