Mothers with young daughters rejoiced on Monday when Carlos Danger, AKA former Congressman Anthony Weiner, was sentenced to 21 months behind bars for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. But the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) seemed a little timid when reporting the news later that evening. ABC reporters blacked it out from their reporting on World News Tonight all together, while both CBS and NBC failed to mention that Weiner was a Democrat.
“Former Congressman Anthony Weiner put his face in his hands and wept today after a federal judge sentenced him to 21 months in prison for sexting with a 15-year-old girl,” announced Anchor Anthony Mason during CBS Evening News.
Mason went on bemoan how the Weiner situation found its way into Hillary Clinton’s election troubles:
The case played a pivotal role in the presidential campaign. While checking Weiner's computer, the FBI Discovered e-mails between Hillary Clinton and top aide Huma Abedin, Weiner’s wife. That led FBI Director James Comey to reopen the Clinton e-mail investigation just 11 days before the election.
During NBC Nightly News, Savannah Guthrie kept the news brief simple with no mention of 2016 electoral politics. After reporting how long he would serve in prison, she noted that “Weiner is the estranged husband of one of Hillary Clinton's most senior aides, Huma Abedin.”
“He was fined $10,000 and ordered to report to prison by November 6. He also must enter into a sex offender treatment program after his release,” she added.
If Anthony Weiner was a Republican there is no doubt that they would take great care to mention which party he belonged to. And ABC would have managed to shoehorn in the story at some point during their broadcast.
Transcript below:
CBS Evening News
September 25, 2017
6:52:56 PM EasternANTHONY MASON: Former Congressman Anthony Weiner put his face in his hands and wept today after a federal judge sentenced him to 21 months in prison for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. The case played a pivotal role in the presidential campaign. While checking Weiner's computer, the FBI Discovered e-mails between Hillary Clinton and top aide Huma Abedin, Weiner’s wife. That led FBI Director James Comey to reopen the Clinton e-mail investigation just 11 days before the election.
...
NBC Nightly News
September 25, 2017
7:16:13 PM EasternSAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Former Congressman Anthony Weiner is headed to prison. He was sentenced today to 21 months for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. Weiner is the estranged husband of one of Hillary Clinton's most senior aides, Huma Abedin. He was fined $10,000 and ordered to report to prison by November 6. He also must enter into a sex offender treatment program after his release.
