In the battle for balanced news, score one each for Univision and Telemundo. Unlike the CBS, NBC and ABC evening news, both Noticiero Univision and Noticiero Telemundo on Friday night included soundbites from conservative leaders on the resignation of President Obama’s HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius.
On Univision, correspondent Lourdes Meluzá ran a clip of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who noted that Sebelius has been the principle face of “the disaster that has been, is and will continue to be ObamaCare.” Even more noteworthy, Univision’s report also featured Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin, who called ObamaCare the former Secretary’s “legacy of shame” and said Sebelius “could go down in history as one of the most incompetent Cabinet secretaries in the history of the Republic."
Meanwhile, on Noticiero Telemundo, correspondent Lori Montenegro’s report also included parting shots from Republican opponents of ObamaCare. RNC Hispanic Communications Director Izzy Santa pointed out that Sebelius’ departure does nothing to change “the fines (of Obamacare) are still going to be there, the cost is going to go up and many people are concerned about limited access to doctors.”
These voices of opposition to ObamaCare no doubt represent the sentiments of a large chunk of the nation’s Latino-origin adults, a segment of the population where support for ObamaCare, according to the Pew Research Center, has steadily fallen, from 61 percent six months ago to the point now where supporters and opponents are equally divided, at 47 percent to 47 percent.
This is not to say either Univision or Telemundo’s reporting was tilted in favor of conservatives – President Obama, Secretary Sebelius and their respective coteries of aides and supporters were also extensively quoted in the reports – but both stories stood out for at least being balanced, providing conservatives the opportunity to weigh in – and actually land a couple of heavy punches – in regard to this controversial Cabinet secretary and her role in the implementation of the administration’s most sweeping domestic policy initiative.
The same cannot be said of coverage on the CBS, NBC or ABC evening news. Between them, ABC and CBS dedicated a scant 45 seconds to the Sebelius departure story. Chuck Todd’s report on NBC provided a more thorough account of Sebelius’ rocky tenure, but similarly to the coverage on ABC and CBS, failed to quote a single conservative critic.
