On Monday, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King took off on Blue Origin’s Mission NS-31 for what was, from liftoff to touch down back on Earth, a 10-minute-and-14-second flight with a few minutes floating in what’s considered space.
But from its February 27 announcement through recaps on Tuesday, CBS Mornings spent roughly 215 minutes (or three hours and 35 minutes) trumpeting King and her all-female crew, nearly 21 times more than the actual duration aboard a rocket owned by Jeff Bezos’s aerospace company (with his fiancé onboard).
NewsBusters examined all 41 episodes of CBS Mornings and CBS Saturday Morning between the unveiling on February 27 through Tuesday, March 15 to examine all mentions alluding to or segments related to King’s adventure. Of those 41 days, 19 of them included references to King going where few humans have had the fortune of going (with some being mere seconds).
For this study, we excluded all episodes of CBS Sunday Morning given its function as a newsmagazine and CBS Mornings Plus as it only airs on five CBS owned-and-operated stations and the CBS streaming platform CBS News 24/7.
The most coverage came on launch day with a whopping 42 minutes and 48 seconds in the regular two-hours and then another 48 minute and 25 seconds in the special third hour that included liftoff and touchdown.
Featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers scoffed at the ethical questions and the simple critiques of this trip being made into an earth-shattering event instead of a PR stunt. Instead, he dismissed them as “negative online reaction” (click “expand”):
DUTHIERS: There’s been some negative online reaction surrounding this mission, and I just want to get your thoughts on this.
LAUREN SANCHEZ: There’s always positive and negative, always. And you know, Blue Origin’s mission is for the benefit of Earth, and you can go — you should go walk around and ask anyone who works here how they feel about this mission, and I think you’ll get choked up. And so, to me, I not it’s a little misunderstood, especially for all the people that give everything to make this flight possible, to make it safe.
KING: Many people think that if you’re — if you’re doing — if you’re devoting resources to space, you’re taking things away from Earth. It isn’t an either/or, it’s a both/and. And what happens in space benefits also benefits what is happening here on Earth. But if it was my dream, I wouldn’t have been able to see anybody that looked like me, either certainly a person of color or a female. That would not have been possible. So, now that we are the first female crew, I know we’re not going to be the last.
KATY PERRY: That’s right.
KING: And I just think it opens doors about innovation and imagination.
Second place was the Friday beforehand on April 11 with 21 minutes and 20 seconds as King and Duthiers co-hosted from the launch site in Texas. This included a brief mention to the rumored cost of space travel currently tapping out at around $500,000.
It also included plenty of overt shots at those pointing out the eye-rolling hullabaloo (click “expand”):
KING: I realize this is so much bigger than just a fun trip, what it represents to young women, to girls, what they’re trying to do on space, in terms of, you know, looking at the planet in another way and making it — you know, preparing for better things here on Earth. So, you know, I’m really opening myself up in a way that I never have before.
(….)
DUTHIERS: You’re going up on Blue Origin’s vehicle at a time that some say is complicated for Jeff Bezos, the owner. The founder of Amazon has faced some criticism for his company’s business practices.
KING: Yes.
DUTHIERS: He’s been under scrutiny and under fire for what people say is meddling in the newsroom of The Washington Post, which he bought a few years ago. Is there a risk? Or do you see a risk that this flight is seen by some as an ad for Blue Origin or an ad for Jeff Bezos? And how do you think about that?
KING: Listen, it is troubling to me too. There have been some questions and decisions that he’s made that I’ve actually gone, “huh?” But I think in this particular case, Vlad, this is so much bigger than one man and one company. I’ve chosen to separate the two. It’s not a zero-sum game. They don’t have to be — you can do this on one hand and you can do this on the other hand, and both things can be true.
DUTHIERS: How do you feel, like Black social media, people are like —
KING: Yes.
DUTHIERS: — don’t go, sis.
KING: Oh, yes, they’re giving —
DUTHIERS: We want to protect you.
KING: Yes. Why are you doing it? This is for White people, why are you doing it?
DUTHIERS: I didn’t say that.
KING: Yes, yes, someone said that to me directly. Why are you doing it? They’re going to leave you up there. Why are you doing it? You could get stranded. I mean, none of those things are going to happen. Number one, I certainly don’t think it’s for White people, that’s number one. Number two, you know, someone said, you know, Gayle, you just have to interpret it as a way that people care so much about you and so I am trying to process it like that.
Tuesday drew a whopping 36 minutes and 20 seconds recapping the Blue Origin flight. Despite the torrent of gush, CBS and King couldn’t seem to let go that not everyone was in awe of her alleged feat.
As part of this lament being a major focus of King’s interview with fellow passenger (and actual NASA scientist) Aisha Bowe, King suggested sexism was afoot in those not worshipping this stunt: “So what do you think when people say, oh, it’s frivolous. Number one, they call it a ride, which I find very irritating, because they never say, men went for a ride. What do you say to people who think that this was frivolous or just a ride? You know, I think the message that it sends is very, very powerful. And the people that say that, by the way, weren’t there.”
While the flight included actual scientists like Bowe and Amanda Ngyuyen and no one should be against women in science or dreaming of becoming astronauts, it’s a bait-and-switch to go from labeling these forays into space as merely “travel” with hefty price tags to historic feats.
Outside of the days prior to and after the launch, the largest single day came on March 27 with eight minutes and 27 seconds as Talk of the Table was dedicated to reminding viewers of launch day on April 14 and then a bizarre interview with actor and past Blue Origin passenger William Shatner.
How ridiculous did the build-up get? On April 9, CBS Mornings Deals hawked a telescope and binoculars in honor of King’s trip. And on April 1, King and the team solicited advice from — we kid you not — NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace because he spends his working days doing dangerous things at high rates of speed.
A CBS host going to space isn’t your run-of-the-mill study topic. But even more unusual is that we’re in agreement with divisive, hateful, liberal media janitor Oliver Darcy.
This was what he wrote on his newsletter site Status on February 27 (click “expand”):
A King-Sized Ethics Problem: Gayle King is catching a ride to space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin alongside Lauren Sánchez and Katy Perry—but no one will say who’s paying. Space tourism isn’t cheap. Some passengers have spent millions, and even joining the Blue Origin waitlist costs $150,000. CBS News has strict policies against accepting “gifts and freebies,” yet one of its top anchors is getting a coveted seat on a high-profile mission while the network showers Blue Origin with glowing coverage. Doesn’t that seem like a conflict of interest? If a CBS journalist took a free luxury vacation in exchange for publicity, it would be a clear ethics violation that would land them in hot water with management. A spaceflight is on a much bigger scale. Which begs the question: Who did King clear this with? And why did they say yes?
Beyond the rules against accepting gifts, King’s decision to take part in this PR spectacle is revealing. Bezos is steering The Washington Post in a direction more favorable to Trump, just as press scrutiny is more critical than ever. Instead of standing with journalists fighting to hold power to account, King is giving Bezos a high-profile endorsement. As one of the country’s most recognizable anchors, she should be setting an example, not acting as a billionaire’s brand ambassador. As one Postie told me Thursday, her behavior is “kind of gross.”
A former colleague of Darcy’s at CNN, the far more respectable Dylan Byers said this at Puck on February 28, also wondering about who was paying (click “expand”):
One giant leap: As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Gayle King has announced that she will be going to space on a Blue Origin flight with Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, and other members of an all-female crew. CBS Mornings spent more than half an hour teasing the big reveal this week, but the response from viewers—and, indeed, some of Gayle’s own colleagues—hasn’t exactly been enthusiastic. The litany of comments on this Instagram post from Gayle, CBS, and Blue Origin are indicative of the reservations about the anchor’s participation in the Bezos-owned company’s P.R. stunt. Of course, Gayle can do whatever she wants, or at least whatever CBS will allow, but last I checked, the news division’s journalists weren’t even allowed to let third parties pay for their flights out of JFK.
