Major National Media FReep - A Call to Action

Citizens Coalition for Responsible Media (CCRM)/fairpress.org ^ | 03/27/2003 | Peacerose

[Peacerose]

Call to Action:
FReep Arrogant Propagandists at ABC News

On March 17, the Media Research Center released an extensive study of ABC World News Tonight's reporting practices. They reviewed 234 stories from January 1 through March 7. Their findings offer disturbing evidence of an anti-American undercurrent that pervades their news broadcasts. As the MRC states in their report, ABC News "failed its promise to serve the American people as an independent and objective observer, offering straight facts and letting the people decide. Instead, ABC employed a dangerous double standard - harshly criticizing the Bush administration and its policies, but failing to extend that same tough critical standard to other actors in this political crisis, from congressional Democrats, to UN bureaucrats, to skeptical allies like France, and even to the dictatorship in Iraq."

• MRC Special Report - Peter's Peace Platoon: ABC's Crusade Against "Arrogant" American Power
  Executive Summary
  Full Report
• MRC Media Reality Check - World News Tonight's Anti-War Agenda
• MRC Media Reality Check - ABC’s War News Touts Doubt and Dissent

This report demonstrated that, although CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News have offered fairly balanced reporting on the Iraqi crisis, Peter Jennings and ABC World News Tonight took a decidedly biased approach toward the "arrogant power" of the United States. Four serious problem areas were found:

• Championing France and the United Nations over the U.S. - ABC News constantly questioned the Bush Administration's motives for war and lack of respect for the 'peacemaking' efforts of France and the U.N. No such scrutiny was applied to France or the U.N.

• Channelling Iraqi Propaganda - ABC News treated every pronouncement of the Bush administration with great skepticism, yet repeated Iraqi propaganda without questioning its accuracy.

• Sanitizing Radical Protesters - ABC advertised the size and 'mainstream' nature of anti-war protesters while hiding the radical agenda of the organizers - real honest-to-goodness communists.

• Playing with Polls - ABC covered its own polling numbers very selectively, reporting only those that might be used to make the White House look bad.

"While the American Public grow more convinced every day of the need for war, they have not arrived at that opinion through objective reporting from ABC's World News Tonight that demonstrated faith in letting the American people decide for themselves. Inside, Instead, ABC's evening news team, led by anchor Peter Jennings, has scorned the notion of balance, lobbying the American people by favoring and highlighting information suggesting that war is unjustified, unnecessary, undiplomatic, and unwise. One hopes that their coverage of the conflict itself will be more balanced." - excerpt from Executive Summary, MRC Special Report, "Peter's Peace Platoon: ABC's Crusade Against 'Arrogant' American Power"

The Media Research Center offered four recommendations whereby Peter Jennings and ABC World News Tonight could correct their course and recover a measure of balance in their reporting. They are as follows:

1. Reporters should seek a balance of arguments and a balance of skepticism in covering both the United States and allies and international organizations.

2. Untrustworthy enemy claims should not be given equal weight with the statements of American officials.

3. The American people deserve a fuller picture of the "peace" movement.

4. The American people deserve a fuller picture of network polls.

Please join CCRM in demanding that ABC News make these recommended corrections. Below is the contact information.

ABC
77 West 66th Street
New York, New York 10023

Phone 212-456-4040
Fax 212-456-2795

Email contact page

Sample letter - Print; Copy & Paste; or re-write in your own words. Be sure to sign, date and include your return address (or email address if emailing).

[Landru]

"BTW...I never thought anybody could be as AWFUL in their PRO-Socialism as Dannie Rather-Biased, but Jennings is whuppin' Rather's arse in SycophanticSoddomSucklin'!!"

HA!!
~& how 'bout that boy, Peacerose?!!?
Bet'cha never thought there'd be anyone who'd out-rant me, did ya??

~sigh~
My *nephew*, The Mudboy, taught 'em everything I know.

...just a chip off the ol' block. :o)

[Purdue Pete]

Done! Letter sent!

[Mudboy Slim]

"...taught 'em everything I know."

And then some...heh heh heh!!

Utmost FReegards...MUD

[Mudboy Slim]

Thanks Pete...spread the word!!

FReegards...MUD

[Bigg Red]

Bump

[Bigg Red]

Bump

[Bigg Red]

Bump

[Bigg Red]

Bump

[Bigg Red]

Bump

[Bigg Red]

Thanks

[Bigg Red]

Thanks

[Bigg Red]

Thanks

[Bigg Red]

Thanks

[Bigg Red]

Thanks

[Bigg Red]

btt

[Bigg Red]

btt

[Bigg Red]

btt

[Bigg Red]

btt

[Bigg Red]

bump-bump

[Bigg Red]

bump-bump