RNC threat to networks over Hillary Clinton programs: Is it wise? Is it real?
| Los Angeles
The head of the Republican National Committee (RNC) has threatened to聽ban CNN and NBC 蹿谤辞尘听2016 GOP primary debate coverage if they do not drop two Hillary聽Clinton projects that are in the works 鈥� a move dubbed both聽hasty and unwise by political and media observers.
NBC has plans for a miniseries starring Diane Lane, while CNN is acquiring a feature-length documentary that will run theatrically before airing on the cable channel. Both are planned to air well in advance of the 2016 election 鈥� a race in which Ms. Clinton is assumed by many to be running.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus聽calls both projects thinly veiled attempts to聽put a 鈥渢humb on the scale鈥� for the 2016 election. He informed聽each network by letter that if聽they have not agreed to pull聽the programming prior to the start of the RNC鈥檚 Summer Meeting Aug. 14,聽he will seek a binding vote of the RNC stating that the committee will neither partner with either in 2016 primary debates nor sanction primary debates that they sponsor.
The move is contrary to the best interests of voters, CNN suggested.
"Instead of making premature decisions about a project that is in the very early stages of development and months from completion, we would encourage the members of the Republican National Committee to reserve judgment until they know more," the network said in聽 a statement Monday afternoon.
NBC, meanwhile, appeared to sidestep the issue. Spokeswoman Liz Fischer said in an e-mail that the following is聽NBC鈥檚 only comment on the RNC threat: 鈥淣BC News is completely independent of NBC Entertainment and has no involvement in this project.鈥�
The聽NBC project will be handled by the entertainment division. Political debates are typically covered by the news division.
While many聽miniseries and TV movies have ruffled feathers of both political parties in the past 鈥� and networks have changed plans in response (think CBS shuffling 鈥淭he Reagans鈥� over to Showtime back in聽2003) 鈥� there is little precedent for聽this current brinkmanship.
The networks have no room to wiggle, says Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor from Tufts University in Medford, Mass. 鈥淭his crosses a line,鈥� he says, adding 鈥渢his is an Edward R. Murrow moment for them.鈥� Both the networks have no choice but to stand up for the integrity of their independence as broadcasters, he says.
Priebus accuses the聽networks of intentional political manipulation. In his letter to NBC, he writes, 鈥淵our company has expressly stated that your choice to air the miniseries in the near future would avoid concerns of running afoul of equal time election laws.鈥澛燭his suggests a deliberate attempt at influencing American political opinion in favor of a preferred candidate, 鈥渘ot to mention a guilty conscience,鈥� he continues.
But this move could backfire on the RNC, points out Bill Rosenberg, political science professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.聽He likens it to the empty pedestal on-air聽moment that ensued in a 1980 debate.
Then-President Jimmy Carter refused to participate in a three-way with candidates Ronald Reagan and John Anderson. Instead, the broadcast showed his empty spot.
鈥淚t only reflected聽badly on Carter,鈥� Professor Rosenberg points out.
What聽these accusations suggests more than anything is the state of affairs within the Republican Party, says journalism professor Mark Tatge,聽from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. 鈥淭he Republican Party is in a state of disarray,鈥� he says, suggesting this is little more than an effort to gain聽publicity for a message intended to rally聽the RNC base, 鈥渁nd get donations from Hillary-haters.鈥�
The party has many concerns heading into the 2016 election, agrees Tufts鈥� Professor Berry, noting that this shows just how 鈥渟cared the Republican Party is of a Clinton candidacy in 2016.鈥� He notes that the GOP is shrinking, currently representing聽fewer than 20 percent of registered voters.聽 鈥淎s minority populations are growing and the white population is聽dwindling,鈥� he says, national elections 鈥渁re becoming increasingly difficult for Republicans.鈥�
But given that neither Clinton project is finished, the RNC move may be more theater than聽anything else, says Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York. 鈥淚t鈥檚 akin to the baseball player who yells at the ref after a call he doesn鈥檛 like,鈥� says Professor Thompson. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 actually think the call will be reversed,鈥� he says. But, he knows the next few calls聽will have just that extra layer of attention to fairness because of the extra scrutiny, he adds.
