In the Friday morning coverage of former Sen. John Edwards' indictment by a federal grand jury, only one of the three major networks, CBS, reported that he was a Democrat. Neither ABC nor NBC reported Edwards' party affiliation, simply calling him a "former presidential candidate."
ABC's Good Morning America sympathetically called the morning "a difficult one" for Edwards as he faced indictment. Both ABC and NBC did full segments on the scandal, and ABC's Good Morning America actually led the show with the story. CBS only briefly mentioned the story before moving on with other news.
The former Democratic senator and presidential candidate was indicted Friday for taking illegal campaign contributions, conspiracy, and making false statements to cover up for his extra-marital affair. Edwards was a former Democratic senator from North Carolina and ran twice for president in 2004 and 2008.
The scandal happened during his 2008 presidential campaign when he fathered a child with another woman and allegedly used campaign money to cover it up and continue campaigning.
Here is the transcript for the Edwards segment on the Early Show, which aired at 7:15 a.m. EDT:
JEFF GLOR: Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards may be indicted today, charged with using campaign funds to hide an affair. Edwards' lawyer is headed to North Carolina to possibly meet with prosecutors.
After withdrawing late in the primaries in 2004, he later became John Kerry's running-mate as vice-presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, NBC also offered a neutral view of the story to begin its segment. "This is shaping up as a pivotal day for John Edwards," NBC correspondent Lisa Myers began her innocent take on the news of the day.
