ABC News Distorts Own Poll Showing Culture as Most Culpable in Virginia Tech Massacre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 24, 2007

CONTACT: TIM SCHEIDERER OR COLLEEN O’BOYLE AT 703.683.5004

ABC News Distorts Own Poll Showing Culture as Most Culpable in Virginia Tech Massacre
MRC’s Culture and Media Institute Calls Discrepancy Evidence of Liberal Bias

ALEXANDRIA, VA – ABC News conducted a poll that showed 40 percent think the culture is responsible for gun-violence, like that which occurred at Virginia Tech, and another 35 percent blame poor parenting. Yet ABC did not mention the critical “culture” finding on ABC’s World News on April 23. Instead, the network focused on the poll’s findings on gun control. This is a clear example of cherry-picking the facts to fit a liberal bias. In response to ABC’s selective reporting, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell issued the following statement:

“They didn’t get the result they were looking for, which was why the survey’s most interesting finding was spiked on ABC’s TV news shows.

“If they had found that most Americans blamed ‘availability of guns, they would have screamed that headline. But the survey didn’t support their agenda – so they buried it.”

Robert Knight, director of the MRC’s Culture and Media Institute added: “This is another reason that the Internet is outpacing network news as a source of information. More and more people want the straight stuff, unfiltered by the liberal biases of network journalists.

“The poll seemed to be more about trying to ‘prove’ that more gun laws are needed than to assess what Americans think are the primary causes for gun violence. Buried in the findings was the startling statistic that between 2000 and 2007, the number of Americans blaming the popular culture for gun violence soared by 53%, exceeding even the blame that Americans placed on bad parenting, which increased by 10%.

“These findings confirm what the Culture and Media Institute’s National Cultural Values Survey revealed last month: More and more Americans are viewing the Popular Culture as a prime culprit in America’s moral decline. In fact, the CMI poll showed that 73 percent of Americans say the entertainment media have a negative impact on moral values. ABC’s poll, tied directly to gun violence, comports with the CMI survey’s findings.”

To schedule an interview with MRC President Bozell or an MRC spokesperson, please contact Tim Scheiderer (x. 126) or Colleen O’Boyle (x. 122) at 703.683.5004.