Only Jennings Ignores Pro-Troops Rally in New York City
Media Resource Center ^ | April 11, 2003
No anti-war protest has been too small to earn coverage from ABC's Peter Jennings who in recent months has highlighted anti-war events involving just a few hundred people, a “virtual” protest and even one guy who jumped off a bridge,
but on Thursday night, while CBS and NBC noted a pro-troops rally featuring 15,000 in New York City, Jennings could not manage to mention it on World News Tonight.
CNN, FNC and MSNBC all covered some of the April 10 event live in the noon hour and later included it in their hourly or more rundowns of the day's events. CNBC's The News with Brian Williams, but anchored by Forrest Sawyer, also highlighted it.
CBS Evening News anchor Harry Smith noted it, though he felt compelled to explain what he apparently thought viewers would find a foreign notion, that many see the war in Iraq as part of the battle against terrorism: “Here in New York City, thousands of trade union workers and firefighters rallied at Ground Zero in support of American troops fighting in Iraq. Speakers and many in the crowd see the war in Iraq as part of the war on terror which began after the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.”
As Smith talked, viewers could hear those rallying chant, “USA, USA!” CBS showcased a sign proclaiming: “We Gave Peace a Chance, We Got 9/11! Support Our Troops!!”
Tom Brokaw managed to squeeze in a 6-second item on the April 10 NBC Nightly News, announcing over video of a sea of waving U.S. flags: “In New York, tens of thousands gathered near Ground Zero to show support for the U.S. troops in Iraq.”
The event featured New York Governor George Pataki and former Senator Bob Dole. An AP story pegged attendance at 15,000: “The rally stretched for several blocks north from the World Trade Center site. Carpenters, electricians and firefighters carried American flags and homemade signs and chanted USA! USA!' Police and organizers estimated the crowd at more than 15,000. The rally was sponsored by the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.”
Read the AP story by Michael Weissenstein in full as posted on Yahoo.com.
Jennings couldn't even find six seconds for the rally which took place just a few miles south of the ABC News headquarters, but he did find two minutes for a look at how an Iman in Detroit had a warning for the Bush administration. Jennings noted that in the Detroit suburbs Iraqis “are celebrating, but they also have a message for the Bush administration.”
Reporter Dean Reynolds acknowledged that “it would be an understatement to say people in this neighborhood are happy Saddam is finished” but, highlighting Iman Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Center, Reynolds passed along how he says U.S. policy “should concentrate on dealing with nations instead of autocratic rulers and he believes that would send a strong signal to Iraq's Arab neighbors.”
Those against the war haven't had to gather a lot of people for Jennings to consider their cause newsworthy:
-- From the October 25 CyberAlert: It doesn’t take much to arouse Peter Jennings’ interest -- if you’re left-wingers protesting Bush. Jennings found the time to highlight and show video of a mere 200 anti-Bush protestors. Jennings reported on the October 24 World News Tonight: “More than 200 people demonstrated outside the President's ranch in Crawford, Texas today. They say they wanted the President to focus on issues affecting the poor and the working class and they were escorted away by police.” From the video, it was barely 200. Amongst the signs held up by these average Americans: “President Bush & VP Cheney: People's Need, Not Corporate Greed.” “Wanted: [Bush/Cheney photo] “For Corporate Greed” Looked more anti-Bush/Cheney than pro-poor.
-- From the February 27 CyberAlert, a “virtual” protest which neither the CBS or NBC evening shows found newsworthy: Jennings intoned on the February 26 World News Tonight: “In Washington today, thousands of people opposed to war against Iraq bombarded the Senate and the White House with phone calls, faxes and e-mails. They called it a virtual march on the Capitol. Communications were virtually paralyzed in the Senate for a while. Many congressional phone lines were jammed for several hours and one Senator reported 18 times more e-mail than usual.” For more see the February 27, 2003 CyberAlert.
-- From the March 6 CyberAlert: Jennings went out of his way to make anti-war demonstrators appear more well-rounded and reasonable. Highlighting some protests on college campuses, Jennings stressed on World News Tonight that “while the students oppose war,” they made “a point of saying they support homeland security but believe the government should be focusing on jobs, security and health care, as well.” For details see the March 6, 2003 CyberAlert.
-- From the March 17 CyberAlert, Jennings hyped a small protest as he anchored World News Tonight/Sunday the night of the Azores summit: Over video of a small protest, Jennings announced: “There were, as there are somewhere every day now, some demonstrations against the war. In Chicago, among other places, several thousand people gathered in Daley Plaza, religious, labor and community leaders among them. Several speakers said the war would cost billions of dollars the country needs for schools and for health care.”
For more on Jennings' anti-war spin that night see the March 17, 2003 CyberAlert.
-- From the March 20 CyberAlert: Jennings demonstrated that no anti-war demonstration is too small for him to consider it newsworthy as he picked up on a solitary effort: “And in San Francisco, a man apparently leaped to his death from the Golden Gate Bridge. Our affiliate there, KGO, reports that he read an anti-war statement before jumping.”
When the war began, Jennings displayed his sympathy for the anti-war cause:
-- From the March 21 CyberAlert: ABC and Peter Jennings displayed a special zeal for the cause of those against the war. Jennings bemoaned how “it's going to be very difficult for people who are opposed to the war to debate it now that the forces are in combat," pleaded with Senator Joe Biden that those opposed are looking “to members of the Democratic Party” to be “their port in a storm....What happens to them at the moment?" See the entire March 21, 2003 CyberAlert item.
-- From the March 22 CyberAlert: Jennings rued to David Gergen that the administration has a “tendency” to “pretend” anti-war protests are not happening. Gergen agreed and then worried that since “Iraq is putting up so little resistance,” the U.S. will appear to “have been a bully.” Jennings largely tossed softballs to two anti-war group leaders, such as: “Why do you feel so strongly about this war?” And he saw an inadequate level of activism: “The college campus appears rather quiescent to some.” See the entire March 22, 2003 CyberAlert item.
-- For a rundown of how ABC and Peter Jennings hyped the larger anti-liberation of Iraq protests, distorted their “diversity” and ignored the true agenda of organizers, scroll down to the “Sanitizing Radical Protesters” section in the MRC's Special Report by Tim Graham, “Peter's Peace Platoon: ABC's Crusade Against 'Arrogant' American Power.” Read the entire Special Report. |
