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None of the network nightly newscasts led with Michelle Obama's trip to Mexico City, her first solo overseas trip in an official capacity. Yet because it was the only story deemed newsworthy enough to be covered by a correspondent from all three networks, the First Lady qualified as Story of the Day. ABC led with a Richter 6.9 earthquake on the Tibetan plateau in China's Qinghai Province. NBC led with signs of an improving economy. CBS chose its own in-house newsmaking as its lead: the poll with The New York Times on the 18% of the population that supports the Tea Party.

ABC and NBC both assigned their female White House correspondents to travel with Mrs Obama to Mexico, Yunji de Nies and Savannah Guthrie respectively. They tended to treat the trip as a human interest event, with de Nies asking about the husband left home supervising the First Daughters' homework and Guthrie inquiring why she sought to avoid Rodham-Clinton-style controversy. CBS assigned Bill Whitaker to the task.

Whitaker has covered Mexican narcoviolence regularly over the last 18 months, so he chose a hard news angle on Mrs Obama's visit. Whitaker asked whether she endorsed President Felipe Calderon's military crackdown on the trafficantes in fighting which has killed 23K over the last three years. "Do you think it is winnable?" Whitaker asked. Replied the First Lady: "Is the choice to give up?"

That is 23K dead in three years.

Andrew Tyndall 4/15/10 10:46:54 pm

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