NBC's Today on Tuesday was the sole Big Three morning or evening newscast to cover the latest development in the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. News anchor Natalies Morales devoted 21 seconds to the city government enforcing a court order to clear out part of the demonstrators' encampment. The protesters have spent nearly two months at the site. [video below]
ABC and CBS both ignored this story on their morning shows on Tuesdays (NBC Nightly News also didn't cover it on Tuesday). Instead, Good Morning America set aside over two and a half minutes to a music video out of China that might be the next "Gangnam Style." CBS This Morning gave an 18-second news brief on the world's tallest roller coaster, which is being built in Florida. Both networks actually posted AP's report about the Hong Kong government's move against the protesters on their respective websites.
This is a reversal of the Big Three's treatment of the demonstrations when they first began earlier in 2014. NBC's morning and evening newscasts ignored a July 1 protest, which ABC labeled "one of the largest marches in Hong Kong's history." However, ABC and CBS both failed to label the Chinese government communist during their reports on the march. Morales also omitted this political labeling during her brief on Tuesday.
Nearly three months later, on the September 29, 2014 edition of World News Tonight, ABC actually devoted twice the amount of air time to the birth of Chelsea Clinton's baby than they did to the demonstrations in Hong Kong.
The transcript of Natalie Morales's news brief from Tuesday's Today on NBC:
NATALIE MORALES: Workers in Hong Kong are removing some of the barricades at a – a democracy protest site, where activists have camped out for now nearly two months. The workers cut plastic ties holding back those metal barricades together, and are loading them into a truck. Chinese authorities have declared the gatherings illegal; and neither the government, nor the student leaders, have shown any willingness to compromise.
