CNN's Dana Bash fact-checked President Obama's falsehood about the
sequester on Friday, but the major networks didn't exactly follow CNN's
lead in reporting the distortion that Capitol Hill janitors and police
would receive a pay cut because of the sequester.
In his Friday press conference, Obama claimed, "They're going to have
less pay, the [Capitol Hill] janitors, the security guards. They just
got a pay cut." Shortly after that, CNN's Bash obtained from the Senate
Sergeant-at-Arms that the workers would not receive a pay cut, just a
limit on overtime pay. NBC ignored the distortion on its weekend
newscasts, while CBS and ABC reported it one time each.
While we've shown how the media have studiously sought to blame congressional Republicans for the sequester and inoculate President Obama
against any blame, it appears to not be working. We'll keep an eye out
to see to what extent, if at all, the broadcast networks report on the
dip in the president's job approval numbers.
As Politico's "44" blog noted this afternoon, the president has taken a hit this weekend in his job approval rating. Reported Donovan Slack (emphasis mine):
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