Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)– A Media Matters for America analysis of daytime cable news shows in the week following Justice David Souter’s May 1 retirement announcement found that significantly more Republican members of Congress, especially on Fox News, participated in discussions about or touching on the Supreme Court than did Democratic members of Congress and Obama administration officials.
During daytime programming (9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET) on CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC last week from May 4 to May 8, nine Republican members of Congress made guest appearances in segments during which the Supreme Court was either discussed or mentioned. By contrast, only two Democratic members of Congress — and no members of the Obama administration — appeared as guests in such segments over that time period.
Fox News had the most imbalanced breakdown of guests, with five Republicans and no Democrats in discussions involving the Supreme Court. MSNBC had three Republicans and two Democrats, while CNN had one Republican and no Democrats.
As Media Matters has noted, media coverage of the Supreme Court in the wake of Souter’s announcement has been marked by falsehoods and misinformation.
Below is a list of all the daytime cable programming segments from May 4 to May 8 that featured members of Congress or administration officials as guests and during which the Supreme Court was either discussed or mentioned:
|
Date |
Time (ET) |
Network |
Program |
Guest |
Position/Organization |
|
5/4/2009 |
1 p.m. |
MSNBC |
MSNBC Live |
Gregg, Judd |
Senator, New Hampshire [R] |
|
5/4/2009 |
1 p.m. |
FNC |
The Live Desk |
Graham, Lindsey |
Senator, South Carolina [R] |
|
5/5/2009 |
3 p.m. |
MSNBC |
MSNBC Live |
Grassley, Chuck |
Senator, Iowa [R] |
|
5/6/2009 |
1 p.m. |
MSNBC |
MSNBC Live |
Reid, Harry |
Senator, Nevada [D] |
|
5/6/2009 |
1 p.m. |
MSNBC |
MSNBC Live |
Collins, Susan |
Senator, Maine [R] |
|
5/6/2009 |
4 p.m. |
FNC |
Your World with Neil Cavuto |
Sessions, Jeff |
Senator, Alabama [R] |
|
5/7/2009 |
9 a.m. |
FNC |
America’s Newsroom |
Hatch, Orrin |
Senator, Utah [R] |
|
5/7/2009 |
12 p.m. |
FNC |
Happening Now |
Sessions, Jeff |
Senator, Alabama [R] |
|
5/7/2009 |
1 p.m. |
FNC |
The Live Desk |
Cornyn, John |
Senator, Texas [R] |
|
5/7/2009 |
3 p.m. |
MSNBC |
MSNBC Live |
Cardin, Ben |
Senator, Maryland [D] |
|
5/8/2009 |
10 a.m. |
CNN |
CNN Newsroom |
Hatch, Orrin |
Senator, Utah [R] |
Methodology
Media Matters coded every guest appearance by members of Congress and administration officials in cable news discussions about or touching on the Supreme Court. We coded all programming from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, May 4 to May 8, on CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. Fox News Channel and MSNBC shows were reviewed on digital video. CNN shows were reviewed via transcripts available on CNN’s website and Nexis. Only guest discussion segments in which the Supreme Court was discussed or touched upon were included. Packaged reports, news clips, and news events in progress (press conferences, breaking news reports, etc.) were not coded.
