In the past several days, as the Iranian government has reportedly ordered the massacres of more civilian protesters than in any previous protests -- reportedly as many as 1,000 -- most of the dominant liberal media have given surprisingly little attention to the developments, in contrast with Fox News Channel which has devoted substantially more time to the story across several shows.
While CBS morning and evening news casts this week have all failed to cover the deadly Iranian protest crackdown, the NBC Nightly News on Tuesday and, surprisingly, ABC's Good Morning America on Monday each gave the story a report of more than a minute. Thursday's Good Morning America spent ten seconds vaguely alluding to "significant unrest" in country due to "U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports."
PBS NewsHour has given the story a brief each day from Monday to Thursday.
Over on CNN, The Lead with Jake Tapper and The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer were the only shows between 6 a.m. and midnight to cover the story, with each giving it a full report on Monday. MSNBC's Morning Joe arrived at the story on Tuesday, giving it a minute and a half, after MSNBC Live with Hallie Jackson had given it just over half a minute on Monday morning.
By contrast, between Sunday afternoon and this morning (Friday), Fox News Channel has spent a total of more than 20 minutes on the story with segments included on America's News Headquarters, Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream and, especially, The Story with Martha MacCallam which has given the story a total of 10 minutes across two days.
Several other prominent shows like Fox and Friends, and Fox News Reporting have also included signficant coverage of the violent crackdown.
On her December 2, show, MacCallum devoted a seven-and-a-half-minute segment to interviewing Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, whose brother was arrested in Iran after he made a video about the protests.
While the other networks lost interest in the story earlier in the week, the Fox News Channel and PBS have continued their reporting, informing viewers of the updated figure of at least 1,000 protesters believed killed by the Iranian government.
Below are a sampling of transcripts from shows on ABC, NBC, CNN, and the Fox News Channel (click "expand"):
FNC's Fox and Friends
December 6, 2019
6:13 a.m. EasternJILLIAN MELE: The State Department believes more than 1,000 people have been killed by Iranian security forces during fuel cost protests.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's something that is going to be a big scandal throughout the world very soon. They're killing a lot of people, and they're arresting thousands of their own citizens in a brutal crackdown. in recent weeks.
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FNC's Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream
December 5, 2019
11:15 p.m. EasternSHANNON BREAM: And while reports vary, it is believed that up to 1,000 Iranians may have died at the hands of their own government just since last month. At a briefing today, special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, didn't offer specifics about an overall death toll, but cited a video as proof that that IRG and the regime are, in fact, slaughtering their own people.
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FNC's The Story with Martha MacCallum
December 5, 2019
7:38 p.m. EasternKEVIN CORKE: Given the reports that we have heard, not just from State Department and Pentagon officials, but also from eyewitnesses on the ground, it is a devastating revelation for the Iranian people and an unvarnished reflection of the leadership currently hanging on to power in that country. The reports to vary -- it's still believed, though, that up to 1,000 people have met their own demise at the hands of their own government just since last month. At a briefing today, special representative Brian Hook didn't give us specifics about the death toll overall, but he did cite a video as proof that the IRG and the regime are, in fact, slaughtering their own people.
BRIAN HOOK: Without warning the IRGC opened fire on the protesters, killing several people. Many of the protesters fled to nearby marshlands to escape. The IRCG tracked them down and surrounded them with machine guns mounted on trucks. They then sprayed the protesters with bullets. Between the rounds of machine gun fire, the screams of the victims can be heard.
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NBC Nightly News
December 3, 2019
7:10 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: And tonight we want to tell you about an alarming and deadly situation that's been unfolding over the past couple of weeks in another part of the world, inside Iran. Authorities have been waging a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests with hundreds of people reported killed. Richard Engel reports on what's behind the violence.
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ABC's Good Morning America
December 2, 2019
7:14 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to go overseas now to a brutal crackdown in Iran. Hundreds have been killed by government forces confronting mass protest after a sudden spike in fuel prices. It's the deadliest political unrest there since the Revolution in 1979
(....)
JAMES LONGMAN: These protests broke out just after at least a 50 percent increase in gas prices following a brutal crackdown that morphed into a wider call to bring down the Iranian government. Information is patchy because of internet blackout initiated by the government, but, over the last two weeks, local journalists and rights groups say at least 180 people have been killed; 2,000 wounded; and 7,000 detained.
Now, all this is linked to U.S. sanctions on oil exports, which are clearly taking their toll. That was a move by Donald Trump to force Iran back to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. is putting real pressure on the government and the clerics especially since these protests are concentrated In poorer areas normally loyal to the regime. Huge protests back in 2009 gained worldwide attention, but the current demonstrations look to be more widespread and have already left more people dead. This represents a major challenge to the government's power and authority[.]
