Americans who rely on evening newscasts from ABC, CBS, or NBC for information are likely unaware that elected officials going after former President Trump are Democrats, according to a new study from the Media Research Center.
The network coverage of the Trump prosecutions routinely and fraudulently implies that they are nonpartisan public officials. It’s Trump versus the New York Attorney General, or the Manhattan District Attorney. They’re not just Democrats, they’re elected Democrats, building a career on taking down Trump. Leaving that out of the story is irresponsible, NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham.
Rich Noyes, contributing editor for MRC NewsBusters, led a team of analysts who reviewed network coverage from January 1, 2023, through April 10, 2024. They found that networks failed to inform viewers during at least 90% of the coverage that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are Democrats.
It’s as if the networks prefer to disingenuously portray the indictments and civil lawsuits as the work of nonpartisan career prosecutors, rather than as partisan attempts to use the court system to hobble the electoral prospects of the country’s top Republican, Noyes said.
According to the study, these elected officials were identified as Democrats in less than 10% of the evening news stories analyzed. The report highlights the lack of transparency in the coverage of the legal actions against Trump, raising questions about the networks’ editorial choices and the portrayal of the prosecutors involved in the cases.
ABC, NBC, and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the findings of the study, which shed light on the importance of providing viewers with accurate and relevant information about the political affiliations of key figures involved in high-profile legal cases.
