ABC Allows a Scant 65 Seconds of Coverage for Obama’s Reversal on Trials for 9/11 Suspects
Over two programs totaling two and half hours of air time, ABC allowed only 65 seconds of coverage for Barack Obama's decision to break a campaign promise and try 9/11 terror suspects at Guantanamo and not in a civilian court . In contrast, all the other network evening shows on Monday and morning shows on Tuesday provided full reports. On Tuesday's Good Morning America on ABC, Juju Chang mildly explained in a news read, “Well, we begin with a legal turnaround for the Obama administration.” On Monday's World News, Diane Sawyer delicately described it as a “switch in positions.” Reporter Jake Tapper noted the President has “blinked” in the face of criticism and pointed out this was a breaking of a campaign promise. (This brief mention came during a larger story about the 2012 campaign.) In contrast, CBS's Katie Couric actually provided much stronger language. She began by asserting, “In other news, a lot of people thought it was a terrible idea to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men on trial here in New York City for the 9/11 attacks .” Reporter Bob Orr, unlike Chang, labeled it a “stunning reversal” to try suspects at Guantanamo. On Tuesday's Early Show, Jeff Glor used the same language, also calling it a “stunning reversal.” CBS, however, did not feature any clips from Republican critics such as Pete King who called the decision long overdue. On NBC's Nightly News, Pete Williams chided, “It's a complete turnaround for the Obama administration after the President vowed on his first day in office to shut Gitmo down within a year.” He did include critics such as King and a husband of a 9/11 victim. On Tuesday's Today, Williams interviewed Attorney General Eric Holder and pressed, “You know, some people are saying if the Attorney General had just looked at this a little
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on April 5, 2011. Filed under