From MediaMatters:
ABC, NBC still haven't covered U.S. attorney firings -- but reported on "purity balls," Jenna Bush's book deal
NBC's and ABC's nightly news programs have yet to cover the controversy over the Bush administration's dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys, despite considerable congressional attention to the issue, including hearings begun on March 6.
On March 6, in addition to covering the conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, events in Iraq, and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal, ABC also reported on the rising popularity of "purity balls," a "new ritual aimed at encouraging girls and young women to abstain from sex until marriage," which is "on the cutting edge of a grassroots Christian movement," and reported on a Wikipedia online encyclopedia editor who, as an ABC News online article reported, "forged his credentials and faked having a doctorate." NBC also covered Libby, Iraq, and Walter Reed, and additionally reported on a book deal signed by Jenna Bush, President Bush's daughter.
On March 6, both the House and Senate began hearings into the Bush administration's controversial dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys starting in December 2006. As Media Matters for America has previously noted, the fired attorneys -- three of whom were, according to the The Washington Post, "conducting corruption probes involving Republicans" -- were reportedly replaced, many by with interim appointments drawn from the administration's "inner circle." One former U.S. attorney, David C. Iglesias, has claimed that, in mid-October 2006, he felt pressure to speed up an investigation involving local Democrats, and that he received phone calls from two Republican lawmakers who inquired on the status of the investigation. At the hearing, another former U.S. attorney also testified that he had received a call from a Republican congressman about an investigation. But, as Media Matters noted, prior to March 2, none of the broadcast networks' evening news programs -- ABC's World News, NBC's Nightly News, and the CBS Evening News -- had even mentioned the case. Since March 4, in addition to the congressional hearings, two congressional Republicans have admitted to contacting Iglesias about his investigation of Democratic politicians. But as of March 6, neither ABC's World News nor NBC's Nightly News has reported on the story. By contrast, the CBS Evening News has run two different reports on the attorneys' dismissals, on March 4 and on March 6.
As Media Matters noted (here and here), Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales claimed that each U.S. attorney had been fired for reasons related to their performance in their jobs. But, at a February 6 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty conceded that performance played no role in at least one case: the forced resignation of H.E. "Bud" Cummins III as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas to give the job to former Karl Rove aide J. Timothy Griffin. Moreover, a February 14 McClatchy Newspapers article reported that "at least five of
received positive job evaluations before they were ordered to step down."....(more)
The complete piece is at: http://mediamatters.org/items/200703070010
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