The broadcast news networks couldn’t get enough of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan – until a leading Democrat in town became the target of a corruption lawsuit. Despite spending 1 hour and 42 minutes discussing the Flint since the story broke onto the national stage in December, 2015, the evening news shows of ABC, CBS and NBC have completely ignored reports that Flint’s Democrat mayor allegedly funneled money from a charity meant to help victims of the crisis into her personal PAC.
According to CNN.com, a lawsuit filed by a city employee of the mayor claims that “in February 2016, Flint's current mayor, Karen Weaver, directed a former city employee and a city volunteer to stop directing potential donors to a charity called Safe Water/Safe Homes” and instead to direct the donations to "Karenabout Flint."
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Since this story was first reported on May 9, none of the three networks have reported on Flint at all. The last report for CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News was on May 4, when President Obama visited Flint and drank a glass of water during a press conference in what he described as “not a stunt.” ABC’s World News Tonight’s last story on Flint was on May 6, when anchor David Muir profiled a young girl from that city who had written a letter to President Obama.
Despite their apparent reluctance to discuss the scandal forming around the mayor, all three networks were quick to give a platform to critics blaming Republican governor Rick Snyder for the crisis itself, including liberal filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore.
Video courtesy of Fox 2 Detroit
