Network Priorities: 57X More Coverage of NFL Scandals Than Obama Scandals
Published: 10/16/2014 10:30 AM ET
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By Geoffrey Dickens
Deputy Research Director
In the crucial weeks leading up to the midterm elections, the broadcast networks were obsessed with scandals, but not any of the Obama administration controversies that might influence how voters behave on Election Day. No, despite revelations in the Benghazi, IRS, Veterans Administration and Secret Service prostitution scandals it was the NFL domestic abuse scandals that captured the attention of the Big Three (ABC, NBC, CBS) networks.
Since September 4 (the start of the NFL regular season) through October 15 the networks, on their evening and morning shows, devoted a total of 171 (NBC 71, CBS 55, ABC 45) stories or briefs to five NFL players (Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Dwyer, Ray McDonald, Greg Hardy) embroiled in domestic abuse cases. Number of stories on Obama scandals over that same time period? Just three. And while no one would dispute the seriousness of the charges underlying the NFL cases, the question has to be asked doesn’t the state of the body politic deserve at least the same amount of coverage as the state of the NFL?
On the September 11 NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams used the type of terms usually reserved for a presidential administration cover-up: “Tonight, with the National Football League in full damage control mode, the former head of the FBI has now been called upon to head up what the league is calling an independent investigation into the handling of the whole Ray Rice case and the video evidence that has come to light.”
Over on CBS, Chip Reid used similar language on the September 22 CBS This Morning: “The latest revelations suggest that after Ray Rice was arrested for domestic violence, the Ravens organization was very concerned about protecting their star player and keeping the video under wraps.”
ABC anchor Robin Roberts, on the October 9 Good Morning America, announced: “Now to those scandals rocking the NFL, embattled Commissioner Roger Goodell meeting with all the owners for the first time on Wednesday to address those off-field problems, as one of the game’s biggest stars, Adrian Peterson, was in court in Texas on child abuse charges.”
However, the same kind of urgency expressed in the language used and in the amount of stories (171) devoted to the NFL’s scandal was not utilized in covering the latest developments in the following Obama scandals.
http://www.mrc.org/media-reality-check/network-priorities-57x-more-coverage-nfl-scandals-obama-scandals
