ABC does truly fair and balanced reporting... Shock!

[Flubadubya]

I was actually impressed with the reporting I just saw on ABC. Of course, the Cindy Sheehan story is front and center. They just presented a really incredible montage of opinion representing both sides of the Iraq war situation... i.e. a mother who lost a son and is against the war, and a father who lost a son and who supports it.

What they did was to juxtapose and intertwine the two stories in such a way that you could see both sides WITHOUT BIAS on the part of the network reporting. Truly, it was awesome to behold. This was a remarkable piece of journalism IMHO.

We know whose side we are on, and it is not a continuation of this insanity called the Iraq war. However, I must extend a bit of gratitude to ABC for at least trying to be impartial (and sensitive, I might add) to this situation.

Did anyone else see this? What are your thoughts?

[Upfront]

1. I saw it

Was not unpressed as no mentioned the war was needless, period.

[Flubadubya]

4. Biased...

I already said that we KNOW what side WE are on. The point of my post is to point out what journalism should be... unbiased, i.e. showing both sides of the story without interjecting any opinion of their own. You have missed my point.

[Eloriel]

15. See, that's not what I want journalism to be. I DO want it unbiased

but I also want it to tell us the truth. IOW: just presenting 2 sides to a story doesn't necessarily give us the truth. And no, that old saying, "and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle" doesn't suffice. Not at all.

In the case of the Iraq war, pointing out that it was needless, that we went to war based on lies (or at least misdirection) IS part of the truth.

[EVDebs]

2. But they pay Melanie Morgan's salary at Disney owned KSFO...

Yeah, without bias they are reporting on how their own little Melanie and her group are smearing Cindy Sheehan.

Shame on them.

(Disney owns ABC, which owns KSFO)

[Flubadubya]

5. Intricacies...

I'm sure Melanie Morgan did not compose this story.

[julialnyc]

9. yeah, but in honesty those two are very different when it comes down to a

story like that.

I actually worked for the company (not in news, but right near their floor). The reporters and editors are really good (I think the most un-biased on tv............ not to mention that ABC has Nightline).

If something is omitted from the news it may have to do with the ownership, but the people there are hard working and do try (they don't have allot of wiggle room).


I don't know if I should have said that, but wanted to defend them a little.

[blm]

3. Your post makes me wish I had.

.

[Flubadubya]

7. I wish you had too,

maybe it's a tribute to Peter Jennings.

What they did was show a clip of the woman speaking for a few seconds followed immediately by the man, and vice versa... point/counterpoint It really was very well done.

[dweller]

6. i'm not sure what i'd say

if i saw unbiased MSMCON reporting.

i'd probably be speechless.
dp

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

8. There are 'both sides' but the polling shows that the country is heavily

on OUR side of this, and they should emphasize THAT also when doing these 'both sides' stories.

[artv28]

10. Good report

and these pro-war parents almost always show that they are less informed than the anti-war parents. They typically mention some reference to 9-11 and state how we're fighting over there to keep us safer here. I'm getting tired of continuing to hear this over used right wing cliche "it's better to fight the terrorist there than here". As if the insurgents will all come here if we leave or because we are there they are not able to come here. This douche bag Ken Mehlman kept saying this crap on Hardball tonight and he never gets challenged with tough questions.

[JNelson6563]

12. another cliche' they repeat often

"freedom isn't free". :puke:

Julie

[aquart]

11. They made it seem six of one, half a dozen of the other.

They made the two opposing opinions equal. They even made it look like a He said, She said, giving it the appearance of triviality. They made it seem as if there is no real anti-war movement or effort, by comparing it to VietNam. But VietNam didn't have the internet. There was no way to get information out except by getting together en masse. There was no way to collect money except by passing a can thru the crowd.

ABC basically insisted that if this anti-war movement doesn't look exactly like the anti-war movement 25 years ago, it ain't an anti-war movement. They left out how movements of this kind develop and grow. They framed the story and set the standards. And at least one of us fell for it.

Unbiased my ass.

[Flubadubya]

14. Compared to Anderson Cooper's 360 last night...

it was a hell of a lot more unbiased, but I know what you are saying... still, any reporting like this is better than what we typically get.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. In their reporting, did they elaborate on why Cindy wants to talk to **?

[Postman]

16. You can't avoid "bias" one way or the other....

Instead of trying to achieve so-called "balance", why don't they just report the truth.

How is it balanced reporting when you have massive support for Cindy on the one hand, shallow support for the war on the other and they both receive the same amount of time in expressing their positions? That is being biased toward the rightwing.

It was Cindy Sheehan, anti-war mother of a soldier killed in Iraq that showed up in Crawford, Texas to protest Bush until he met with her.....If the war is so damned popular why aren't there pro Iraq war mothers of soldiers holding vigils for Bush garnering national attention?

Freakin' hypocrites.

[EVDebs]

17. Ask Bush about creating de facto the Islamic republic of Iraq.....

No reporter has YET to ask Shrub about his handiwork in the Middle East. This IS what the neocons have wrought !

Shame on them. Hold them accountable. The media ? Not a chance with Operation Mockingbird still tweeting away.

There's still a LONG HOT SUMMER OF PROTEST LEFT IN US !!!!!