Posted on 03/05/2003 1:18:24 AM PST by jagrmeister
ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel held a town hall on Iraq this Tuesday (March 4). Those selected to ask questions of the panel were overwhelmingly anti-war. We need to write to ABC and request balance. A fellow FREEPER described the incident, here is a summary (For the entire story, go to http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/857123/posts) -- Members of the DC Chapter were invited by Nightline to participate in a town hall meeting on the pending war with Iraq...We were told that they wanted the audience to represent the national trend in the country, which is currently 65-35 in favor of the President's policy on Iraq...The show started out balanced. The questions went pro, anti, pro and then, with the exception of the neutral question to the ambassadors, it was all "anti" after that...After the show, I went up on stage...and then waited my turn to speak to Ted Koppel. We shook hands and I told Mr. Koppel that I thought the panel was great, that both sides presented their views with conviction, but that the questions from the audience were terribly biased. There were 12 anti-war questions asked, two pro-liberation questions and one neutral question to the French and German Ambassadors about how their relationship with the United States would be in the future if we went to Iraq....At the beginning of the show, we all filled out questions on cards and submitted them. He apologized that I wasn't chosen to ask my questions. I told him that, "No. It wasn't about me looking for camera time. The bias presented in the audience didn't reflect the mood of the country nor the attendance at the event."...And in true Bill Clinton style, Ted Koppel said, "I accept the responsiblity." He said that when they do these town halls, and he's done a lot of them, the producers bring people to the mikes and they tell him through his earpiece who to call on; he took it upon himself to mix it up and call on people just by looking at their faces.... Ted was really fair to the panel... --
We need to keep on the media to Tell the Truth. The place to let ABC know what you think is: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/Nightline/Nightline_email_form.html
My sense is that we Specific about our objection and Respectful. Let's be fair. Other than the bias in questions, the town hall was well done. Let's appeal to their sense of journalistic standards. Here is the short letter I sent them:
"On March 4, I watched Nightline's town hall on Iraq and thought it was well done with one glaring exception. Despite the fact that ABC's own poll shows that 59% of the American public support military action in Iraq, those selected in the town hall to ask questions were overwhelmingly anti-war. In fact, of the 13 questions asked, 10 were anti-war, 2 were pro-war, and 1 was neutral (relating to British and German relations). This is not a minor misrepresentation of American sentiment. It is not a rounding error but a serious divergence from the accurate portrayal of the American public's stance on Iraq. In an otherwise excellent panel discussion and moderation by Ted Koppel, this unfortunate bias stood out. It is essential that Nightline maintain balance in its programming. I ask that Nightline, in future efforts, take greater efforts to ensure that the journalistic standards of evenhandedness are applied. Thank you for your time."
------------------------------ Feel free to improve on this. The key, I believe, is to be specific and respectful. *Note- I adjusted the number of questions referenced by the original Freeper who reported on this to accomodate for one person asking three questions. If we all use roughly the same numbers (10 anti-war, 2 pro-war, 1 neutral), it'll work just fine. If someone can please confirm these numbers (if you've watched the program), I would appreciate it. Please post here if you write Nightline. Again the URL to comment to Nightline is, http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/Nightline/Nightline_email_form.html
Good, he accepts responsiblity, what the heck does that mean? Just words, no action required. And the second part of this statement is a crock. This is the same thing as, "we are not biased", all sliver and no polish.
While I agree with you - we MUST keep up the fight for "true" unbiased journalism. We are making an impact if the LIEberals are willing to invest $$$ to try and create a LIEberal talk radio.
I agree.
What you describe sounds quite a bit like the Citizens' Coalition for Responsible Media -- a chapter of the Free Republic Network.
Drop Diotima a freepmail to get registered. The CCRM does excellent work, and they might well be interested in helping you implement your media scorecard idea.
FRegards,
I.T.
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.