On Monday night the nightly broadcast networks were clearly panicked over the possibility of the Supreme Court striking down the long-standing racist policy of Affirmative Action during their coverage of the high court’s decision to take up the case.
ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir in a clearly concerned voice intoned “the court is taking up lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina that claim they illegally discriminate against Asian American applicants.”
Muir was sure to remind his audience about the Court’s makeup in order to make its decision to hear the case seem political by claiming “a decision against those schools by the new conservative majority could potentially end affirmative action in college admissions.”
Over on the CBS Evening News, it was much the same thing with Norah O’Donnell in her typical concerned voice wailing that the “conservative majority Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions” O’Donnell warned that “a decision against those schools by the new conservative majority could potentially end affirmative action in college admissions.”
Yeah God forbid we end a racist policy that routinely discriminates against Asian Americans! How horrible!
Meanwhile, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt claimed the court’s decision to hear the case is “raising alarms.” NBC Justice correspondent Pete Williams replied by saying it is raising alarms because “this is the most serious threat in decades.”
Williams went on to argue that “the court has repeatedly ruled that a student's race can be considered as a plus factor in helping schools achieve the educational benefits of a more diverse student body” before bemoaning the fact that two of the court’s biggest advocates of affirmative action “Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsberg are gone. They were succeeded by Trump appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.”
This latest example of the evening news broadcast’s panicked coverage when one of their favorite liberal policies is in jeopardy was brought to you by Pacific Life (ABC), TD Ameritrade (CBS), and Liberty Mutual (NBC).
To read the transcript of each segment click “expand”:
ABC World News Tonight
1/24/2022
6:46:29 PM
DAVID MUIR: In Washington, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a high-stakes case on whether race can be considered in college admissions. The court is taking up lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina that claim they illegally discriminate against Asian American applicants. A decision against those schools by the new conservative majority could potentially end affirmative action in college admissions.
CBS Evening News1/24/2022
6:49:44 PM
NORAH O’DONNELL: The conservative majority Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions. The lawsuits accuse Harvard University and the University of North Carolina of discriminating against Asian-American applicants in an effort to promote diversity, while a decision against the schools could mean the end of affirmative action in college admissions.
NBC Nightly News
1/24/2022
7:17:42 PM
LESTER HOLT: A major development tonight for the future of affirmative action in college admissions. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal by opponents who say it discriminates against white and Asian students. Pete Williams is here. And Pete, why is the court's decision to hear the case raising alarms?
PETE WILLIAMS: Because this is the most serious threat in decades, Lester, to considering a student's race in admissions. The court agreed to hear two cases challenging race-conscious admissions at a private school, Harvard, and a public one, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The court has repeatedly ruled that a student's race can be considered as a plus factor in helping schools achieve the educational benefits of a more diverse student body, but two justices who ruled in favor of affirmative action in the past, Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsberg are gone. They were succeeded by Trump appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, they haven't written much on the subject but it’s likely they'll be more skeptical. The court will hear the case in its next term which begins in October and that means a decision is at least a year away. Lester?
HOLT: Alright, Pete thank you for that.
