After all three major broadcast networks covered on Wednesday morning news that the FBI is investigating Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server, ABC and NBC moved on from it by the time their evening newscasts rolled around to instead award nearly two minutes to the Cecil the lion story.
Joining ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News in the blackout of this development was Spanish-language network Telemundo and its evening newscast, Noticiero Telemundo. Thus far, that network has yet to even mention this latest blow for the Democratic presidential candidate.
In contrast, CBS and Univision found the time to cover this new break in one of the many Clinton scandals and combined for two minutes and 12 seconds of airtime (two minutes and 18 seconds with a tease on CBS).
On CBS, anchor Scott Pelley told viewers that “[t]he FBI is now looking into the private e-mail system that Hillary Clinton used as secretary of state” with “the question” being “whether Clinton's home-based server compromised national security information.”
Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes mentioned that the former secretary of state “has repeatedly denied” sending any classified information even though a report from “the intelligence community’s inspector general” found “that a review of 40 of Clinton’s e-mails revealed four e-mails that ‘contained classified information when they were generated.’”
Citing a government source, Cordes further reported that:
FBI agents contacted a Denver tech company that helped to manage Clinton's private system. Agents also reached out to Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, asking about the security of a thumb drive he kept with copies of Clinton's emails.
Along with two soundbites from a State Department spokesman trying to refute and minimize the story, Cordes added that “Clinton's lawyer downplayed the FBI's inquiry” and how, currently, “no criminal investigation has been launched.”
Over on Univision's Noticiero Univision, this news on Clinton’s e-mail scandal saw 25 seconds of airtime in a news brief from co-anchor Maria Elena Salinas before moving onto a segment previewing the upcoming Republican presidential debate.
Instead of even following Univision’s example, English-language networks ABC and NBC reserved a combined one minute and 58 seconds for the continued “outrage” over Cecil the lion’s death at the hands of an American dentist (with latest news being that his Florida home was vandalized).
Earlier Wednesday before the evening newscasts, the MRC’s Katie Yoder extensively detailed the disparity in coverage between the Planned Parenthood baby parts video scandal and the Cecil the lion coverage. Prior to Wednesday night, the networks had spent one hour, 32 minutes and 56 seconds across their morning and evening newscasts compared to only 20 minutes and 21 seconds on the Planned Parenthood scandal.
The relevant portions of the transcript from the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on August 5 can be found below.
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
August 5, 2015
6:34 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: FBI Investigation]
SCOTT PELLEY: The FBI is now looking into the private e-mail system that Hillary Clinton used as secretary of state. The question is whether Clinton's home-based server compromised national security information.
HILLARY CLINTON: I am thrilled to be here.
NANCY CORDES: The FBI is trying to determine whether Clinton's use of a personal e-mail account and private server at her moment home in Chappaqua, New York, exposed any classified information, something Clinton has repeatedly denied.
CLINTON [IN U.N. PRESS CONFERENCE]: I did not e-mail any classified material.
CORDES: A U.S. government source confirms FBI agents contacted a Denver tech company that helped to manage Clinton's private system. Agents also reached out to Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, asking about the security of a thumb drive he kept with copies of Clinton's emails. The inquiry comes after flags were raised by the intelligence community's inspector general. He reported that a review of 40 of Clinton’s e-mails revealed four e-mails that “contained classified information when they were generated.” State Department Spokesman Mark Toner disputed that today.
STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN MARK TONER: Through our process, we've not seen anything that former Secretary Clinton has given us that should have been classified at the time.
CORDES: He said the department sent a security expert to Kendall's law firm to examine how the thumb drive is stored.
TONER: We simply cleared the site where they're being held, made sure it was a secure facility and capable of holding what could be potentially classified material.
CORDES: In a statement, Clinton's lawyer downplayed the FBI's inquiry, calling it quite predictable that agents would reach out to him to make sure that sensitive material was properly stored. As of now, Scott, no criminal investigation has been launched.
