A look at weekend coverage of the Mueller investigation

Welcome to a special edition of the Morning MediaWire as we look back at the weekend TV coverage of the Robert Mueller investigation.

It started late Friday afternoon when Mueller delivered his report to Attorney General William Barr. Then it exploded Sunday when Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller’s report.

Here’s a look back at the best and worst coverage of the weekend.

Friday night

Talk about the ultimate Friday news dump as Mueller delivered his report to the attorney general just as the week seemed to be coming to a quiet end. Friday’s late-breaking news was huge.

Or was it?

The American people have been waiting two years for this investigation of Russian collusion into the 2016 presidential election to come to an end. On Friday, we found out that it was over. But that’s all we found out. Truly, we didn’t know anything more at 6 p.m. Friday than what we had known 24 hours — or months — earlier.

As Chuck Todd said on Friday’s “Meet the Press Daily,” “It’s here and yet we know nothing.”

Former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance even whipped out a “Game of Thrones” reference, telling Todd, “I think we’re all Jon Snow tonight. We all know nothing at this point.”

Yet that didn’t stop the news networks from diving in with wall-to-wall coverage. Because the news really was no news, the networks had no choice but to play it responsibly. The commentators and networks that typically lean one way or the other were hesitant to go too far in their comments or criticism just in case the report said what they thought or even hoped it would say.

The best coverage Friday evening came from MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily.” Todd was superb in directing smart panel conversation — which included Vance, The Washington Post’s Dan Balz and former CIA director John Brennan — that never felt unnecessary given the lack of any real news. They discussed the report’s possibilities and the potential consequences and reactions to those possibilities. Yet, the conversation never turned gratuitous. There was nothing new, yet it felt fresh. In addition, the show hustled for telephone guests, including members of Congress, but Todd never let them filibuster with their political biases.

Meantime, the other cable networks — CNN and Fox News — also comported themselves well Friday. Especially impressive was CNN’s dizzying conversation with more than a dozen guests deftly handled by Wolf Blitzer. CNN reporter Laura Jarrett was tweeting and talking almost at the same time to pass along the most updated information. Fox News’ coverage was down the middle thanks to host Bret Baier, who reminded viewers that the only thing we knew for sure was that we didn’t know anything for sure.

The breaking news

When Barr’s letter was released Sunday, TV viewers essentially had three options: CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. We’ll get to Fox News and MSNBC below, so let’s concentrate on CNN. Many, and I’m talking some Trump supporters, do not believe CNN is unbiased and fair. While there are examples of those who do seem to speak out against President Trump regularly (Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon come to mind), CNN is the most balanced cable news network, especially compared to Fox News and MSNBC.

But Sunday’s coverage is yet another example of how CNN’s attempts to provide opinions from all sides often leaves the viewers unsatisfied and frustrated. For example, while former George W. Bush political appointee Scott Jennings was railing against the Democrats and the investigation, former Hillary Clinton spokesperson Karen Finney was trying to discover what else might still come out. This is not to say their opinions didn’t have merit. But when a program’s goal is to make sure all sides are given a platform, you end up with a show that is more about spin than facts. Civil conversations often turn ugly even if voices are not raised. The viewer is left searching for what is real and what is merely wishful thinking of commentators.

CNN’s most effective coverage is when it turns to its highly competent reporters instead of opinionists with agendas.

Finney thoughtfully pointed out Sunday night that it’s not a bad thing to learn the president of the United States did not collude with Russia.

“This is good for the country, frankly,” Finney said.

Former Republican and Democratic presidential advisor David Gergen, always a dependable contributor to CNN, agreed, saying, “It’s important for us to not believe our president is a crook, that our president and his team conspired. They didn’t conspire. And that’s a good thing. They did a lot of things that were suspicious, but they didn’t conspire. And I think that’s healthy for the country.”

However, CNN’s Evan Perez made this pivotal point: “The biggest takeaway is that Mueller found the Russians DID meddle in the election. We don’t know what difference it made, but it did happen.”

MSNBC vs. Fox News

As you would expect, MSNBC and Fox News reacted Sunday evening pretty much how you thought they would. Fox News celebrated Barr’s letter and declared complete and total victory for President Trump, while MSNBC clung to the phrase that the findings on obstruction “did not exonerate” the president. The reaction of both networks was not surprising, yet no less disappointing.

There were solid and unbiased moments on both networks, such as the Fox News reporting of Kevin Corke from the White House and Molly Henneberg from the Justice Department, as well as Kasie Hunt’s work on MSNBC.

But there also were moments when those networks, in trying to explain what Mueller’s report revealed according to Barr’s letter, allowed even normally respected journalists such as Jon Scott and Bret Baier of Fox News and Ari Melber of MSNBC to editorialize enough to paint a picture that viewers of those networks probably want to see.

When those networks turned coverage over to commentators and opinionists, viewers were left with fewer options for balanced and fair coverage. Where does a viewer go if he or she wants truly unbiased breaking news? In primetime, the best option was CNN.

Not long after news broke Sunday, Fox News handed the steering wheel to Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who spent his time celebrating what he believed was “total victory” and “complete vindication.”

Meantime, MSNBC brought in “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough to, seemingly, deflect attention away from what appeared to be sobering news for those hoping the Mueller report might be the beginning of the end for Trump.

“A lot of people have been secretly hoping that Robert Mueller was going to run Donald Trump out of office,” Scarborough said. “He’s not. He didn’t. And now the only way to get Donald Trump out of office is to beat him in the fair marketplace of ideas and have better policies.”

Not that we needed reminding, but this hammers home the point even more. You like Trump? Watch Fox News. You don’t like Trump? MSNBC is your best option.

Best quote

“Clearly the White House and president already are spiking the ball in the end zone, and I guess with some justification.”
— former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, on CNN.

Worst take

Because there is so much time to fill, eventually some people are going to fly off the rails and say something dumb. Fighting for top spot on that list is Mark Levin, host of Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin.” Appearing on Fox News Sunday in a lengthy diatribe that Fox News host Shannon Bream let go on far too long, Levin seemed to suggest that Mueller shouldn’t have turned over all stones to assure a thorough investigation before coming to his conclusions.

“I do not respect this prosecutor at all,” Levin said. “It took him two years to tell us there was no collusion? Two years? Hundreds of interviews? Grand jury testimony and on and on? He should have come to the microphone and told the American people months ago that there was no collusion. To drag a president of the United States through this?”

Because Bream couldn’t, or wouldn’t, reel him in, Levin went on and on as one of the rare commentators who had unflattering comments for Mueller’s integrity. Levin’s yelling made for awful TV. You would think Levin, a man who just last week went on Sean Hannity’s show and said, “The greatest threat to our constitution and economic system isn’t any foreign power, it’s the Democrat party,” would be pleased with Mueller’s comprehensive work given the apparent conclusions of that work.

What’s next?

Pro-Trump supporters are demanding the DOJ hold someone accountable for what they feel has been a two-year witch hunt of the president. For example, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham tweeted Sunday night:

“It is imperative that the DOJ doesn’t let this go. Hoaxes must not come and go without consequences. #RussiaHoax”

In addition, Fox News’ Sean Hannity sent out a tweet Sunday night attacking several news outlets, writing (in all caps with no punctuation):

“MSNBC CONSPIRACY NETWORK LIARS FAKE NEWS CNN LIARS NY TIMES WAPO LIARS”

Meanwhile, those opposed to Trump are demanding for the whole Mueller report to be released and for Barr to testify before Congress.

The networks

NBC and ABC played the Sunday news straight, while CBS News had the bad break of no evening news because the network was carrying the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, although it did cut in several times with news updates. Then again, the network’s ratings for basketball likely blew away viewership for the NBC and ABC nightly news programs. A thrilling near-upset of top-seeded Duke was being aired during the ABC and NBC news shows.

Smartly, with no evening news, CBS used to the first two minutes of “60 Minutes” to report the Barr letter. Just asking: should “60 Minutes” have scrapped one of its features to run a fuller report on the Mueller investigation breaking news? The show had a profile of actor Samuel L. Jackson that could have been held. Even a feature on sports gambling, which had natural ties to March Madness, could have been postponed a week. Then again, “60 Minutes” likely has a meticulous future schedule and, to be fair, is not a breaking news show. And it’s not like this is a story that’s going away. It also should be noted that CNN’s Brian Stelter reports that CBS is planning a special program tonight at 10 p.m. EST called, “The Mueller Report: A Turning Point.”

Both ABC and NBC dedicated about the first eight minutes of their Sunday evening news program to the report. For NBC, eight minutes was more than half of its broadcast as its “Nightly News’’ was limited to 15 minutes because the network’s afternoon golf coverage ran past its scheduled time.

Brazile and Fox News — not a match?

When it was announced that former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile was joining Fox News as a contributor, there were skeptics that such a liberal voice would work on a conservative-leaning network. Well, if Sunday is any indication, this is not a match. Blame Fox News’ Ed Henry.

If the whole point is to bring Brazile on to beat her up and further an agenda, as Henry seemed intent on doing Sunday, then this partnership will be a waste of time.

When Sunday’s news broke, Brazile was responsibly asked by anchor Dana Perino to simply “weigh in” on the news. But Henry then said, “Donna, real quick question from me. Do you now accept the president as the legitimate president of the United States, having won the 2016 election fair and square?”

Brazile answered that she now believed Trump had nothing to do with fixing the 2016 election, but Henry pressed on, saying, “Donna on the point that you acknowledged that no American, Trump official was involved, would you acknowledge he won the election?”

It’s bad enough that Henry, whose job title is chief national correspondent, is supposed to be a neutral journalist without biases, but a line of questioning that seemed intent on embarrassing Brazile and celebrating Trump sabotages the whole point of having Brazile on the network, unless the whole point is to bully her and use her as a pawn.

Brazile handled herself well, but if she is going to be treated regularly like she was by Henry on Sunday, she should be second-guessing her choice to sign on with Fox News.

MVP of the weekend

Chuck Todd. Is there a person on television who better explains complicated issues in a down-to-earth and accessible way than Todd? Not only does he do a masterful job as host of “Meet the Press,” but he has become NBC’s go-to voice when it comes to putting news into perspective. Case in point: “NBC Nightly News” turned to Todd to wrap up Sunday’s news. As always, Todd gave an unbiased breakdown of what has happened, what is happening and what will happen next.

Todd has become one of television’s most trusted journalists.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

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