That didn’t take long. Despite deluging the country with stories on Roy Moore, ABC and NBC's morning shows, Monday, avoided any coverage of Al Franken and the ongoing charges of sexual harassment. CBS This Morning allowed a scant 28 seconds to the Democrat’s assertions he will not resign. Between all three networks, that’s 28 seconds out of a combined 8 HOURS of available air time.
It was only a couple hours after the airing of these morning shows that a new accuser stepped forward to claim Franken grabbed her rear end and “groped” her, according to the man’s wife.
On CBS This Morning, guest co-host Vladimir Duthiers: updated:
Democratic Senator Al Franken’s office says he will not resign over allegations of sexual misconduct. A Franken spokesman told The Minneapolis Tribune he is spending time with his family and doing a lot of reflecting. Franken has apologized to talk radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden, who says he kissed and groped her during a 2006 USO tour. PBS is editing the former Saturday Night Live performer out of a special honoring David Letterman that airs tonight. It says, “Including Franken would be a distraction.”
Later on CNN, reporter MJ Lee revealed the story of the latest accuser.
She explained on CNN.com:
Lindsay Menz, a 33-year-old woman who now lives in Frisco, Texas, reached out to CNN on Thursday hours after Tweeden made her story public. Menz said she wanted to share an "uncomfortable" interaction that left her feeling "gross."
According to Menz, she attended the Minnesota State Fair with her husband and father in the summer of 2010, almost two years after Franken was elected to the Senate. Her father's small business was sponsoring a local radio booth, and she spent the day meeting various elected officials, political candidates and celebrities and taking photos with them as they stopped by the booth.
When Franken walked in, Menz and her husband, who also spoke with CNN, said they recognized him right away. Menz said she had a brief and cordial exchange with the senator.
Then, as her husband held up her phone and got ready to snap a photo of the two of them, Franken "pulled me in really close, like awkward close, and as my husband took the picture, he put his hand full-fledged on my rear," Menz said. "It was wrapped tightly around my butt cheek.""It wasn't around my waist. It wasn't around my hip or side. It was definitely on my butt," she said, recalling that the brazen act lasted three or four seconds. "I was like, oh my God, what's happening."
Over six days, the networks devoted 125 minutes to Roy Moore. With the number of Franken accusers mounting, will journalists do the fair thing and devote extensive coverage to the charges against the Democrat? Or is this sort of attention only warranted for Republicans?
To see an MSNBC journalist referring to Franken’s action as “not actually groping,” go here.
