Trial coverage: Day One
Fox News is a joke
A few observations after spending Monday morning watching cable news coverage of the first day of the first criminal trial of Donald Trump.
I had an advantage, depending on how you look at, of being under the weather so really wasn’t up for much more than vegging in front of the TV with the remote control in my hand.
Both CNN and MSNBC provided excellent, complete coverage of the judge’s instructions to the jury, of the opening arguments by both sides, and of the first witness with the you-can’t-make-this-stuff up name of David Pecker. More on him in a minute.
Fox “News”, on the other hand, was a complete joke.
At 10:00 am central time, when the opening arguments were underway, CNN had two panels of anchors and analysts. A reporter inside the courtroom sent text messages that were instantly displayed in an on-screen box. Each sentence was analyzed as to its significance. Experienced trial lawyers told viewers the importance of opening arguments and what the prosecution and defense will try to do.
Fox at 10:00 am, opened with the trial story, but had only one anchor read over some graphics. No analysts. No live reporters outside the courthouse. No quotes from inside the courtroom.
Here’s what the anchor said: “It’s been six years. Liberal district attorney Alvin Bragg suddenly (emphasis mine) brought this case against Donald Trump on those charges.” She went on to say, “All of it has people asking district attorney Bragg ‘why now?’ Critics are claiming all of these anti-Trump efforts are politics.” (What people? What critics? She didn’t say.) And finally, “The criticism is across the board against how the legal system is dealing its cards against Donald Trump.” (Uh, no, it’s not “across the board.” There are plenty of Americans who are happy Trump is finally facing consequences for his acts.)
And that’s it! That loaded language was the sum total of trial coverage off the top of the hour. By 10:02 am, Fox was off to some of its favorite subjects to exploit, like anti-Israeli protests on college campuses and how President Joe Biden wants to expand protections to “pregnant, gay and transgender student athletes.”
It’s irresponsible and reckless for a news organization to willfully downplay a story of this magnitude. It’s more evidence proving that Fox is afraid of its own audience, and fears viewers will leave if they provide coverage that doesn’t align with their views.
Balanced coverage vs. fair coverage
Whenever I write something negative about Fox, I usually get a comment or two from a reader who says CNN and MSNBC are just as biased as Fox, but for the other side. Today’s coverage proves that’s not true.
CNN and MSNBC provided detailed coverage of both the prosecution and defense opening statements. There was no censorship when Trump’s attorney began speaking to the jury. CNN had legal analysis from both sides of the case, including two of Trump’s former attorneys.
When trial adjourned for the day and Trump came out to deliver his hallway soliloquy, only then did Fox put up the Breaking News banner and rush live coverage to air to carry all of Trump’s comments. It doesn’t get more obvious than that.
CNN, to its credit, also carried all of Trump’s comments. MSNBC carried the first part, but jumped out once Trump started making false allegations that Biden is masterminding all the cases against Trump. It’s simply a lie, and a responsible news organization is not obligated to report lies, no matter who is saying them.
As for the first witness, David Pecker, who owned a company publishing tabloids like the National Enquirer, he told the jury right off the top, “We used checkbook journalism.” No one is shocked by that admission, but it certainly sheds light on why Trump is always accusing everyone else of “fake news.” He’s very familiar with it, having worked hand-in-hand with Pecker over the years to publish positive stories about Trump, negative stories about his opponents, and to “catch and kill” negative Trump stories by paying people off. As usual with Trump, the horrible things he accuses others of doing are the very things he does himself.
Day one is in the books. It’s going to be a long trial. I realize you don’t have the time to watch hours of coverage like I did today, and I hope once I feel better, I don’t, either. But moving forward, put some thought into who you trust for coverage and who you don’t. There’s a difference.
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I watched some of the coverage on all three infotainment networks tonight. Fox News portrayed our 45th president as being a captive in a cold, windowless courtroom. Outside the courtroom he said "I should be in Georgia" campaigning. He is campaigning from the courthouse, just as sure as Sens. Klobuchar and Warren were campaigning from the U.S. Senate in session in 2019 during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season. They protested that they, too, should have been out on the campaign trail. They were -- on MSNBC and CNN three to four nights a week with hosts such as Lawrence F. O'Donnell Jr. feeding them softball questions. The Senate was their bully pulpit just as the courthouse is for our 45th president. The difference, of course, is they were ostensibly doing the jobs they were elected to --- not on trial -- the ultimate test of Mr. Trump's heretofore Teflon coating. My point is, just be a little skeptical about someone who protests about how put upon they are when the cameras are rolling, no matter who they are.
Thank you, Dave. I enjoy your perspectives.