Posted on 05/02/2013 11:32:14 AM PDT by Kaslin
On Wednesday, NBC Nightly News covered the Dr. Kermit Gosnell case for the very first time, a whopping 44 days after the opening of the trial, and only after the jury had finished its first full day of deliberations. Stephanie Gosk wasted little time before emphasizing that Gosnell's clinic was "one of the only places in this low-income neighborhood in Philadelphia where pregnant woman could afford to go for abortions" [audio available here; video below the jump].
Gosk's report was also the first time that Big Three aired a report on the case on its evening newscasts, even as ABC and CBS's evening newscasts continued their blackout. Previously, the only time that a NBC journalist mentioned the murder case on-air was when Savannah Guthrie asked President Obama if he had been "watching the Gosnell trial....and do you think it animates a larger debate about abortion in this country" on the April17, 2013 edition of Today.
NBC Plays Up Clinic's Location In 'Low-Income Neighborhood' In First Report on Gosnell Murder Case
Host Brian Williams warned of the "grisly subject matter" of the abortionist's trial, and noted that "there have been six weeks of testimony, much of it difficult to hear." Gosk picked up where Williams left off, pointing out that "what Doctor Kermit Gosnell allegedly did behind the walls of this clinic for years is too gruesome to describe in detail", and continued by spotlighting the "low-income" location of Gosnell's run-down clinic.
After outlining the charges against the Philadelphia physician, the NBC correspondent turned to local journalist Larry Miller, who underlined how "that particular part of the city feels as though they've been left behind – that they've been ignored by the government." Gosk replied, "Is that because they're poor?" Miller answered, "That's because they're poor."
The journalist didn't mention how the Gosnell trial "has received little national coverage", as CBS's Jan Crawford did in her April 15, 2013 report for CBS This Morning, nor how pro-lifers have "accused the media of ignoring the story because what it called a bias in favor of abortion rights". Instead, Gosk merely stated in passing at the end of the segment that "abortion activists on both sides" have used the "horrifying case...as a rallying cry for change".
Besides Guthrie's question to the President, the only time that the murder case received any air time on NBC was when conservative columnist Peggy Noonan delivered the first-ever mention of the trial on the Big Three networks on the March 31, 2013 edition of Meet the Press. Gosk's report, which lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, trails behind CBS's coverage of the Gosnell case, which has aired two full segments and two news briefs on the story. But the two networks put ABC to shame, who still hasn't covered the case on their morning and evening newscasts.
The full transcript of Stephanie Gosk's report on Wednesday's NBC Nightly News:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: An early heads-up on this next story for those watching with young ones present – it's a grisly subject matter. A jury in Philadelphia has ended its first full day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the high-profile trial of an abortion doctor accused of murder. There have been six weeks of testimony, much of it difficult to hear.Our report tonight from NBC's Stephanie Gosk in Philadelphia.
STEPHANIE GOSK (voice-over): What Doctor Kermit Gosnell allegedly did behind the walls of this clinic for years is too gruesome to describe in detail. The Women's Medical Society was one of the only places in this low-income neighborhood in Philadelphia where pregnant woman could afford to go for abortions. The grand jury report states he 'regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy – and then murdered these newborns'.
GOSK (on-camera): The doctor allegedly hired unlicensed workers, including a 15-year-old. Investigators described this clinic as outdated, filthy, and horrendous.
GOSK (voice-over): The police found rusty instruments, dirty equipment, and blood on the floor.
RENEE CHENAULT-FATTAH (from WCAU/NBC 10 Philadelphia broadcast): Happening now: a jury deliberates for a second day in the murder trial of Doctor Kermit Gosnell.
GOSK: Gosnell pleaded not guilty to the charges, including four counts of first-degree murder involving infants; one count of third-degree murder of a 41-year-old patient; and 24 counts of illegal late-term abortions. Three previous charges of first-degree murder were dropped for lack of evidence. Gosnell's defense rested without calling any witnesses, including the defendant, and accused prosecutors of extraordinary hype and exaggeration. If found guilty he faces the death penalty.
The grand jury also criticized Pennsylvania health officials for not doing more. The clinic wasn't inspected for 17 years, despite repeated complaints. Local crime reporter Larry Miller grew up in the same neighborhood.
LARRY MILLER, PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE: That particular part of the – of the city feels as though they've been left behind – that they've been ignored by the government – by the local government, the state government-
GOSK (off-camera): Is that because they're poor?
MILLER: That's because they're poor.
GOSK (voice-over): The [Pennsylvania] Department of Health has since changed its laws. Clinics that provide abortions are now subject to annual and random inspections, and face the same regulations as outpatient surgery clinics. A horrifying case that abortion activists on both sides are using as a rallying cry for change. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, Philadelphia.
It’s only “grisly” testimony if the fetus is a living human being not a tissue mass. Your slip is showing, Brian.
So ... that’s supposed to make us sympathetic to Gosnell? As opposed to thinking that maybe the low-income neighborhood was a cesspool, and that his primarily low-income clientele were a bunch of degenerate butchers.
SnakeDoc
Of course the clinic was in a ‘Low-Income Neighborhood’.
That’s where the “human weeds,’ ‘reckless breeders,’ and ‘human beings who never should have been born.” (Margaret Sanger) live.
nbc thinks it should
WAR ON UNBORN BABIES !!
Did this *reporter* happen to mention Gosnell's clean waiting room...for white folk only?
Gee-my first thought when hearing about murdered babies was-how can we make it cleaner and better? How can we commit murder and “snipping” in a better environment-sans rusty instruments and bloody floors etc- oh yes- let’s build a pretty, new fancy clinic so the “poor” have a nicer killing experience...
And as the prosecutor said-her dog is treated better than these babies-truer words have never been spoken....
I think of abortion every time I see that Sarah Mclaughlin commercial for puppies and kitties-”In The Arms of The Angels”; the outrage that would ensue if clinics opened up clinics to abort unwanted puppies and kitties-sometimes by snipping or crushing their little necks- imagine the shock and anger....and liberals were forced to pay for it too. It would make their heads explode.
Is NBC saying that if it is black babies being butchered then it somehow not quite so bad?
Bull$hit. If the abortionist had been White the media would be all over him for endangering the lives of minorities.
No surprise that the media is protecting a murderer.
Now I’m confused. Does this make it more politically correct or less politically correct?
The ONLY problem the media and Obama have with this is the messiness,the jars and the freezer.
Liberal elites believe in sex without consequences... they also believe - like Bill Clinton - that “monicas’ of the world are better than paid hookers... Maybe elite liberals in the press are uncomfortable with the connected dot conclusions of this story and that’s why they don’t want to cover it.
Nobody wants to think of their child dumped in a toilet, screaming to get out...
Then again, it might be nothing more than the usual knee jerk response - to stand with - and protect - any liberal idea...
Maybe NBC or CBS or ABC could do a story on it?
Liberal elites believe in sex without consequences... they also believe - like Bill Clinton - that “monicas’ of the world are better than paid hookers... Maybe elite liberals in the press are uncomfortable with the connected dot conclusions of this story and that’s why they don’t want to cover it.
Nobody wants to think of their child dumped in a toilet, screaming to get out...
Then again, it might be nothing more than the usual knee jerk response - to stand with - and protect - any liberal idea... Some of us would like to know how these kinds of decisions are made... A little insight into liberal elite thinking would be interesting.
clinics are IN financial hardship areas on purpose .....why would they be in Beverly Hills......give me a break
Stage a dog fight and you go to prison. Stage a baby killing and you get elected to congress.
The sad irony with that commercial is that Sarah MacLachlan is totally pro-abortion (Lilith Fair/Rock For Choice/Spirit of ‘73). Ditto for Wendy Malick, who also does those commercials.
So the liberal response to this murdering pus bag is “open more clinics”. Makes a lot of sense.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.