ABC News Forbids American Flag

Washington Post ^ | 24 September 2001 | Howard Kurtz

[aculeus]

Two brief paragraphs from the 'Jennings' column in today's Washington Post may deserve more attention. Jennings said things you may not like on 9/11 -- but this is going on NOW.

ABC has barred its journalists from wearing lapel flags such as the one sported by White House correspondent Terry Moran.

[eaglesiniowa]

No it's actually American Bastion of Communism.

[CubicleGuy]

Just goes to show that the standard, multi-national corporate view of loyalty doesn't involve or include nation-states, only the corporation itself. The multi-national corporation can't afford to tick off its non-American customers, regardless of where the corporate HQ might be located.

[stevem]

I don't watch ABC. I haven't in years. I won't in the future as far as I know. This has no affect.

[FormerLurker]

Why do they call it the American Broadcasting Company?

They're simply holding off until they get their UN lapel pins around the time they change their name to WBC (the WORLD Broadcasting Company).

[lowbridge]

"Especially in a time of national crisis, the most patriotic thing journalists can do is to remain as objective as possible,"

After feeding us over 40 years worth of liberal propaganda?

After earning the name Anything But Clinton?

After destroying the reputation of FoodLion by creating a phony report?

After holding annually slanted hour long gun control reports and debates in which the anti-gun extremists were given the first, middle, and last word and outnumbered the pro-gun people by ten to one?

After banning the US flag using this phony "remain objective" excuse?

Remain objective? Yeah, right.

[snippy_about_it]

This is the ABC email link

This is the Disney investor page emailBut it is not currently operating, at least not for me.

[Always Right]

I think the American Broadcasting Company must change their name, since their very name signifies a bias?????? This is wackie stuff here. I like when liberals clearly show how moronic their ideas really are.

[Countyline]

Mulefritters!!!!!

We the people do not agree with this stupidity. Everyone... "object". Turn there station off 24/7 on going.

To me this is absurd. Brings to mind the line from the movie "Network". I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

Do we draw a line here?

[Mr. Bird]

"Is Larry King a liberal? Wolf Blitzer? Jeff Greenfield? Greta van Susteren? Howard Kurtz and Bernard Kalb? The only way to apply this honorable label to the likes of these nonideological, nonthreatening interviewers is to define the word "liberal" to mean "not obviously insane."

To each of these, I would say yes, they are liberal. Greenfield being, personally, an interesting exception (he seems more even-handed than the others). But note his background: From 1968-1970, he served as chief speechwriter for New York Mayor John V. Lindsay, and from 1967-68, he was a senate aide and speechwriter for Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Anyone working for RFK and Lindsay was certainly not "middle-of-the-road". When you add Russert, Stephanopoulous, Schieffer, to name a few, how do the liberals get away with so many political operatives in positions in the media? (RHETORICAL QUESTION).

[alancarp]

Gee, the networks all break out a ton of red, white, and blue come election time. Guess we're not afraid of offending anybody then, eh?

[Ann Archy]

NEVER FORGET that in an Ethics in Government Roundtable, the question to Mike Wallace was "if you KNEW that a platoon of the ENEMY was just over the hill ready to KILL American soldiers, would you WARN the American soldiers? Absolutely NOT! was his answer...I'M a JOURNALIST FIRST!! and Peter Jennings changed his answer and AGREED with Wallace. The Generals on the panel were STUNNED!

[Countyline]

"yes, they need to stay neutral, they wouldn't want to be seen taking sides between the USA and foreign terrorists...they both have valid points of view...

Is this scarcasm? If not it is a classic example of the insanity of political correctness. We are indeed going down, if attitudes such as this prevail.

[Capt. Tom]

NBC's Tim Russert was passionate this morning on the Don Imus program in defending the right of reporters to wear such symbols and declaring that his patriotism trumped all that crap about the sacredness of journalists' independence.

Meaningless talk for a guy who doesn,t work for his competitor ABC. _ Tom

[Capt. Tom]

I forgot to close my tags I hope this does it. -Tom

[Interesting Times]

Thanks for the humor piece...

[VoodooEconomist]

I'm not too "offended" by the decision. I'd rather the media not be the government's amen corner.

No. What gets me is the reason ABC gives for making the decision To remain objective?! ABC and the rest of the "mainstream" media hasn't been objective for decades. Puhleez.

[NewLand]

My email message to ABC News read as follows:

I understand the following quote is an official comment from your network:

"Especially in a time of national crisis, the most patriotic thing journalists can do is to remain as objective as possible," says spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. "That does not mean journalists are not patriots. All of us are at a time like this. But we cannot signal how we feel about a cause, even a justified and just cause, through some sort of outward symbol."

Your past actions belie this statement...you have signaled how you feel about causes that your on-air and editorial staff personally believe in. For you NOT to be able to distinguish between your own country and all the unique freedoms it provides YOU, versus the hate filled, anti-freedom, anti-women, anti-Christian, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic TERRORIST REGIMES, is phony and hypocritical AT BEST, and traitorous at worst.

My family does not watch ABC News or Entertainment...but we will get a list of ALL of your major sponsors and begin to BOYCOTT them immediately...and we will embark on our own campaign to spread that word.

We are not alone...and all it takes is a little coordinated efforts to mobilize many thousands of people.

GOOD LUCK!

__________________

Everybody who believes strongly about this should do SOMETHING...we may never have a better chance to rally citizens (even some sheeple) against the networks.

[cbkaty]

Sell Disney stock!!!!!!!!!!!!

You don't have to tell the Bass famalia twice!

[Ann Archy]

Tony Snow is sickening!! He was trying to play "Gotcha" with Condy Rice!! I couldn't believe how RUDE...RUDE....RUDE he was!! He treats the people on the left with decoru, and respect. I canNOT figure him out...maybe all the PINK is not gone...he was a Proud Lefty he admits...and he laughs in all the wrong places. Nice but RUDE to people on the right. WAKE UP TONY!!!