By Adam R Jacobson, Carl Marcucci and April McLynn
At 9:30pm Eastern, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in a joint session of Congress that resumed some five hours after a rowdy and violent group of supporters of Donald Trump engaged in what Romney called “an insurrection supported by the President of the United States.”
Romney’s speech was well-covered by national media, with live coverage broadcast on NBC.
At the same time, one Washington, D.C. radio station wasn’t covering Romney’s speech. Rather, a field reporter was recalling an incident at the J.W. Marriott with a dozen Trump supporters hours after a 6pm curfew put into effect by Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser to help quell any after-dark eruptions from Trump supporters.
The report from WTOP-FM Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller was just one way local radio and TV went above and beyond as national media outlets faced immediate danger simply by doing their jobs.
FROM PROTEST TO THREAT
As Tuesday ended, all eyes were on Georgia, as two pivotal U.S. Senate runoff races concluded and votes were being tallied. Earlier in the day, a Federal judge rejected the president’s lawsuit to decertify the Georgia results of the U.S. presidential election, which saw Biden take the state on November 7.
Hours before a Republican watch party in Georgia was to take place in support of GOP Senatorial candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) representatives were reportedly prevented from covering the affair.
Then came Wednesday. By midday, with Raphael Warnock already victorious in Georgia, fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff declared victory. This effectively shifts Senate control to the Democrats.
Meanwhile, protestors — some of whom could have attended a rally organized by President Trump himself earlier in the day — began to engage in nothing short of anarchy.
News outlets and independent journalists were springing into action. NBC News national investigative and enterprise reporter Tyler Kingkade obtained video shot of a melee that began just before 2pm by a protestor who appeared to strike a Capitol Hill Police officer at a barricade. The officer struck back with a punch. That led protestors to shower officers with pepper spray.
By 2:40pm, a crowd chanting “Stop the Steal” emerged just outside the House of Representatives chamber. John Bresnahan, co-founder of Punchbowl News, was tweeting live video of this protest.
News organizations were put on red alert. Less than 15 minutes later, protestors reached the chamber, with T. Becket Adams, a senior commentary writer for the Washington Examiner, one of the first to share photos of the intruders.
The image was shared by Ben Shapiro, the host of the Westwood One-syndicated program The Ben Shapiro Show. “This is definitionally un-American,” he lamented upon seeing the image of a protestor on the dais.
Igor Bobic, Politics Reporter at HuffPost, was among the first to capture images of protestors carrying a “Stars and Bars” Confederate battle flag through the Capitol.
Soon afterward, radio and TV reporters were rushing to offer reports.
At the start of his Premiere Networks-syndicated afternoon program, Sean Hannity commented on the attempted entry, later proven successful, of Trump supporters at the entrance to the House gallery. He was surprised that the Capitol was not more secure.
Locally, WTOP reporter Dick Uliano was pressed into service, as was Miller. As a CBS News Radio affiliate, WTOP also offered special reports from Steve Futterman and Peter King.
But, it was CBS News Radio Washington Bureau Executive Editor Steve Dorsey who ended up in the heat of the activity. Dorsey arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday morning awaiting the outcome of the Georgia Senate race and the contentious certification of president-elect Biden’s electoral college victory. Dorsey ended up locked in the House Radio and TV Correspondents Gallery, as armed pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol. Sheltering in place at the direction of the Capitol Police, Dorsey provided minute-by-minute coverage of the insurrection to affiliates. White House Correspondent Steven Portnoy, meanwhile, went on-air with live updates detailing the unprecedented events that occurred today.
For television viewers around the country, network coverage quickly pre-empted regular programming. In Washington, NBC O&O WRC-4 stuck with its own anchors and reporters until 7pm.
COMMISSIONERS PRAY FOR CALM
With the world stunned at the events unfolding inside the U.S. Capitol, key figures in Washington were commenting on what was rapidly becoming a dangerous situation for journalists.
Soon-to-depart FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took to Twitter, saying, “We must be governed by the rule of law, not the rule of the mob. Law and order must be restored and democracy must be respected.”
That didn’t happen.
Just before 5pm, Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who many believe will be named Chair of the FCC following Pai’s exit in two weeks, added, “I worked for many years in the Capitol. Such a sad day. Praying for everyone’s safety.”
Former Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who is joining the Hudson Institute as a visiting fellow, commented on the protestors before making the announcement regarding his new D.C. job. “An absolutely awful development. Pray for the health and safety of all those who work in the U.S. Capitol, many of whom I know and those I haven’t met yet.”
As the Commissioners were responding to the violence on Capitol Hill, the NAB came forward to express support of the field journalists who were covering the protests.
“We are saddened and disheartened by the actions unfolding in our nation’s capital,” the association said. “To the journalists risking their lives to bring this unprecedented scene to Americans across the nation, stay safe and vigilant.”
That’s just what some AP journalists did, as their equipment faced the wrath of some protestors.
Practically in the middle of one melee was Emmy-award winning WRC-4 reporter Shomari Stone. At 5:08pm, Stone shot video of a “mob” of Trump supporters swarming members of the media near the Capitol. He heard some yelling, “The media is the enemy of the people.”
Stone says, “They destroyed equipment and chased out reporters. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20-year career.”
In a minute-long video shared on social media, one man is seen kicking a AP camera and boom mic used for standup reporting. Others are later shown further destroying the AP equipment.
Seconds later, CNN reported that Congressional leaders were being evacuated from the Capitol, and would be heading to Fort McNair, in Southwest D.C.
A FORMER LEADER SPEAKS
Among those watching from afar the events on Capitol Hill brought to the world by field journalists were former U.S. President George W. Bush and ex-First Lady Laura Bush. In a statement, the former president — like Romney — called the events an insurrection.
“Laura and I are watching the scenes of mayhem unfolding at the seat of our nation’s government in disbelief and dismay,” Bush said. “It is a sickening and heartbreaking sight. This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic — not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions and our law enforcement. The violent assault on the Capitol — and disruption of a Constitutionally-mandated meeting of Congress — was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes. Insurrection could do grave damage to our nation and reputation. In the United States of America, it is the fundamental responsibility of every patriotic citizen to support the rule of law. To those who are disappointed in the results of the election: Our country is more important than the politics of the moment. Let the officials elected by the people fulfill their duties and represent our voices in peace and safety.”
The statement received a thank you from now-retired NAB Communications head Dennis Wharton.
TRAFFIC, WEATHER, TURMOIL
In the 9:30pm hour, with Congress back in session to count the electoral votes, Cumulus Media-owned WMAL-FM in Washington offered live coverage of the hearings on Capitol Hill.
By 10:30pm, some 4 1/2 hours after a curfew was imposed in the District and in Arlington County and the City of Alexandria in Virginia, WTOP reporter Michelle Basch had yielded anchor duties to evening anchor Dimitri Solis, with associate producer Alicia Abelson inside the “Glass Enclosed Nerve Center.”
At the same time, Uliano was still out in the field, with updates on disturbances near the J.W. Marriott.
CBS News Radio continued to provide updates to the station and to all affiliates, noting that one woman was shot and later died. Another fell off the Capitol building and suffered abrasions and fractures.
Nationally, live coverage from the Capitol was winding down. NBC News was asking viewers, “How did we get here?” and offered a look at the President’s election challenges, with anchor Lester Holt still on the air after several hours. CBS affiliates were airing anchored coverage under the banner “Assault on the Capitol” from anchor Norah O’Donnell.
ABC presented a three-hour special report as Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos led coverage alongside “World News Tonight” Anchor and Managing Editor David Muir, “ABC News Live Prime” anchor Linsey Davis and ABC News’ political team. ABC News provided wall-to-wall coverage of today’s events starting at 2:26pm.
FOX affiliates were in local mode. In Washington, owned-and-operated WTTG-5 shared reports highlighting pro-Trump supporters while offering a report about how Lyft services could be impacted by curfews. But by 10:45pm, the tone shifted dramatically, with anchor Jim Lokay talking directly to viewers and directly addressing the president by saying, “A Tweet is not going to solve the world’s problems.” Lokay said, “This is not about politics, people … It’s about right or wrong and the people who came to D.C. and protested their First Amendment rights and did so peacefully.”
Meanwhile, in cities such as West Palm Beach, WFLX-29, with a newscast produced by The E.W. Scripps Co. for the Gray-owned FOX affiliate, the focus was on local news. One report featured a couple who received a kidney donation was giving back by helping others. A sports story talked about Special Olympics athletes.
AUDIO ACCESS TO KEY EVENTS
With WTOP largely in wall-to-wall coverage and continuing to offer traffic, weather and sports in-between, Cumulus’ WMAL was one of the few other Washington, D.C., radio stations to not break from regular programming..
As the clock neared 11pm Wednesday, WMAL was still offering audio coverage from the Senate, preempting The John Batchelor Show.
Earlier in the evening, Westwood One-syndicated The Mark Levin Show host Mark Levin expressed outrage over what had happened just hours earlier. And, he took time to fully distance himself from those who stormed the Capitol.
But, while Levin condemned the Capitol Hill marauders, he was quick to remind the audience that Washington, D.C. Mayor Bowser did nothing to stop alleged Antifa members and “Black Lives Matter” protestors from trying to storm the White House in 2020 —including not calling in the National Guard. Still, Levin said anyone who resorts to violence when protesting is just plain wrong.
For those seeking live, continuous anchored coverage for their stations, ABC News Radio quickly responded.
A live Instant Special, “Chaos at the Capitol,” was made available at 7:06pm Eastern, with Correspondent Aaron Katersky anchoring the audio coverage with reporting by Correspondent Karen Travers in Washington, Multi-Platform Reporter Ines De La Cuetara at the Capitol, and a team of ABC News political and security analysts and experts.
The one-hour special was made available as an “ABC News Radio Specials” podcast after it aired.
As Wednesday drew to a close in Washington, TEGNA CBS affiliate WUSA-9 was, like WMAL, offering live coverage of Congress, preempting its local newscast.
On WJLA-7, the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned ABC affiliate, the regular 11pm newscast featured Anna-Lysa Gayle offering a live shot from Black Lives Matter Plaza while Justin Hinton offered reaction from Members of Congress on the day’s events. Kevin Lewis showed video footage of some of the damage caused by the protestors.
And, at WRC, Rep. John Sarbanes shared his story of the day’s events to viewers as part of its regular 11pm newscast, with Scott MacFarlane reporting from his home.
With a curfew in effect until sunrise, Thursday will bring more calls for calm from Capitol Hill. Diligent reporters from broadcast and print media will be there to offer their respective tales to the world.
Carl Marcucci and April McLynn reported on this story from Northern Virginia. Adam Jacobson reported on this story from Boca Raton, Fla.
