# President Bush's Speech not being shown on the 3 major networks. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542 "2002-10-09T14:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/1 "2002-10-09T14:51:42Z")
I’m not really sure exactly what I’m asking here, and I hope I don’t come off looking stupid. (I guess that’s my disclaimer here). I just don’t understand why the speech wasn’t shown! I thought that it was over when I turned on the TV to NBC and it wasn’t on. I just assumed I’d missed it. Anyway, why didn’t the networks show it? Have they released an answer on the subject?? Is it because the media is so overwelmingly against Republicans? Is it because the media, in general, is against a war? Can anybody give me an answer?? Thanks ahead of time! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/2 "2002-10-09T15:03:35Z")
If I had to make a wild guess, it’s because he’s made a lot of speeches lately and it might have been during prime-time programming. Are you sure it wasn’t covered by both networks? I remember it was exactly a half-hour long from what one commentator said, so perhaps you missed it? I’d assumed that it was on NBC, since I was watching MSNBC at the time, and the announcer said something like ‘we’re returning to our regular programming now, but will be commenting on his speech on our MSNBC channel’, paused for a few moments, then continued. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/3 "2002-10-09T15:13:40Z")
I don’t mean to intterupt a good “liberal media bias” conspiracy theory, but here’s the story: > **[THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE NETWORKS; 3 Networks Skip Bush's Talk, Citing...](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/08/us/threats-responses-networks-3-networks-skip-bush-s-talk-citing-absence-request.html)** > > Three major broadcast television networks--ABC, NBC, CBS--did not carry Pres Bush speech warning Iraq to disarm of face military action, despite much advance news coverage and sense that nation may soon be at war; decided against carrying broadcast... (You can use the name and password of “slashbot” to read it.) > [@](#): > > Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, said the administration did not ask for network time because it did not want to mistakenly telegraph to the broadcasters, or the news media at large, that the president was to announce war plans. > > “No matter how we did our best to create reasonable expectations, a rumor mill would have grown suggesting that military action was imminent,” Mr. Fleischer said. “When the White House asks for time, it is because it’s paramount. If we don’t ask for time, we’re using good discretion.” > > Other White House officials said privately that if they had asked for coverage, that would have unduly heightened expectations for a speech that had no particularly new or dramatic details. Still, some White House officials indicated that they had hoped the networks would cover the address anyway. The White House didn’t WANT them to cover it, apparently. Now you may begin with “conservative shadow government” conspiracy theories. ---
**Author:** ![Breezy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/4 "2002-10-09T15:57:57Z")
Thank you for the answer Legomancer. 🙂 I wasn’t trying to sound biased myself, I just hadn’t heard the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/5 "2002-10-09T16:15:52Z")
It’s not that they didn’t want it covered - in fact, the White House called the networks after the speech had begin, trying to convince them to pick it up (although not demanding it, apparently). The spin is that the WH just didn’t want people to think he was going to issue some kind of war declaration, since that’s pretty much dominated the news lately. At the same time, they did want it covered, but they didn’t want to even look like they were trying to force the networks. ---
**Author:** ![Stccrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Stccrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stccrd)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/6 "2002-10-09T17:48:23Z")
From a Cinci resident, I can tell you that it was not broadcast initially because Bush’s people never asked the media to cover it. It was an invitation only event, with about 700 people attending. It was covered on local tv and radio, though. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/7 "2002-10-10T13:17:30Z")
Well the FOX station in DC had it from the begining, and that includes Bush walking out etc. None of the other stations carried it, at all. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/8 "2002-10-10T16:32:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeniseV \* > \*\*I’d assumed that it was on NBC, since I was watching MSNBC at the time, and the announcer said something like ‘we’re returning to our regular programming now, but will be commenting on his speech on our MSNBC channel’, paused for a few moments, then continued. \*\* NBC, as a network, did not have live coverage of the speech. NBC affiliates, however, were given the option of picking up MSNBC’s feed. Some did, some didn’t. here in detroit they did. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/9 "2002-10-10T17:34:29Z")
Although this has already been answered. In NYC only FOX showed the speech (besides CNN etc.). I flipped back and forth to see if there was anything new Dubya was saying but it all sounded like the same rhetoric he was quoted in the papers saying over the last few weeks. I guess the unnamed White House officials felt the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/10 "2002-10-10T23:08:49Z")
Why does every major network have to carry a president’s speech, anyway? It’s always seemed like overkill to me to have the president speaking on three or four channels (and even more if you have cable.) I had just assumed that networks had finally woken up to this fact–people really interested are probably watching the speech on CNN or MSNBC or something like that, and people who are not might just rather watch their “regularly scheduled programs” instead. Yeah, the president’s speeches should be covered, but why is it such a “shame” (as a local letter to the editor put it) when the entire broadcast spectrum isn’t devoted to every speech? ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/11 "2002-10-11T03:07:51Z")
That paragon of fair and balanced reporting, the New York Post, had a great letters section today on this. Several letters on the “liberal media” not covering the speech and not a peep about what **Legomancer** said. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/12 "2002-10-11T04:31:46Z")
Actually, I saw the Daily Show on Comedy Central last night, and Peter Jennings (ABC) was Jon Stewart’s guest. The first question Jon asked Peter was why they didn’t cover the speech. Peter said something on the order of “the White House likes to play this game sometimes where they want us to televise something, but they don’t want to ask us”. The basic gist of this (as explicated over the next half hour or so) was that, if the White House had actually come right out and asked for TV time, ABC would of course have given it to them. But they didn’t, so ABC didn’t give it to them, because they didn’t think it newsworthy. I think looking at Fleischer’s comments (so ably provided by **Legomancer** ) confirms this position. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-bushs-speech-not-being-shown-on-the-3-major-networks/131542/13 "2002-10-11T17:49:41Z")
I’d rather wait and read about it the next day in the papers, anyway. Why does everything have to be _now, now, now?_