CBS Spotlights China's Underground Catholics as Pope Visits S. Korea; ABC, NBC Hype Francis's Car

Matthew Balan | August 14, 2014
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[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]

The 14 August 2014 edition of CBS This Morning stood out for zeroing in on the plight of Catholics in China, as it covered Pope Francis's trip to South Korea. Seth Doane noted the Pope's overflight of the communist country, and pointed out how "that's significant, because the last time a pope wanted to fly through Chinese airspace was in 1989, and Beijing refused the request." The Pope at that time, St. John Paul II, took a vocal stance against the communist regime in his native Poland.

Meanwhile, ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today touted the Pope "making history" with his trip, as he's the first pontiff to visit South Korea in 25 years. Both newscasts also hyped the temporary Popemobile – something that CBS This Morning left out of its coverage:

AMY ROBACH: We begin with Pope Francis making history. This morning, he became the first pope to visit South Korea in 25 years. As he arrived, North Korea fired several short-range missiles into the sea. The Pope later telling the crowd in Seoul that peace requires forgiveness and mutual respect. But on social media today, far more people were talking about the humble car the Pope chose for his visit. That's a small Kia appropriately named 'the Soul.'

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