In the first network newscasts since Hillary Clinton officially announced her presidential campaign, on Sunday night ABC and NBC cheered Clinton’s announcement and gushed over her campaign video as well as the traffic it received on Twitter. In addition, the networks refused to label her a liberal.
With the CBS Evening News preempted on the East Coast for The Masters, ABC’s World News Tonight led things off with Sunday anchor Tom Llamas eagerly promoting the reach of Clinton’s announcement on social media: “Instead, the campaign kicked off with this video sent out on social media. Twitter lighting up the announcement. Check this out. Retweeted 3 million times the first hour, trending number one across the globe.”
Llamas then tossed to Clinton campaign correspondent and Saturday anchor Cecilia Vega, who began her report from Brooklyn by noting that the street behind the one for Clinton’s campaign headquarters is “appropriately named Clinton Street.” Turning to Clinton’s video, Vega gushed:
The former First Lady, Senator and secretary of state once again hoping to be the first woman in the Oval Office, making her pitch through voices like these. Moms. Workers. Black, white, Spanish-speaking, and gay...It will be the theme of her campaign for the next 576 days. She says the focus is not on her, but on people she called everyday Americans.
Declining to bring up any of her recent scandals, Vega instead proclaimed that “while her supporters are cheering,” critics were “ready to pounce from SNL...to Republicans.”
On NBC Nightly News, weekend (and also interim weekday) anchor Lester Holt began the broadcast by asserting that: “[W]ith a 16-word tweet and two-minute video, Hillary Clinton managed to electrify the race for president among both her political supporters and her political opponents.”
White House correspondent Kristen Welker started her portion of the program by immediately spinning for Clinton with the declaration that her video was “sleek” and “her message” being that: “She wants to fight for the middle class as she tries once again to become the first female president.”
In the only use of an ideological label by either network, Welker added that Clinton’s “strategy” includes “convincing voters she is the right person to address economic inequality and aims to court Democrats who’ve argued she's not progressive enough.”
Prior to touting her “fresh images” on Facebook and Twitter, Welker promoted the video: “Instead of an on-camera speech, this message is about the voter. Clinton doesn't appear until half way through the video. The emphasis is on sharing the stories of Americans of different ages, races, sexual orientation.”
On the subject of Republican opponents, Welker reported that the GOP had “launched a series of preemptive strikes” by “[p]assing out ‘Stop Hillary’ paraphernalia outside her headquarters in Brooklyn and they released their own video jabs today.”
Unlike ABC, NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell followed Welker’s report by bringing up the many problems Clinton has faced and/or created in the last year, ranging from her book tour that “was widely panned for unforced errors,” speeches that have been “notably flat,” her e-mail scandal, and the on-going “questions about Benghazi.”
However, Mitchell seemed to dismiss the issue, saying that “[c]ongressional hearings” concerning the deadly 2012 attack in Libya “won't let up.”
Even though the CBS Evening News did not air on the East Coast, it was shown out West. The program led off with a report from correspondent Nancy Cordes and analysis from John Dickerson (who was just named Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer’s successor). The full episode can be found here.
In comparison to Clinton’s warm welcome, the two declared Republican presidential candidates did not exactly receive the same type of coverage. When Ted Cruz became the first Republican to announce his candidacy on March 23, the networks were there to attack him.
Weekday World News Tonight anchor David Muir led the way by fretting about and oversimplifying Cruz’s policy positions: “The first major candidate announcing he's running for president. Promising no abortion, no gay marriage, no gun control, no IRS.” The following morning, all three networks ran interviews that battered Cruz for holding “no-compromise” and “hardline” views.
When Paul declared on April 7, the networks labeled him a conservative only once and libertarian just four times across their morning and evening newscasts. Further, whenever Clinton sits down for her first network interview, it’s unlikely that she will be pressed by any of the network news personalities as Paul was after announcing.
The relevant portions of the transcript from ABC’s World News Tonight on April 12 can be found below.
ABC’s World News Tonight
April 12, 2015
6:00 p.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: “I’m Running”]
TOM LLAMAS: She's in. Hillary Clinton makes it official. Making another bid to be the first woman president of the United States. With this launch video.
HILLARY CLINTON: I'm running for president.
LLAMAS: But the star is not who you think. Her plan to win and how Republicans will try to stop her.
(....)
6:01 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Off and Running]
LLAMAS: And we begin with Hillary Clinton's official announcement. After months of dodging the question, finally saying she's running for president for a second time, but she didn't do it in person. Instead, the campaign kicked off with this video sent out on social media. Twitter lighting up the announcement. Check this out. Retweeted 3 million times the first hour, trending number one across the globe. ABC's Cecilia Vega who will lead our coverage of the Clinton campaign, starting us off tonight from Brooklyn. Cecilia?
CECILIA VEGA: Tom, good evening to you. This building here behind me, this is Hillary Clinton headquarters. The street behind that, appropriately named Clinton Street.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Off and Running; Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Bid]
For two years, there have been these questions about Hillary Clinton's political future. Will she run? Won't she run? Well, tonight, we know the answer. A presidential campaign launched on YouTube. Hillary Clinton making her long anticipated entry into the 2016 race official with this.
(....)
VEGA: The former First Lady, Senator and secretary of state once again hoping to be the first woman in the Oval Office, making her pitch through voices like these. Moms. Workers. Black, white, Spanish-speaking, and gay.
(....)
VEGA: It will be the theme of her campaign for the next 576 days. She says the focus is not on her, but on people she called everyday Americans.
CLINTON: Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion.
VEGA: And while her supporters are cheering, Chelsea tweeting, “[v]ery proud of you mom,” so many others ready to pounce from SNL...to Republicans. Opponent Rand Paul releasing this ad today.
A partial transcript of the first segment that aired on April 12's NBC Nightly News can be found below.
NBC Nightly News
April 12, 2015
6:31 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: She’s in]
LESTER HOLT: She surprised exactly no one, but this afternoon, with a 16-word tweet and two-minute video, Hillary Clinton managed to electrify the race for president among both her political supporters and her political opponents. She is running for president and says next stop, Iowa. Tonight, both sides are braced for what comes next. For Clinton, it’s about raising cash and trying to build from the lesson of 2008 defeat with a more approachable image. For opponents, it’s looking to define her by Benghazi and personal e-mails. We have two reports starting with Kristin Welker on how it unfolded. Kristen, good evening.
KRISTEN WELKER: Lester, good evening. Hillary Clinton posted online late this afternoon. Her message? She wants to fight for the middle class as she tries once again to become the first female president.
(....)
WELKER: Her strategy? Convincing voters she is the right person to address economic inequality and aims to court Democrats who’ve argued she's not progressive enough.
(....)
WELKER: Instead of an on-camera speech, this message is about the voter. Clinton doesn't appear until half way through the video. The emphasis is on sharing the stories of Americans of different ages, races, sexual orientation.
(....)
WELKER: It's a turn around from her last campaign a that portrayed her as the inevitable nominee. Clinton quickly updated the social media pages today, trading in that well known shot of her on BlackBerry with fresh images on Facebook and Twitter. Moments later, daughter Chelsea tweeted out, “proud of you Mom.” Last night, speaking from Panama, the President offered support to his former secretary of state.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA [on 04/11/15]: I think she would be an excellent president.
WELKER: And Republicans launched a series of preemptive strikes, Passing out “Stop Hillary” paraphernalia outside her headquarters in Brooklyn and they released their own video jabs today.
(....)
WELKER: And the Republican National Committee released a statement, challenging Clinton’s veracity. Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign announced her first stop will be in Iowa on Tuesday, a state she lost in 2008, but now polls show her over all her Democratic challengers there and all across the country.
