The Media Discovers Hunter Biden’s Laptop
Holman Jenkins and Kim Strassel on what took so long
EXCLUSIVE – ABC, CBS and NBC spent less than 30 minutes over 18 months covering Hunter Biden's infamous laptop, leaving many Americans in the dark and unable to thoroughly examine possible corruption within the Biden family, according to a new study.
The Media Research Center analyzed all morning and evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC, in addition to their Sunday morning offerings such as "This Week," "Face the Nation" and "Meet the Press." The analysis found that from October 14, 2020 through the morning of April 18, 2022, the three networks spend only 25 minutes and six seconds combined on the Hunter Biden laptop scandal over 18 months.
ABC, CBS and NBC spent less than 30 minutes over 18 months covering Hunter Biden's infamous laptop, according to the Media Research Center.
ABC spent the least amount of time on the Hunter Biden scandal, covering the story for only 58 seconds over 18 months, according to the MRC. NBC managed to find nine minutes and six seconds for it, while CBS dedicated 15 minutes and two seconds.
The laptop, which was left in a Delaware repair shop in 2019 by the first son before being turned over to the FBI by the repair shop owner, was first reported by the New York Post in October 2020 but swiftly censored by Twitter and dismissed by most mainstream media outlets.
The scandalous computer’s contents included emails, text messages, photos and financial documents between himself, his family and business associates that showed how he used his political influence in his foreign business dealings, specifically in his work as a board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company.
While many dismiss broadcast news as a forgotten relic of the media industry, millions of Americans still rely on them for news and information. During the first week of April alone, ABC’s "World News Tonight," NBC’s "Nightly News" and CBS’ "Evening News," averaged nearly 20 million combined total viewers, according to TVNewser.
NEW YORK TIMES FINALLY CONFIRMS HUNTER BIDEN'S LAPTOP AFTER DISMISSING IT AMID 2020 CAMPAIGN
Americans who rely on ABC, CBS and NBC for news and information were largely in the dark regarding possible corruption within the Biden family, according to a new study. (Photo by Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images for World Food Program USA)
The conservative MRC also discovered that when ABC, CBS and NBC covered the story, they typically used dismissive rhetoric to describe it, including labeling it "dubious," "questionably sourced" and "unverified."
MRC analysts found that anchors, reporters and pundits spent 18 minutes and 18 seconds dismissing or downplaying the scandalous laptop, compared to only five minutes on revelations supported by the New York Post’s reporting.
ABC, CBS and NBC also went a staggering 160 days without even mentioning the laptop from Oct. 24, 2020 to April 1, 2021, when the silence was finally broken in order to help Hunter Biden promote his memoir.
Once the networks moved on from helping book sales, 11 months passed before the laptop was mentioned again. ABC, CBS and NBC went from April 11, 2021 to March 30, 2022 without covering it once between evening and morning newscasts, along with Sunday morning offerings, according to the MRC.
MRC analysts found that anchors, reporters and pundits spent 18 minutes and 18 seconds dismissing or downplaying Hunter Biden's scandalous laptop. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The MRC also found that the laptop was ignored on Sept. 21, 2021 when Politico acknowledged its validity and skipped it again on March 16, 2022, when the New York Times quietly confirmed it was authentic.
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On March 31, 2022, after the Washington Post authenticated thousands of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop, ABC and CBS ignored the revelations and NBC managed to find only 22 seconds for the story. That was the last mention on the broadcast network’s news programs as of Monday, according to the Media Research Center.
The MRC’s takeaway was that ABC, CBS and NBC declining to vigorously cover the laptop scandal "worked," as research conducted by The Polling Company after the 2020 election indicated that 45.1% of Biden voters in seven significant swing states declared they were unaware of the overseas business dealings detailed in the laptop coverage. The MRC’s poll also found that "full awareness" of the Hunter Biden scandal would have resulted in 9.4% of Biden voters changing their vote.