MRC Exposes ABC's Crusade Against “Arrogant” American Power - Press Release - March 18, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2003

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katie Wright at (703) 683-5004 ext. 132

New Study On War Coverage:

MRC Exposes ABC's Crusade Against
“Arrogant” American Power

ALEXANDRIA, Va. --- The Media Research Center released a new study today documenting ABC News’s biased war coverage. In examining 234 ABC World News Tonight stories that aired from January 1 through March 7, MRC analysts found the network failed to keep the promise that ABC News President David Westin made in January to offer “objective” reporting on the crisis.

“ABC News has consistently crusaded against what anchor Peter Jennings called the ‘arrogant power’ of the United States. This only serves to distort the news and mislead the American public, which is about the worst possible thing any news organization can do when a country is about to go to war,” said MRC President Brent Bozell.

Key Findings: Four Fronts In ABC’s Spin War

Championing France and the UN Over the US. ABC has questioned the purity of the Bush administration’s ideological and economic motives for war, and constantly decried a lack of White House respect for the peacemaking efforts of countries like France and the United Nations. ABC did not apply the same skeptical standards on ideology, greed, or "hard line" demands when it came to the policy stands of France or the UN.

Channeling Iraqi Propaganda. While ABC presents Bush administration pronouncements with great skepticism, ABC has channeled propaganda from the Iraqi regime that is renowned for its dishonesty without investigating its accuracy or even treating it with equal skepticism.

Sanitizing Radical Protesters. ABC has touted the size and broadly mainstream nature of protest movements, without serious coverage of their radical organizers, their radical speeches, or their potentially destructive impact on building more than a tiny anti-war minority.

Playing with Polls. ABC has manipulated its own polling numbers, reporting the ones that show slippage for the White House case, and sometimes ignoring their own poll numbers when they have shown growing support for the White House case.

Special Report: Peter's Peace Platoon:
Executive Summary
Complete Report
Statement by L. Brent Bozell III

Also of Interest:
Media Reality Check: World News Tonight’s Anti-War Agenda

To schedule an interview with Mr. Bozell, or another MRC spokesperson,
please contact Katie Wright at 703-683-5004 ext. 132
Read the full study at www.mediaresearch.org.