ABC News, NBC News and CBS News portrayed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an overwhelmingly negative way in the days following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer, according to a new analysis from the Media Research Center (MRC).
The MRC said it reviewed every evening newscast on ABC, NBC and CBS from Jan. 7 — the day Good was shot — through Jan. 17, a stretch that included intense national debate and a series of violent incidents targeting federal immigration enforcement personnel.
Study says the tone was lopsided
In the 10 days after the shooting, the MRC reported that the three networks aired 68 negative soundbites about ICE and just five positive ones — which the group characterized as 93% negative coverage overall.
MRC President David Bozell argued the disparity was deliberate.
“No news network produces coverage this dishonest by accident. The elitist media’s abysmal reporting proves their intent, which is to nullify immigration law via manipulating public opinion,” Bozell told Fox News Digital.
Breaking it down by program, the study said:
- ABC’s “World News Tonight” aired 21 negative soundbites and two positive ones (91% negative).
- NBC’s “Nightly News” aired 21 negative soundbites and two positive ones (91% negative).
- “CBS Evening News” aired 26 negative soundbites and one positive one (96% negative).
Dispute centers on what happened during the encounter
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the ICE officer fired in self-defense after Good allegedly used her Honda Pilot SUV in a way that threatened the agent. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News on Wednesday that the officer suffered internal bleeding in his torso after being struck by the vehicle. DHS did not immediately specify how severe the bleeding was.
The MRC also claimed ABC and NBC mentioned the officer being hit by the car only once each, despite the networks’ cumulative coverage of the shooting and its fallout approaching 78 minutes.
On CBS, the study said, the only reference came in a segment telling viewers Vice President JD Vance was “claiming” the officer had been struck — and that the network did not present it as fact.
MRC senior research analyst Bill D’Agostino said ABC and NBC included acknowledgments that Good hit the agent, but framed them differently.
“Meanwhile, ABC brought in an outside observer who stated unequivocally that she hit him, and NBC actually had Good’s own father-in-law admitting that she hit him,” D’Agostino said.
The study also said each network mentioned the agent’s internal bleeding only once. It noted CBS News was first to report the internal bleeding detail.
Study argues immigrant-crime context received minimal airtime
The MRC said the three broadcasts spent a combined 121 minutes discussing the shooting and its aftermath, but devoted only brief time to alleged crimes tied to undocumented immigrants while explaining why ICE agents were operating in Minnesota.
According to the study, those alleged crimes were mentioned for 12 seconds on ABC, 16 seconds on CBS, and 89 seconds on NBC.
