Fox News: How the Network Covered the Tyre Nichols and Paul Pelsoi Body Cam Footage.
A condensed overview of Fox News coverage for Friday 1/27/23
On Friday most media outlets obtained police body cam footage from two very different events - one included a break-in and attack of the husband of the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, the other included footage of a young Black man, Tyre Nichols, being brutally beaten to death by police officers.
Neither collection of footage was surprising as media companies were warned the body cam footage of the police beating was especially horrible. All of the pertaining surveillance and body cam footage involving the Pelosi break-in and assault had already been released in court.
Fox News behaved exactly how I thought they would as their coverage mirrored in many ways how the network handled the night Roe v. Wade was overturned. The network brought on experts who would promote a right-wing sometimes extremist point of view while it made dire warnings of massive riots that never materialized.
I focused my analysis not just on the content in each Fox primetime show but also the images shown on the screen at any given time. Images can drive home an idea better than a blathering expert with an axe to grind or a point of view to promote.
Fox seemed hellbent on removing race from the tragedy the befell Tyre Nichols. Fox hosts and guests argued that race was not a factor since both Nichols and the police officers were Black.
The network completely ignored the fact that Black men are far more likely to be stopped by police, charged with a crime by a prosecutor, and serve time in prison than any other demographic in the United States.
Our criminal justice system is biased against Black defendants. Urban crime involving Black suspects dominates most media.
Also according to a study by Harvard published in June 2020, Black Americans are 3.23 times more likely than white Americans to be killed by police
From The Sentencing Project, “The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons,” by Ashley Nellis, Ph.D, October 13, 2021
Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly 5 times the rate of white Americans.
Nationally, one in 81 Black adults in the U.S. is serving time in state prison. Wisconsin leads the nation in Black imprisonment rates; one of every 36 Black Wisconsinites is in prison.
In 12 states, more than half the prison population is Black: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Seven states maintain a Black/white disparity larger than 9 to 1: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.
In the case of the body cam and surveillance footage of the attack on Paul Pelosi, Fox News knew exactly what to expect as that footage was used in court during a preliminary hearing in November of last year. Several journalists published descriptions of the footage in great detail.
I suspect that Fox News wanted to build up the Pelosi story to show its viewers the network could stand up to the corrupt establishment of the San Francisco court system. Despite the vicious nature of the attack on both Pelosi and his home, conspiracy theorists still invented and promoted a false narrative anyway.
For the following shows most of the segments included split screens. As hosts or guests discussed various subjects a portion of the screen was dedicated to showing still images, live footage from Memphis or another city, and newly released footage from either the Pelosi or Nichols case.
For each program I include the guests, the percentage of coverage dedicated to each story and the amount of time images were shown on at least a portion of the screen.
Special Report with Bret Baier - 6:00 - 7:00 PM EST
Duration of coverage - 37.5 minutes
Tyre Nichols body cam footage* - zero - The footage was not released to the press until 7PM.
Time spent on Tyre Nichols story - 8 minutes - 21% of airtime
Images of the officers - 38 seconds - mugshots - 1% of airtime
Images of Tyre Nichols before he was beaten - 1.25 minutes - 3% of airtime
Live feed from various cities including Memphis - 2.5 minutes - 7% of airtime
Paul Pelosi body cam and surveillance footage - 2.75 minutes - 7% of airtime
Time spent on Paul Pelosi story - 5 minutes - 13% of airtime
Guests who discussed Nichols and Pelosi footage:
Juan Williams -Fox News
Shannon Bream - Fox News
Vince Coglianese - WMAL talk radio host and editorial director of The Daily Caller
Special Report is the network’s attempt at a legit news show. Bret Baier does include segments that no other primetime show would touch including international stories.
The problem with Special Report is that it’s coverage is thin. Segments are brief and lack context. It feels like a speed dating session for news viewers. Everything flies by quickly without any depth.
They treated the Pelosi story with the same focus and importance as the Tyre Nichols police beating.
Jesse Watters Primetime - 7:00 - 8:00 PM EST
Duration of coverage - 60 minutes - no commercial breaks
Tyre Nichols body cam footage - 39.5 minutes - 66% of airtime
Time spent on Tyre Nichols story - 60 minutes - 100% of airtime
Images of the Black officers - 3 minutes - 5% of airtime
Images of Tyre Nichols before he was beaten - 1.75 minutes - 3% of airtime
Live feed from various cities including Memphis - 10.75 minutes - 18% of airtime
Paul Pelosi body cam and surveillance footage - zero minutes
Time spent on Paul Pelosi story - zero minutes
Guests who discussed Nichols footage:
Rob O'Donnell - retired NYPD detective
Horace Cooper - chairman at Project 21, senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research
Bob Woodson - Woodson Center, founder and president
Heather MacDonald - author, "The War on Cops"
Alice Johnson - Taking Action for Good Foundation
Paul Mauro - former NYPD inspector
Bill Stanton - retired NYPD officer
Watters and his producers got the Nichols footage as it was released to the press. Because of this there was a slight delay before it was shown during the program.
Watters and his crew leaned heavily on it dedicating 66% of airtime to surveillance and body cam footage of the attack. Images of Nichols before the attack were only briefly shown at the beginning the program and then never re-visited. The cops that allegedly murdered Nichols got nearly twice the screen time at three minutes.
The Fox host also included more than one former police officer who blamed regulations meant to save lives for the tragedy.
The first comment was made by Rob O’Donnell, a retired NYPD detective.
“Well, one of the problems with that, Jesse, is we can no longer put a knee to the back or put pressure on the back of the torso. In New York City, I'm not sure about the force restrictions that they have in Memphis, but in New York City, you can't get on top and put pressure on the torso to control them, to handcuff them because of the laws and regulations they've passed. So you know, that that may play a factor here when they when they go to trial as part of their defense,” said O’Donnell.
Jesse Watters continued.
“So you're saying that police tactic, use of force. You're saying police tactics have been hamstrung to that level or these guys can't get on the ground with this guy and subdue him. They have to stand above him and pepper spray him and land blows like that,” asked Watters.
O’Donnell explained further.
“I know in New York state, based on the laws and regulations that they passed with the NYPD, you cannot put pressure on the person's torso with your knee. So it could be a factor in this,” said O’Donnell.
Later isn the same episode Bill Stanton a retired NYPD officer echoed O’Donnell’s statements.
“They could have put hands on him. Old school, put his hand behind his back, held him down. It's these onerous rules. Legs on. You can't put a leg on the back. You can't hold their shoulders. God forbid. Your arm go around their neck. And that's why I think they did this. We have to look at their training. We have to look at the cops that were screened and what their history was,” said Stanton.
Watters also minimized the beating.
“Immediately, you know, I didn't see any any death blows. Maybe it was an accumulation of blunt force trauma to the head. Did you see anything that told you that? Was it,” asked Watters.
Stanton continued to minimize the attack despite the fact that Nichols died as a result it.
“No, I didn't see anybody, you know, stomping on the guy's head, you know, kicking him in the face. I didn't see any of that. To your point, that may have been a mitigating factor,” said Stanton.
The following image was shown on every primetime show on Friday. The anti-fascist movement is largely misunderstood and mischaracterized in right-wing media.
I suspect it’s not authentic for a number of reasons. Antifa groups don’t really create fliers like this. Most of what is attributed to anti-fascist activists is false propaganda created by antifa detractors.
The last bullet point is especially comical “Bring a knife or other tool to free unlawfully detained comrades.”
How would that be accomplished? Would a protester with a knife really be able to break into a prison or jail and demand the release of anyone?
Another tell is the use of the word ‘comrade’ which implies the activists are communist or have a far left bent.
Most anti-fascists activists eschew politics completely. I was just at a book signing for anti-fascist activists and a journalist who writes about the movement. The well-known anti-fascist activist, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, decried both the Democrat and Republican parties and politics in general.
Absolutely no one used the term comrade or promoted a political agenda. Anti-fascist activists span the political spectrum from libertarians to moderates all the way to far-leftists and anarchists. Among anti-fascist activists there’s no leader, no hierarchy and no cohesion. The sole objective is to fight back against fascism and white supremacy.
The moment is not a mirror image of the highly organized and armed right wing hate groups and militias.
Tucker Carlson Tonight - 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST
Duration of coverage - 49.5 minutes - about half the commercial breaks as a normal broadcast.
Tyre Nichols body cam footage - 5.5 minutes - 11% of airtime
Live feed from various cities including Memphis - 20 minutes - 40% of airtime
Paul Pelosi body cam and surveillance footage - 4.5 minutes - 9% of airtime
Time spent on Paul Pelosi story - 8.5 minutes - 17% of airtime
Time spent on Tyre Nichols story - 31 minutes - 31% of airtime
Images of the officers - 15 seconds - mug shots and police officer portraits - 1% of airtime
Images of Tyre Nichols before he was beaten - 20 seconds - 1% of airtime
Tucker spent the most time on his show discussing Antifa - 17.5 minutes - 35% of airtime
From the second “Tucker Carlson Tonight” began his broadcast live footage from Memphis was shown in 1/4 of the screen.
Guests who discussed Nichols and Pelosi footage:
Jason Whitlock - host, Blaze Media
Chris Bedford - Common Sense Society exec. editor
Michael Shellenberger - independent journalist
Guests who discussed Antifa:
James Craig - former police chief - Detroit
Peter Kirsanow - U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Jason Ranz - Radio Show Host
Jorge Ventura - journalist, The Daily Caller
Tucker Carlson was the only show to include a graphic - “Bracing for Violence.”
The following is a super cut of the first 2/3 of Tucker Carlson Tonight. The main thrust of Carlson’s rant was about Antifa. Carlson chose to focus on an ideology not an organized group. It was especially awkward considering there was no violence or rioting regarding the police body camera footage.
Some takeaway lines from Carlson’s unhinged rant,
“Now, Memphis is one of those dangerous places in the Western Hemisphere where killings are very common. . . We've seen a lot of videos over the years that are being put to use shows that had nothing to do with the topic of the video itself. So we should suspend some level of judgment.
The man on the ground who was killed or died in any case was Black, but so was every police officer you just saw hitting him. So, by the way, is the police chief of Memphis. So is most of it's city government. So also is the overwhelming majority of the city of Memphis itself.
But we can't help but notice that the last time we had race riots in this country, a president, an incumbent president lost reelection. . .Antifa is not a bunch of hooligans. . .Antifa is being organized. By whom? We don't know. . . Of course, the very same people who are weeping on television about police brutality applauded when one of Nancy Pelosi's officers murdered an unarmed woman called Ashli Babbitt.
The point of this is to federalize is local law enforcement. . . But because you don't want to put ugly things on TV and inflame passions, you want people to be reasonable and think things through and reach wise decisions. . .But this to federalize local police and control every organization in the country with guns,” said Carlson.
Carlson’s guest Jason Whitlock of Blaze Media also strangely blamed the military industrial complex and Black single mothers for the killing.
Hannity - 9:00 - 10:00 PM
Duration of coverage - 60 minutes no commercial breaks
Tyre Nichols body cam footage - 9.75 minutes - 16% of airtime
Live feed from various cities including Memphis - 35.5 minutes - 59% of airtime
Paul Pelosi body cam and surveillance footage - 8.5 minutes - 14% of airtime
Time spent on Paul Pelosi story - 10.75 minutes - 18% of airtime
Time spent on Tyre Nichols story - 49 minutes - 82% of airtime
Images of the officers - 1 minute - used police portraits - 2% of airtime
Images of Tyre Nichols before he was beaten - 1 minute -2% of airtime
Guests who discussed Nichols and Pelosi footage:
Geraldo Rivera - Fox News
Lawrence Jones - Fox News
Ted Williams - former DC homicide detective
Greg Jarrett - Fox News legal analyst
Leo 2.0 - Lawyer, radio host
Larry Elder - Epoch Times
Joe Concha - Fox News
Jason Chaffetz - Fox News, former congressperson
The following video is a montage of clips from “Hannity” where correspondents on the scene in Memphis, Tennessee report the protests are peaceful.
The Ingraham Angle - 10:00 - 11:00 PM
Duration of coverage - 40 minutes - typically Fox primetime shows include 20 minutes of commercials
Tyre Nichols body cam footage - 3.75 minutes - 9% of airtime
Live feed from various cities including Memphis - 29.25 minutes - 73% of airtime
Paul Pelosi body cam and surveillance footage - zero
Time spent on Paul Pelosi story - zero
Time spent on Tyre Nichols story - 40 minutes - 100% of airtime
Images of officers - 2.5 minutes - mugshots - 6% of airtime
Images of Tyre Nichols before he was beaten - 19 seconds - 1% of airtime
Guests who discussed Nichols and Pelosi footage:
Howard Safir - former NYC police commissioner
Randy Sutton - retired Las Vegas police Lieutenant
Pat Ryder - Nassau County police commissioner
Trey Gowdy - Fox News, former prosecutor, former congressman
Chris Swecker - former FBI assistant director
Anthony Cabassa - independent Journalist
Victor Davis Hanson - Hoover Institute, PhD in classics
The show was hosted by a substitute host since Laura Ingraham just underwent surgery for a skiing injury. Shannon Bream is radically different than Ingraham in tone and style. Bream is upbeat and positive and has a warm delivery whereas Ingraham has a snide laugh and comes across as angry for most of her broadcast.
Bream for Ingraham was an odd substitution.
The Ingraham Angle dedicated all of it’s coverage to the Memphis police body cam footage and kept the livestream from Memphis and other cities for over 73% of its airtime.
The program did include one guest who didn’t stick to the same script the NYPD cops did during Jesse Watters Primetime.
Randy Sutton, retired Las Vegas Police lieutenant, thought the Memphis officers were terribly trained.
“As a police trainer. I spent many, many years as a trainer watching what unfolded here in Memphis was actually shocking to me. I saw horrible police. I saw bad techniques. I saw out of control officers. No supervision. No leadership. And this is a recipe for what just took place,” said Sutton.
By the Numbers
Since the totals for each category spanned 1 - 100 putting them in one chart or making one chart per show made them incredibly difficult to read. I found it was much easier to see the difference if I grouped things by category.
The footage wasn’t available until 7PM Eastern Standard Time which is why it was not included in Special Report with Bret Baier.
Coming up…
I should have my weekly podcast/newsletter on Monday night or early Tuesday morning.