CBS's morning and evening newscasts conspicuously glossed over reporting on actor Angus T. Jones calling his own show, Two and Half Men - which airs on the network - "filth." By contrast, ABC's Good Morning America covered the remark on Tuesday, and NBC's Today show aired a news brief on the story on Wednesday.
Correspondent Teresa Garcia did file a report on the controversy on Wednesday, but only after Jones issued an apology to his employers and coworkers. Garcia's segment was also banished to CBSNews.com.
The journalist noted that "Jones says he's sorry for the viral video in which he's seen and heard trashing his popular CBS sitcom....this video [was] posted on YouTube by a religious production called Forerunner Chronicles. The recently-converted Seventh-Day Adventist appears next to spiritual guide Christopher Hudson."
While it's pretty blatant of CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News to not publicize awkward news about another program on its network, it isn't the most egregious example of the news outlet burying a story on its website. Earlier in 2012, CBS Evening News joined its fellow Big Three evening newscasts in omitting the 12 lawsuits filed by Catholic organizations against the Obama administration's abortifacient/birth control mandate.
Then-White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell pressed White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on the lawsuits at a May 22, 2012 briefing, but her exchange with Carney only appeared on CBSNews.com.
The full transcript of Teresa Garcia's November 28, 2012 report on CBSNews.com:
TERESA GARCIA: Teen actor Angus T. Jones says he's sorry for the viral video in which he's seen and heard trashing his popular CBS sitcom, 'Two and a Half Men'. In a statement released Tuesday night, Jones says, 'I apologize if my remarks reflect me showing indifference to and disrespect of my colleagues and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which I have been blessed. I never intended that.'
The nineteen-year-old was apologizing for this video, posted on YouTube by a religious production called Forerunner Chronicles. The recently-converted Seventh-Day Adventist appears next to spiritual guide Christopher Hudson.
ANGUS T. JONES, ACTOR, "TWO AND A HALF MEN" (from YouTube.com video): I'm on 'Two and a Half Men'. I don't want to be on it. Please stop watching it. Please stop filling your head with filth.
GARCIA: In his apology, Jones goes on to thank the show's creators, Warner Brothers Studios and CBS: 'I thank them for the opportunity they have given and continue to give me,' he says, 'and the help and guidance I have and expect to continue to receive from them.'
GARCIA (on-camera): It's unclear what effect Jones's comments will have on the show, which is shot here on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank. Jones's character, Jake, has joined the army this season and has had less screen time. Also, 'Two and a Half Men' goes on its holiday hiatus next month.
GARCIA (voice-over): The young actor is in the final year of a contract that pays him over $300,000 per episode - around eight million per year. Teresa Garcia, CBS News, Burbank.
