[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]
As of the morning of 20 April 2015, ABC and NBC's morning and evening newscasts haven't aired any reports or news briefs on the recent arrest in Palermo, Italy of 15 Muslim migrants from Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, who allegedly murdered 12 fellow migrants by throwing them into the Mediterranean Sea – simply because they recited Christian prayers. On 17 April 2015, CBS This Morning devoted seven seconds of air time to a news brief on the possible mass murder.
The two former network's omission is even more glaring, as all three broadcast networks have covered the overall surge in immigration between the North African coast to Europe in recent days – especially since Sunday, in the wake of the sinking of an overloaded vessel that may have caused the deaths of hundreds of migrants. Since the morning of 17 April 2015, the Big Three's newscasts have set aside 15 minutes and 10 seconds of air time to the ongoing story.