The district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, Fani Willis, gave the liberal media another excuse to move past and ignore the bribery and corruption allegations swirling around President Biden and his family. Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, the Big Three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) dedicated a combined 62 minutes flat on their flagship newscasts to hyping the fourth indictment of former President Trump.
As NewsBusters previously counted, the Tuesday morning newscasts (the first time they could report it since the indictment dropped Monday evening) of ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and NBC’s Today dedicated 33 minutes and 17 seconds to the Georgia indictment. We also noted that, based on how much time they spent on the story, they ranked alphabetically in terms of how much airtime they dedicated to the story.
But come Wednesday, CBS stormed into the lead with a combined 24 minutes and five seconds over both days. This was largely due to chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett who was on the ground at the Iowa State Fair to take the temperature of how the Georgia indictment (along with the others) was impacting the GOP primary.
“Reaction among Republican voters here breaks down to two ways. First, general sympathy. Trump's the victim of too many Democratic investigations. But second, and possibly more telling, Trump is distracted and wounded, and it may be time for Republicans to move on,” Garrett reported to the cast of CBS Mornings.
Since our last update, CBS had tacked on 11 minutes and 49 seconds.
Also, since our last update, ABC fell to second place with a combined 21 minutes and 44 seconds (adding 9 minutes and 24 seconds between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning).
“This morning former President Trump intensifying his attacks on a criminal justice system that has charged him in four places at once … The indictment putting him atop a criminal organization that also includes 18 aides, attorneys and associates, and 30 unnamed co-conspirators all allegedly conspiring to strongarm Georgia into helping Trump cling to power,” reporter Aaron Katersky proclaimed.
Over on NBC, they seemed content to bring up the rear with 16 minutes and 11 seconds of airtime for the Georgia indictment (the only network in the Big Three to have less than 20 minutes total). Seven minutes and 32 seconds of that total came between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt seemed to open his Tuesday show with a quip at Trump’s expense. “Already facing a dizzying crossroads of nearly unprecedented legal and political challenges, Donald Trump's trail of criminal indictments has grown longer,” he said.
It’s also worth noting that part of Garrett’s report was speaking with some of the other GOP candidates about Trump and his indictments. This further proves that Trump is their favorite topic and their choice for the GOP nomination.
