The Bias Has Begun …

THE MRC’S TOP 6 OCTOBER OUTRAGES FOR MOST BIASED WAR COVERAGE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- In the days following the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11th America’s media did their job with class and professionalism. But in the last month the same old bias has returned, raising red flags for a wary American public already deeply skeptical of the establishment media. Below are the Media Research Center’s Top Six October Outrages for most biased war coverage: 

NPR Would Sacrifice Troops for the Scoop … National Public Radio senior foreign editor Loren Jenkins answered Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Johnson’s question as to whether NPR correspondents “would report the presence of an American commando unit” presumably unknown to the enemy in a “northern Pakistan village,” with a hearty yes, saying: “You report it” since “I don’t represent the government. I represent history, information, what happened.” Johnson’s column appeared on October 12. 

Rationalizing the Irrational … On the October 14 CBS Sunday Morning, CBS’s Allen Pizzey argued that poverty reasonably fuels terrorism: “If you were born into grinding poverty where upward mobility isn’t even a dream and have little to sustain you in life beyond religion, you too might find yourself screaming for the new Messiah with a $5 million price on his head.”

Threatened by the Pledge of Allegiance … On October 19, NBC Today’s Ann Curry blasted New York City School Board President Ninfa Segarra over the board’s resolution reinstating the Pledge of Allegiance every morning: “The American Civil Liberties Union is very concerned about your resolution. They are saying, basically, that those young people who choose not to participate could be targeted for harassment. And the New York City school system has a lot of people, a lot of students and perhaps even teachers who are not American citizens, isn’t that correct? … Perhaps the school systems across the country really should be thinking about renewing a lesson about tolerance?”

Al-Jazeera Says U.S. Killed Civilians, So Go With It … On the Oct. 23 World News Tonight, ABC's Dan Harris said: “According to Al-Jazeera, U.S. attacks on a village near Kandahar killed 93 civilians on Tuesday, including 18 members of one family. There has been no independent confirmation.” (Emphasis ours.) 

Soliciting Anti-American Opinion … In his October 23 report, ABC’s Dan Harris also reported: “Across the border in the Pakistani town of Quetta, five people arrived today at a hospital with injuries they say they suffered in another U.S. attack, this one about 75 miles north of Kandahar. They say 29 people died when their village was hit Monday night. This boy is one of the injured. His uncle says he had heard American radio broadcasts promising civilians wouldn’t be targeted, but he says his village was nowhere near any Taliban positions. Abdul Jabar is the doctor in charge. How do you feel when you see these kids?”
     Jabar: “I feel very sad.”
     Harris: “Angry?”
     Jabar: “Yes. My sympathies are with the Afghanis.”
     Harris: “Angry at the United States?”
     Jabar: “Yes.”
     Harris: “Everyone we spoke with at this tiny hospital said the ongoing raids have made the population here and across the border angry at the U.S. and supportive of the Taliban.”

Demeaning Dollar Drive For Afghan Kids … On the October 12 World News Tonight, ABC's Michele Norris intoned: “Behind the scenes there are quiet grumblings about this dollar drive. There are concerns that American children are being used in a propaganda campaign. But school officials said they wouldn’t dare air those concerns publicly, not when America appears to be swept up by symbolism. Apparent today as America’s school children, at the urging of the White House, simultaneously recited the Pledge of Allegiance.”

More quotes are available in the MRC’s Notable Quotables at www.mediaresearch.org.

For more information on the Media Research Center or to schedule an interview with a spokesperson please contact Katie Wright at (703)-683-5004, ext. 132.