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Trying to Control the Media?
Democratic Leaders
Tom Daschle & Richard Gephardt
Urge Cable News Executives
to Provide More Air Time
By Jake Easton
R A D O K N E W S
Posted: May 16, 2003
WHILE AMERICA was in the middle of Operation Enduring Freedom, Tom Daschle and Richard Gephardt were busy writing letters to the media. The following letter dated April 12, 2002 was sent to Walter Isaacson, Chairman and CEO of CNN; Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News; and Erik Sorenson, Vice President and General Manager of MSNBC, urging the stations to provide more news coverage for Democrats:
We are writing to bring to your attention an issue that has become more pronounced in recent months: the lack of television coverage of press events featuring elected leaders of the Democratic Party.
In the last few months, Democratic leaders have held dozens and dozens of press events, but received extremely little coverage from cable news channels. The White House, meanwhile, has received an extraordinary level of attention and coverage of their events. While some of this is clearly - and rightfully - attributable to the war on terrorism, the attached analysis shows that your networks have often chosen to cover live White House events that focus on domestic issues, while live events by Democratic leaders that focus on the war on terrorism still go uncovered.
The statistics we have demonstrate this disparity. Beginning January 1, 2002, according to one of the enclosed studies, CNN carried a total of 157 live events featuring Administration officials. Over the same time, the network carried a total of only seven events featuring elected leaders of the Democratic Party. Anecdotal evidence indicates that Fox News and MSNBC coverage follows the same pattern.
This difference is not due to a dearth of press activities. Virtually every day Congress is in session, either of us holds a press conference to field questions, and many of our colleagues will often appear publicly to discuss the issues of the day. While very few of these events get covered, CNN, Fox and MSNBC will often have live broadcasts of the White House press secretary's daily briefing.
Take, for example, the events of Wednesday, March 20. That day, House members were voting on the Republican budget while the Senate was busy with final passage of campaign finance reform. Both of us appeared at press events to articulate the Democratic viewpoint on these issues. Neither was covered.
Instead, cable channels carried separate live appearances by the President, the First Lady, the White House Press Secretary, and the Attorney General. Of course, Democrats understand that we command a majority in only one house of Congress, and that in the midst of war, the cable channels will focus on announcements by the White House regarding the war on terrorism.
We don't expect the cable news networks to use a stopwatch and a scale when it comes to determining their political coverage, but we are concerned that cable news coverage tilted toward the White House muffles the voice of the Democratic party, undermines our ability to communicate our ideas to our constituents, and undercuts the debate that is the heart of our democracy.
Both of us are hopeful that you will take a closer look at your coverage of live press events and attempt to strike a greater balance.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.
Sincerely,
Tom Daschle
Senate Majority Leader
Richard Gephardt
House Democratic Leader
Excerpts from the book:
Americans Behaving Badly
by Jake Easton
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