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NBC on Clinton vs. NBC on Schwarzenegger:

Tom Brokaw’s hypocrisy. Back in 1999 when his own colleague, Lisa Myers, landed an interview with Juanita Broaddrick, who accused President Clinton of raping her 20 years earlier (1978), Brokaw refused to report it on the NBC Nightly News. But on Thursday night, Brokaw jumped right on the Los Angeles Times story about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s inappropriate sexual advances, going back to 1975, three years before the Broaddrick claim, and which fell far short of rape.

In 1999 February of 1999 Bill Clinton was not facing an election, while Schwarzenegger is facing one less than a week away and that, you’d think, would make the media more reticent to bring up events from decades ago.

Back in February of 1999, Brokaw only allowed Broaddrick’s name onto his show as part of a brief plug for the Myers interview on Dateline and he could muster nothing stronger that referring to her “controversial accusations.” As recounted in the February 26 CyberAlert about the February 24 NBC Nightly News and Dateline:
“When Today landed an exclusive with Linda Tripp a couple of weeks ago, Tom Brokaw played an excerpt the night before. But in this case, despite another exclusive for NBC, this vague end of show plug Wednesday night from Brokaw represents the totality of NBC Nightly News time devoted to Broaddrick: 'Tonight on Dateline NBC Lisa Myers with an exclusive interview with the woman known as Jane Doe No. 5, Juanita Broaddrick. Her controversial accusations about President Clinton. Dateline tonight at 8, 7 Central.’”

Fast forward to Thursday night and Brokaw didn’t hesitate to jump on the charges against Schwarzenegger forwarded by another media outlet: “A graphic article on the front page of today's Los Angeles Times detailing the allegations of a half dozen women. They told the paper Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger sexually groped and humiliated them in actions that supposedly took place over three decades.”

From Costa Mesa, Campbell Brown summarized the allegations: “Among the claims: That he groped their breasts, made lewd sexual suggestions and tried to remove one woman's bathing suit in an elevator.” Brown helpfully added how “a campaign aide to Democratic Governor Gray Davis called Schwarzenegger's actions a crime meriting charges.”

Brown concluded by giving credibility to another allegation she had no ability to verify: “The Schwarzenegger campaign had hoped the candidate's apology would out the issue to rest, but at Schwarzenegger's very next campaign event Democratic protesters showed up with a young women who made yet another claim that Schwarzenegger had harassed her too.”