Posted on 12/07/2002 12:53:27 PM PST by victim soul
Choose Life specialty plates to benefit adoption; moves to abortion debate
OPINION -- Black and white, right or wrong, good against evil, the mainstream Chicago media has a propensity to cover news stories using this formula as its modus operandi.
You see, it's easier to sell conflict than it is to educate and that's exactly what we saw earlier this week when Channel 32 WFLD-TV covered a Choose Life, Inc. press conference which called on state legislators to pass SB 2426.
If passed, this bill would allow the Secretary of State's office to issue Choose Life specialty license plates which promote adoption.
State Senator Patrick O'Malley (R-Palos Park) sponsored the legislation and attended Monday's press conference. According to a Choose Life, Inc. spokesman, "The funds generated from sales of the Choose Life license plate will become available to homes for unwed mothers, pregnancy help centers, and not-for-profit adoption agencies that are not involved with abortion." Groups seeking money from this fund would have to meet stringent criteria.
Jim Finnegan, a retired businessman from Barrington, has organized the Choose Life adoption specialty plate initiative here in Illinois. "Illinois Choose Life is an adoption effort to assist parents in their long struggle to find the child they so desperately hope for in order to complete their family," said Finnegan. "It is all about adoption, and how to build this as a loving option for all."
Seven other states already offer this specialty plate and 40 states are considering similar programs.
This sounds very simple and innocent, doesn't it? But perhaps it was too simple and too innocent for Channel 32 WFLD-TV, the FOX Network affiliate in Chicago. Robin Robinson, the co-anchor of WFLD's 9 P.M. News broadcast, portrayed the issue as if it were something that would pit abortion supporters against abortion opponents.
Robinson's script left viewers with the impression the Choose Life license plate initiative would represent the newest battle ground over the abortion issue.
Now, one could argue Robinson is just an anchor reading from a script. She did not attend the press conference and perhaps should not shoulder all the blame for how the story was presented to the viewers. However, Channel 32 should take the blame for not getting the story straight.
Channel 32's irresponsible handling of the story muddies the waters concerning an issue which deserves clarity. In essence, WFLD-TV took a news story which should have been about adoption and wrongly turned it into a social debate on abortion.
The press conference was attended by Becky MacDougall, Director of Domestic Adoptions and Maternity Services, of the Sunny Ridge Family Center in Wheaton, Illinois, an adoption agency. With MacDougall was her adopted daughter.
Also present was Julie Ann, a 19 year old birth mother who placed her infant with an adoptive family two years ago. Julie Ann related the help she received during her pregnancy, both financial and emotional, and she discussed how money is needed and should be allocated for adoption services. She focused on the need for young women to receive education concerning adoption as well. In closing, Julie Ann said adoption was a great opportunity for her child.
In addition, MacDougall's 14 year old daughter and a 13 year old girl, who was also adopted, jointly addressed those gathered and spoke about the struggles of their birth mothers. The girls also emphasized the need for added adoption funding which could help birth mothers in similar situations.
Among others, the press conference included comments from Joe Walsh, the co-director of the Lake County Aid for Women, a pregnancy help center and Karen Hayes, the Associate Director of Concerned Women for America of Illinois.
It was obvious the press conference addressed promoting legislation that would make available Choose Life adoption license plates in Illinois, whose benefits would strictly be used to assist agencies that promote adoption.
But somehow this was not provocative enough for WFLD-TV and many of the reporters present.
Of course, there have been arguments from abortion supporters, who claim money from the sale of the specialty plates would be used to fight abortion. Opponents cite legal questions surrounding "viewpoint discrimination" and "church-state entanglement." These pro-abortion groups have also asserted they should be entitled to some of the proceeds which would result from the sale of the specialty plates.
However, the legal arguments, from groups like Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women, have been struck down in each of the seven states which eventually issued such specialty plates to the public. In fact, there has been little or no legal consideration given to the position taken by these pro-abortion groups concerning the Choose Life license plate programs, including in Hawaii which is considered one of the most liberal thinking states in the Union.
These facts played little role in the way Channel 32 approached this story. WFLD-TV said the specialty plate initiative was "controversial."
"Incidents like this serve to reinforce in the minds of many the media has truly lost its moral compass in its responsibility to simply report the news, and not shape it in a manner that serves their personal beliefs," added Finnegan. "Nothing in SB 2426 denies a woman her right to obtain an abortion. It is all about adoption, and how to build this as a loving option for all."
It would be improper for me to paint the entire Chicago media with a broad brush of condemnation concerning the coverage of this story. For example, WBBM Radio and WLS Radio reported on the same press conference with fairness and objectivity.
Journalistic integrity is something we should demand from the press. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. With this freedom, comes responsibility. I know conflict sells. However, honest information should take precedent over the bottom line.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the last ten years, Dan Zanoza and his wife Julie have led Republicans for Fair Media, which encouraged media fairness concerning the coverage of social and political issues. Zanoza, who is legally blind, has joined forces with his wife, who supports him in his career as a free lance writer, political consultant and media analyst. The Zanozas are also the editors of RFMNEWS.COM.
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