CNN and MSNBC have enthusiastically showcased the mugshots of individuals implicated alongside Donald Trump, presenting them as macabre trophies to captivate their viewers and boast about their prized catches.
MRC analysts thoroughly reviewed content aired on CNN and MSNBC over a 24-hour period starting from 6:00 p.m. on August 23. In this timeframe, the two networks displayed the mugshots of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former Trump administration Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and other co-defendants a total of 188 times, adding up to 83 minutes of combined airtime.
Out of the duo, MSNBC took the lead in both the overall frequency of on-screen presentations and the amount of airtime dedicated to the mugshots. They displayed the mugshots a remarkable 122 times, contributing to a cumulative screen time of 56 minutes and 23 seconds. CNN, on the other hand, exhibited these images 66 times, accounting for a total of 27 minutes and 12 seconds on screen.
On the August 23 episode of “The Beat with Ari Melber,” the time featuring a mugshot on-screen exceeded the time without one. Within the show’s 46-minute segment of uninterrupted coverage, mugshots of at least one of the defendants were visible for an astonishing 25 minutes and 9 seconds.
On August 17, CNN anchor Jake Tapper took to Twitter to express his frustration over accusations that left-leaning journalists were excessively enjoying the details of the Georgia indictment. He disputed claims that CNN journalists, including conservatives, were relishing these facts, denouncing the accusations as dishonest and characteristic of misinformation.
However, Tapper’s apparent indignation appears exaggerated, considering his own behavior. During CNN’s live coverage of the indictment on August 24, Tapper displayed notable enthusiasm for the recently obtained mugshot of Mark Meadows. Throughout the 3:00 p.m. ET hour, he repeatedly urged producers to showcase the photo on the screen so he could extend his discussion around it.
The showcasing of conservative mug shots is just one small symptom of media-gone-mad.
During the House Oversight Committee testimony of Devon Archer, CNN, and MSNBC collectively mentioned Donald Trump 759 times, in contrast to mentioning Archer only 48 times.
In this timeframe, MSNBC had 461 mentions of the former President, with CNN contributing the remaining 298. In contrast, CNN mentioned Archer merely 37 times during his testimony, and MSNBC discussed him only 11 times.
That same day on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the former President’s name was mentioned 70 times in the first hour alone and 212 times throughout the entire show. Interestingly, there was no mention of Archer during the show’s four-hour duration.
Following Trump’s third arraignment on August 3, an overwhelming 91.32% of their news-related content revolved around Trump’s legal matters, his associations, or the subsequent reactions and analyses. Collectively, the networks aired news coverage for 26 hours, 48 minutes, and 23 seconds that day. Out of this, 24 hours, 28 minutes, and 50 seconds were dedicated to all things Trump. This highlights yet another instance where CNN and MSNBC allocated over 90% of their airtime to Trump’s legal proceedings.
In comparison, the scandals involving Joe and Hunter Biden received only 13 minutes and 59 seconds of coverage. To put it differently, Trump’s issues received coverage 105 times greater than the Bidens’, accounting for just 1% of the total broadcast time.
These “bombshell” revelations regarding Trump are interesting, but not for the reason the networks think. It’s the overuse of the term “bombshell” and the now-validated fact that it is reserved for potentially damaging news regarding conservatives.
MRC analysts assessed coverage on liberal cable networks (CNN and MSNBC) and broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) from January 1 to August 23, 2023. They focused on instances where the term “bombshell” was used.
When considering news stories as “bombshells,” journalists tended to label political topics more frequently. A substantial majority (74.6% or 274 cases) portrayed Republicans in an unfavorable light, while merely 3% (11 cases) were potentially detrimental to Democrats.
From January 1 through August 23, the term “bombshell” was used to describe news about Trump 147 times. In that same time span, despite all the mounting evidence and breaking news, the term was used only seven times to describe Biden’s news. Biden “bombshells” held the sixteenth spot for the term, behind Prince Harry’s new book, Clarence Thomas ethics questions, and the FOX/Dominion lawsuit.
There must be a small part of every liberal journalist that secretly hopes Trump doesn’t drop out of the election. After all, if it weren’t for Trump, reporters, late-night TV hosts, and the entire cast of The View would have nothing left to talk about.
