Republican National Convention Coverage

Media Research Center analysts monitored ABC, CBS, CNN, FNC, MSNBC and NBC coverage of the 2004 Republican convention around the clock. Here are MRC's twice-daily reports documenting the coverage the Republicans received.

Friday, September 3 Afternoon Edition
Russert and Couric Assume Kerry Ignored Swift Vets Ad in August
The morning after President Bush's speech before the Republican National Convention, the three broadcast network morning shows led off with explosions and gunfire at a Russian school seized two days earlier by terrorists and a major hurricane threatening Florida. But when they finally got around to politics, NBC's Katie Couric and Tim Russert seemed more interested in John Kerry's midnight rally in Ohio, where Kerry blasted Bush and Cheney as "unfit" for office. Russert claimed Kerry had been "silent through the month of August," when in fact Kerry launched an aggressive response to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth two weeks ago.
AM Edition: Full details, plus 4 more Convention Watch stories.

Friday, September 3 Morning Edition
CBS Belittles Bush’s Speech
CBS used John Kerry’s convention appearance to admire his "integrity" and fawn over how "he always finds a way to get up," but on Thursday night John Roberts rued Bush’s "compassionate conservative" phrase since "critics would probably say it’s a mantra that rings pretty hollow." Roberts also complained: "He seems to have completely forgotten about Osama bin Laden."
AM Edition: Full details, plus 8 more Convention Watch stories.

Thursday, September 2 Afternoon Edition
ABC Upset by "Red-Faced" Zell's "Tirade"
On Thursday's Good Morning America, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos were unhappy with Democratic Senator Zell Miller's anti-Kerry GOP convention speech last night. "Zell Miller was on a tirade. I mean, he was red-faced," Stephanopoulos complained. "Senator Miller pounded and pounded and pounded," Gibson agreed. But twelve years ago, after Zell Miller tartly lit into then-President George H.W. Bush at the Democratic convention, Good Morning America saluted that negativity as an example of Democrats engaging in "the time-honored tradition of attacking the opposition."
AM Edition: Full details, plus 6 more Convention Watch stories.

Thursday, September 2 Morning Edition
"Ugly" Zell Miller Reminiscent of Buchanan
Zell Miller's speech reminded ABC and CNN reporters of Pat Buchanan's 1992 address -- and they didn't mean it as a compliment. CNN's Bill Schneider contended that "I've never heard such an angry speech." Joe Klein of Time magazine declared on CNN: "I don't think I've seen anything as angry or as ugly."
AM Edition: Full details, plus 9 more Convention Watch stories.

Wednesday, September 1 Afternoon Edition
Lashing Lynne and Liz From the Left
In Boston, ABC, CBS, and NBC interviewed Elizabeth Edwards and her daughter Cate with a set of nice personal queries. But today, the three networks pounded Lynne Cheney and her daughter Liz with ten questions about lesbian daughter Mary, "evangelical Christians," and the Federal Marriage Amendment. The Early Show on CBS even played an entire 30-second anti-Bush ad by the liberal Human Rights Campaign for free to start the interview.
PM Edition: Full details, plus 6 more Convention Watch stories.

Wednesday, September 1 Morning Edition
Brokaw Rues Missing Bad News
NBC’s Tom Brokaw ended prime time coverage on a sour note as he stressed how "things are not going well in many parts of the world for the United States. Despite the speeches tonight of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Laura Bush, this is a very difficult time in Iraq, the war on terrorism is an uncertain trumpet."
AM Edition: Full details, plus 8 more Convention Watch stories.

Tuesday, August 31 Afternoon Edition
“Electrifying” Democrats vs. Nasty Republicans
Five weeks ago, ABC’s Charles Gibson was enthused by the opening night of the Democratic convention. Although Republican delegates responded enthusiastically to John McCain and Rudy Giuliani’s speeches Monday night, Gibson was in a much worse mood this morning. He characterized it as “a night of attack after attack on John Kerry and references to 9/11,” and he castigated Giuliani for mentioning the terrorist attacks: “Isn’t that, in and of itself, divisive?”
PM Edition: Full details, plus 4 more Convention Watch stories.

Tuesday, August 31 Morning Edition
Purple "Hearts" Appall ABC & CNN
CNN’s Candy Crowley and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos were aghast Monday night over how some delegates wore band-aids displaying a heart shape in the color purple, meant to make light of John Kerry earning purple hearts in Vietnam for superficial wounds. Stephanopoulos lectured a veteran about how John McCain has called the attacks on Kerry "‘dishonest and dishonorable.’ Why do you think it's okay to wear a bandage like that?"
AM Edition: Full details, plus 5 more Convention Watch stories.

Monday, August 30 Afternoon Edition
Pushing Bush to Raise Taxes
In an interview aired Monday morning, NBC's Matt Lauer pressed President Bush from the left on a number of issues, including tax cuts. Lauer told the President that "in terms of the predicted number of jobs that were supposed to be created by your tax cuts, you haven't gotten them," and he twice pleaded with Bush to consider raising taxes in a second term. Over on ABC, Claire Shipman told Vice President Cheney that he's referred to as "evil genius, Darth Vader, architect of war, Mr. Doom and Gloom," whereupon she asked him "Does that bug you?"
PM Edition: Full details, plus 5 more Convention Watch stories.

Monday, August 30 Morning Edition
Brokaw Derides GOP "Con Game"
Tom Brokaw ended Sunday’s NBC Nightly News complaining that the decision to feature three "middle of the road" speakers, in contrast to the party’s "hard right" positions, may be seen by "streetwise New Yorkers" as "the political equivalent of a popular con game in this tough town, three-card monty." Brokaw lamented: "That's a game in which the dealer almost always wins."
AM Edition: Full details, plus 5 more Convention Watch stories.