ABC, CBS, NBC border coverage focused 'almost exclusively' on 'plight of illegal immigrants' while less than 2% of airtime addressed drug trafficking crisis, watchdog finds

A recent study conducted by the conservative watchdog group Media Research Center found that ABC, CBS, and NBC's coverage of the southern border focused "almost exclusively" on the "plight of illegal immigrants" and dedicated less than 2% of that airtime to reporting on the drug trafficking crisis.

On Monday, MRC released the results of a study that examined the media's coverage of the border between October 1, 2022, and July 20, 2023. The watchdog group reviewed over 254 minutes of southern border coverage from ABC, CBS, and NBC's evening newscasts.

Less than 15% of the border coverage addressed issues related to the influx of illegal immigration under the Biden administration. Additionally, less than 2% of that airtime reported on the illegal drug trafficking crisis.

Instead, the big broadcast networks were more concerned about covering migrants' hardships and the ending of the Trump administration's Title 42, which allowed the United States to expel illegal migrants back to Mexico.

The networks spent more than half of the 254 minutes covering the Trump-era policy, slamming the restriction for making life more difficult for migrants waiting to cross the border into the U.S., MRC reported.

"As is often the case with ABC, CBS, and NBC, the newscasts continued to focus almost exclusively on the plight of illegal immigrants," MRC stated. "Nearly every full-length report included sound bites from migrants desperate to enter the United States. Throughout all 254 minutes of border coverage, they never once used the terms' illegal immigration,' 'illegal immigrant,' or 'illegal alien.' They also failed to report on a single crime committed by an illegal alien who had entered the country during this period."

MRC found that the coverage also heavily focused on political disagreements regarding border policies. The broadcast networks "portrayed Republicans as ruthless border hawks with no capacity for empathy."

The networks defended the Biden administration after Title 42 ended in May, claiming that the number of illegal migrants crossing the border had actually "dropped dramatically," according to a May 14 broadcast on "NBC Nightly News."

MRC founder and president Brent Bozell told Fox News Digital, "There's no telling how many thieves, murderers, rapists and child molesters have entered illegally because of [President] Biden's new policies. But the 'news' media couldn't care less -- they like them."

ABC, CBS, and NBC did not respond to requests for comment, Fox News Digital reported.

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