A new study has found that while news networks have obsessed over the Trump impeachment hearings, the same cannot be said for their coverage of the Clinton impeachment era.
The Media Research Center reports that ABC, CBS and NBC have dedicated 75 hours of air time to the Democrats’ sham impeachment hearings for President Trump–a far cry from the time they devoted to the Clinton impeachment proceedings in 1998.
Newsbusters writes:
NBC’s live coverage during the hearings amounted to a whopping 92 percent (1,653 minutes, or 27.5 hours) of the total 30 hours of testimony. CBS ran special coverage for 84 percent of the hearings (1,517 minutes, or 25 hours), while ABC broadcast 75 percent (1,358 minutes, or 22.5 hours). These numbers reflect the coverage on network-affiliated stations in the Washington, D.C. area.
By contrast back in November of 1998, NBC aired a paltry 26 percent (194 minutes) of Starr’s 12.5 hours of testimony on Capitol Hill. CBS covered 42 percent of the hearing (314 minutes), while ABC broadcast 36 percent (272 minutes).
Earlier this month, Newsbusters reported that since the beginning of the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, 96 percent of evening newscasts on NBC, CBS and ABC had a negative spin against President Trump.
The publication wrote that “since the beginning of the impeachment inquiry on September 24, this coverage has been even more hostile than normal: Out of 684 evaluative comments included in these broadcasts, a whopping 96 percent have been negative, vs. a meager four percent that have been positive.”
Between Sept. 24 and Nov. 5, the network evening news coverage spent 398 minutes on the impeachment inquiry and Ukraine and 95 percent of the coverage was negative. They spent 121 minutes on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and the coverage was 98 percent negative. On the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the networks dedicated 45 minutes worth of coverage with 67 percent negative spin.
