On Tuesday evening, Illinois Senator Kimberly Lightford was carjacked by three suspects wearing masks, according to a report by Fox 32 News. The next day, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was also carjacked at gunpoint by two men at F.D.R. Park in Philadelphia. Apparently, none of the three broadcast evening newscasts thought these stories deserved to be covered in depth.
CBS Evening News was the only evening network newscast to cover the carjacking of Congresswoman Scanlon, which only lasted a scant twenty-four seconds.
According to CBS Evening News fill-in host Jamie Yuccas, Congresswoman Scanlon had her personal cell phone, her government cell phone, her purse as well as her 2017 Acura stolen:
Tonight, a U.S. Congresswoman is a victim of the surging crime that's being seen in so many cities. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint by two men at F.D.R. Park in Philadelphia. She was not hurt. The robbers, though, took off with her 2017 Acura, her personal and government cell phones, her purse, and I.D. Philadelphia has recorded more than 500 homicides this year.
CBS did not mention the carjacking of Senator Lightford. In fact, none of the networks mentioned her. Only Fox News' Special Report mentioned both attacks:
Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightfoot Ford (sic) and her husband were victims of a carjacking last night in suburban Chicago. Lightford in that area. Police say multiple gunshots were fired but no one was injured. Police in south Philadelphia meantime say Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was the victim of another carjacking this afternoon. They say Scanlon was walking to her parked vehicle and was approached by two men demanding her vehicle keys.
ABC? NBC? Not one mention. You would think the network broadcasts would give this substantial coverage. Unfortunately, they did not.
Instead, some of the networks spent precious airtime on a missing three-year-old girl in Texas (CBS), weather reports in the Bay Area (CBS), Christmas lights (ABC), and a local Florida police department’s search for a young boy who sent an officer money in a thank you card (NBC).
While these are all important stories to the local communities involved, they are not national stories with an impact on public policy. National news networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS should cover stories with national implications. Especially when both politicians supported defunding the police and crime is spiking nationwide.
NBC & ABC’s failure to cover these latest instances of skyrocketing crime in American cities was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from QuickBooks NBC and Salonpas on ABC. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
Read the relevant transcripts of both segments below:
CBS Evening News
12/22/2021
6:41:27pmJAMIE YUCCAS: Tonight, a U.S. Congresswoman is a victim of the surging crime that's being seen in so many cities. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon was carjacked at gunpoint by two men at F.D.R. Park in Philadelphia. She was not hurt. The robbers, though, took off with her 2017 Acura, her personal and government cell phones, her purse, and I.D. Philadelphia has recorded more than 500 homicides this year.
Fox News Channel's Special Report
12/22/2021
6:24:56pmBRET BAIER: Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightfoot Ford (sic) and her husband were victims of a carjacking last night in suburban Chicago. Lightford in that area. Police say multiple gunshots were fired but no one was injured. Police in south Philadelphia meantime say Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon was the victim of another carjacking this afternoon. They say Scanlon was walking to her parked vehicle and was approached by two men demanding her vehicle keys.
