Media Critics Say ABC News Continues to Peddle Doubt, Dissent About War

AgapePress ^ | March 27, 2003 | Allie Martin, Jody Brown, and Chad Groening

[Remedy]

The president of a Texas-based ministry is encouraging concerned Christians and other Americans to let ABC know they’re tired of anchorman Peter Jennings and his anti-American leanings.

As he has anchored coverage of the war to liberate Iraq, ABC anchorman Peter Jennings has made his opinions known. In mid-February, when the Bush Administration's attempt to push a resolution through the U.N. Security Council was stymied by France, the anchor for World News Tonight offered the following observations:

"I think a lot of people got the impression this week that maybe the Bush Administration doesn't mind if the Western alliance as we've known it in the post-war period breaks up" -- and "the administration is prepared to jeopardize its relations with several of its oldest and best friends in order to get its way about Iraq."

As one media watchdog group says, "Jennings would not say that several of America's 'oldest and best friends' were jeopardizing relations with us to get their way about Iraq."

In another example, commenting on the reception allied troops were receiving in Iraq, Jennings stated: "Yesterday we saw images of a jubilant reception in the southern Iraqi town of Safwan where ... people tore down a picture of Saddam Hussein and jumped in the streets -- at least for the cameras."

And while talking to Democratic Senator Joe Biden about the anti-war protests, Jennings said: "A large number of people in the country are opposed to this .. but look to members of the Democratic Party, particularly, to be sort of their port in a storm, their place to manifest their dissatisfaction." To which Biden responded: "They've got the wrong port.... The decision's been made."

In addition, Jennings has opined that President Bush is fighting the war "alone," and the anchor has given substantial air time to anti-war protestors.

Dr. Bruce Engleman is president of We the People Ministries. He says Americans do not need Jennings on television. Jennings, he says, needs to go home.

"It is time again to send this socialistic Canadian back to our friends in the north, let him go back to being a host of 'Canadian Bandstand' -- and turn this job over to a real journalist," Engleman says. "It is not his job to be a commentator and to tear up our president during a time of war."

Engleman says Jennings should not mix in his opinion with his reporting. "With Peter Jennings running the show and as the main anchor of the televised coverage of the war, we do not need his constant barrage against President Bush -- an attack, really, which is quite liberal," he says.

"Obviously, Mr. Jennings is anti-American, he's anti-Bush, he's anti-Republican, he's anti-Christian, he's anti-war, he's anti-coalition of the willing -- and this is not the place for a journalist to exercise his personal, political beliefs."

Engleman knows ABC will not take Jennings off the air, but he encourages people to contact ABC and voice their complaints over the anchorman’s personal comments. More importantly, Engleman encourages Christians to pray for the salvation of Peter Jennings.

Focus on the Minority
The Media Research Center also says ABC was clearly the most biased in its coverage leading up to the war. And now, MRC says, Peter Jennings and his cohorts are offering the most biased coverage of the war itself. Spokesman Tim Graham says ABC continues to treat anti-war protestors with far greater significance than they deserve.

"They are being portrayed an enormous, massive, huge protest that President Bush has to ... knuckle under and ... give in [to]. This is like paying attention to a focus group," Graham says. "But that's what the protests are: a small group of people that do not represent the rest of the United States of America."

Graham adds that Jennings continues to tout the anti-war protestors, even though polls show the American people overwhelming support the war effort. "If you can attract tens of thousands of people to march in Washington, it makes for a good picture," he says. "The question is, does it mean anything in regard to the rest of America's democracy?

"If we have polls now, that are showing that 70% of the American people favor [the] war in Iraq despite the U.N., then what do 50,000 people represent?" Graham asks -- then answers his own question. "They represent a tiny fringe of a minority and yet, they are being portrayed as enormous massive, huge protests."

Graham says despite the irrelevance of the protestors, Jennings recently spent eight minutes interviewing two of the anti-war leaders, tossing them what he describes as "softball questions."

[Remedy]

• Media Watch -- 04/01/1989 -- Page One: Reporters First, Americans ... In a future war involving U.S. soldiers what would a TV reporter do if he learned the enemy troops with which he was traveling were about to launch a surprise attack on an American unit? That's just the question Harvard University professor Charles Ogletree Jr, as moderator of PBS' Ethics in America series, posed to ABC anchor Peter Jennings and 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace. Both agreed getting ambush footage for the evening news would come before warning the U.S. troops.
• Why Americans Hate the Media - 96.02 The episode was taped in the fall of 1987. Its title was "Under Orders, Under Fire," and most of the panelists were former soldiers talking about the ethical dilemmas of their work. The moderator was Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School, who moved from panelist to panelist asking increasingly difficult questions in the law school's famous Socratic style.

During the first half of the show Ogletree made the soldiers squirm about ethical tangles on the battlefield. The man getting the roughest treatment was Frederick Downs, a writer who as a young Army lieutenant in Vietnam had lost his left arm in a mine explosion.

[1stFreedom]

BOYCOTT ABC NEWS and ABC

BUT, LISTEN TO WABC RADIO AM 770: Limbaugh, Hannity, Batchelor & Alexander, ....

[Sunshine Sister]

So is NBC. I had to go outside the house after the first few minutes of their coverage. Usually I watch to see what they are lying about this day, but I couldn't take it. After being here yesterday and seeing the humanity of our troops I just couldn't stomach them last night.

[RetiredArmy]

No, no, not P-ter! Say it ain't so! *#&@ @(*$& (@*$ )(#*& socialist pig.

[A. Morgan]

Is anyone else sick of that Canadian High School dropout?

[Uncle Miltie]

Anti-American Broadcasting Corporation.

[tomahawk]

It's Peter Satan Jennings.

[laz17]

E-BOMB ABC!

Al Jazeera's American affiliate

[TigersEye]

I'll pay for the bullet. Er, I mean ticket.

[Yankee]

The Al Jazeera Broadcasting Company presents

The Evening News with Achnod Jennings

[1 spark]

I won't watch ABC on tv, but suffer thru their negative bias during my favorite radio talk shows. ABC = AlJazeera Broadcasting Company (credits to whoever posted that earlier)

[FReepaholic]

I began to hate Jennings in 1994 after he explained the huge Republican election victories as America "throwing a tantrum".

[YaYa123]

According to a New York Magazine reporter this morning at CENTCOM's briefing, ABC's senior correspondent in Kuwait, has packed up and gone home because he wasn't getting honest, timely answers from the briefings in the Army's multi million dollar media center. The question was highly insulting and totally stupid, the general answered it well, and I do believe, "ABC's senior correspondent in Kuwait" was little Georgie Stephanopolis.

Poor baby, I bet he missed the comforts of his New York dids, being treated like a super star. I bet he was scared.

[marty60]

Well, it's no better in the hinterlands. ABC in Houston yesterday interviewed a guy hat siad he WANTED to go fight for SADDAM. And then had the nerve to threaten Americans on the air. What was the anchors reaction. "we have desent right here in Houston" Hello......the guy is a national security risk, and should be picked up immediately. Plus he was really scarey, mean and vicious.

[HapaxLegamenon]

Peter the Canadian has been worse than Rather. I have only two choices here: ABC or CBS (rural Minnesota). Peter with Ted Koppel's nightly "sky is falling" report, not to mention Terry moRON have actually led me to watch Rather for the news. At least CBS gives the latest headlines, which ABC does not.

[HapaxLegamenon]

Let me guess: Dave Ward? or perhaps Sheryl Fryer?. I don't live in Houston anymore, but it sounds like a job for Marvin Zenler!

[Peacerose]

There is a FReep of ABC that just started this morning here! Come on down!

[PISANO]

I haven't watched ANY ABC program since the 2nd season of HAPPY DAYS. Why in the world would anyone (on FR) watch their news coverage?

[sargon]

I saw about 5-10 minutes of ABC last night and it was simply appalling.

Their hand-wringing is simply absurd...
Same for MSNBC and CNN.
They're all as bad as the NY Times...

[johnfl61]

ABC TV is in third place on the Sunday morning programs.One day they will be in the the trash heap of history with Madman Insane, Ditzy Chumps, Jacque Chirac and his Mini Me/ Chirac Light the Canadian Cretin PM Chretin.