Bias in broadcast news can often be seen in the way political books are covered, particularly those that criticize Trump. It seems that the media favors stories that are damaging to the former president, while books highlighting viewpoints from Democrats rarely get the same attention. This trend appears to stem from the publishers themselves, who might hesitate to promote works that could harm the Democratic Party’s image.
For instance, in 2018, major networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC dedicated over 20 minutes to Michael Wolff’s anti-Trump book, “Fire and Fury.” During one segment on NBC, Savannah Guthrie discussed Trump’s mental fitness, emphasizing that nearly everyone around him questions his intelligence and capability.
Conversely, another author, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, received a significant amount of air time for her book “Unhinged,” which made serious allegations against Trump. All three networks collectively spent 93 minutes on her claims regarding Trump’s use of racial slurs while in office.
Fast forward to 2023, and the narrative contorts when discussing President Biden. The release of a Biden “tell-all” by Jake Tupper and Alex Thompson was all but ignored by many major networks, despite its revelations. News outlets like ABC and CBS didn’t even manage to allocate a full minute to it, while PBS completely overlooked its content.
Interestingly, NBC did reference the book briefly, while only CBS interviewed the authors. NPR started airing discussions later, but the depth of coverage seemed lacking. Tupper noted they would report significant scoops as they emerged, which adds a layer of complexity regarding the handling of Biden’s shortcomings.
Finally, comparisons to past coverage reveal an uneven landscape. Where Trump received extensive scrutiny—over 2,000 minutes from significant networks—the coverage of Biden’s own potential missteps hasn’t nearly matched that effort. Although some journalists expressed intentions to improve upon coverage standards, the way they approached Biden didn’t seem to rise to the level of scrutiny they applied to Trump.
