Trump impeachment hearings will be a big show for TV news
Like everything else related to President Trump, the impeachment inquiry into his request that the Ukraine government investigate his top Democratic 2020 presidential rival, Joe Biden, is set to become a major television event.
Cable news and broadcast networks are in the planning stages of how to cover what could be hundreds of hours of live testimony and floor debates if Congress formally votes for an impeachment investigation of the president’s actions. If history is any guide, the proceedings could have a lasting effect on how viewers consume their news.
“This will be the first impeachment inquiry of the digital age,” said Sam Feist, CNN Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. “It’s a very different media environment. Each era brings a different type of coverage.”
When the impeachment inquiry into the Watergate scandal that ultimately ended Richard Nixon’s presidency commenced in 1973, the country had only three TV networks — ABC, NBC and CBS. In an unprecedented move, they agreed to rotate live daytime coverage of the first wave of impeachment hearings.
The arrangement aimed to placate viewers who still wanted to see the game shows and soap operas that saturated daytime network schedules at the time. The networks were also looking to stem net losses of nearly $3 million a day in 2019 dollars that they faced with preempting entertainment shows.
But TV executives were surprised when a majority of viewers tuned into the hearings. The story also created a new generation of TV news stars such as CBS’ Dan Rather and NBC’s Tom Brokaw, who became dominant figures at their networks over the next two decades.
The Watergate hearings also gave a major boost to PBS, as its member stations carried tape-delayed coverage in prime time. The nonprofit outlets ended up using the hearings as fundraising tools.
The 1998 impeachment case against President Bill Clinton came amid the rise of cable news. CNN was entrenched as the go-to place for continuous coverage, while Fox News and MSNBC were still in their nascent days.
But both newcomers saw gains at the time, especially Fox News, which attracted viewers who wanted a conservative alternative to the established news outlets. Fox News eventually became the most watched cable news outlet by 2002, a status it has held ever since.
In 2019, viewers will have greater access to live coverage of the impeachment hearings than ever before. Cable subscribers will be able to stream Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and the nonprofit service C-SPAN on their laptops or phones during the day.
All three broadcast network news divisions now have free, over-the-top streaming services (CBSN, NBC News Now and ABC News Live), which will also carry continuous coverage of congressional committee hearings open to the public and breaking developments. Other streaming platforms are also expected to offer live feeds of pivotal moments.
The broadcast networks are likely to pick their spots as to what they will present to TV viewers.
CBS News’ Washington bureau chief, Chris Isham, said the broadcast network will carry gavel-to-gavel coverage if high-profile witnesses such as Atty. Gen. Bill Barr, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani or a government whistle-blower agree to testify in a public session. He does not expect any major hearings until November.
“What we don’t put on the network we’ll certainly be carrying on CBSN,” Isham said.
ABC, CBS and NBC have already devoted a significant number of daytime hours to show high-interest congressional hearings related to the Trump presidency, including appearances by former FBI Director James Comey and Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen. Such “roadblock” coverage across the networks can drive the average audience level up to 20 million viewers.
Mark Lukasiewicz, dean of the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., said that although cable news is the day-to-day driver of the impeachment story, broadcast network TV exposure still has the power to elevate its importance in the public’s consciousness.
“A lot of this is confined to the cable news sphere, and while that is a big and growing audience, it is largely a politically interested audience,” he said. “I think that changes when the broadcast networks bring their audiences to bear, particularly when you get into a roadblocking situation and all the networks are showing the same thing at the same time. It does make a statement.”
But the impeachment inquiry story is already pushing a tsunami of news out during the day that will show up on digital platforms, according to Feist. “It’s not just the televised image; it’s also the real-time reporting,” he said. “CNN’s digital team is reporting out details about the inquiry every hour of every day and working without a newsgathering team. So we’re learning a lot about it in real time even outside of televised hearings.”