That having been said, MSNBC led the way, with seventeen short segments accounting for thirty-five minutes of coverage. CNN, which went all-in on missing plane coverage, ran only three segments totaling just over six minutes of coverage, easily a low in the couple months Mediaite has been measuring.
As usual, there was a difference in tenor in the coverage, especially between Fox, which focused on Benghazi and the release of the Clinton papers, and MSNBC, which continues to use Clinton’s early popularity as a foil for the division of the GOP’s 2016 field.
The HillaryWatch Award for best reference to the absurdity of Clinton overkill while also participating in it goes to Fox News’ Bret Baier, Jon Scott and Jenna Lee, each of whom explicitly stated during a March 10 segment that discussion of Clinton running was premature while discussing just that for five straight minutes.
Methodology: The study tracked cable news coverage from Monday, March 10 to Sunday, March 16, and counted any sustained discussion lasting more than thirty seconds and involving more than a passing allusion to Clinton (thus excluding a passing reference to Clinton as Sec. of State while discussing Crimea). However, any on-screen graphic of 2016 poll numbers citing Clinton automatically counted as a segment. All repeats, teasers, and show intros were excluded.
Eternal Disclaimer: there are 965 days until the 2016
Previous Editions:
HillaryWatch: CNN Leads in Clinton Coverage, MSNBC Lays Off for a Change
HillaryWatch: Fox Couldn’t Get Enough of Hillary Clinton Last Week
HillaryWatch: MSNBC Spent More Time on Clinton Than Fox and CNN Combined
HillaryWatch: Last Week Cable News Spent More Than 400 Minutes on Hillary Clinton
HillaryWatch: Last Week Cable News Devoted 80 Segments to Hillary Clinton
[Image via screengrab]
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