ABC's request
"Over at Power Line, John Hinderaker has found one of the most egregious bits of media bias yet recorded," the Weekly Standard's Jonathan V. Last writes at www.weeklystandard.com, noting that Mr. Hinderaker found the story at a smaller blog, the San Antonio Express-News Watch.
"It seems that [Wednesday] ABC News posted a call on its Web site for help from readers: Jan. 19, 2005 — For a possible Inauguration Day story on ABC News, we are trying to find out if there are any military funerals for Iraq war casualties scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20. If you know of a funeral and whether the family might be willing to talk to ABC News, please fill out the form below:
"(ABC took down the request, fortunately the blog Captain's Quarters copied the page first.) ABC tried to pass this off as 'Honoring Fallen Heroes on Inauguration Day.' But Hinderaker notes that the specificity of ABC's request gives away the game. 'Note,' he says, 'that only the families of Iraqi war dead need apply. If a soldier died in Afghanistan, or aiding tsunami victims in Indonesia or Sri Lanka, or in a training exercise, never mind. That isn't the "balance" ABC is looking for.'
"While it is shameful for ABC to even have issued such a request, simply pulling it down and trying to bury the incident in the memory hole is even more dishonest. It seems like some in the mainstream media have yet to learn from CBS's mistakes." |
