Data show ABC and CBS skewed pre-Iraq war coverage.
Data show ABC and CBS skewed pre-Iraq war coverage.
A new Syracuse University study examines every CBS and ABC news story about Iraq in the run-up to war (Aug. 1, 2002 to March 19, 2003). The study finds that those networks gave more prominence to pro-war Bush administration officials while marginalizing domestic opposition:
Bush administration officials were the most frequently quoted sources, the voices of anti-war groups and opposition Democrats were barely audible, and the overall thrust of coverage favored a pro-war perspective. But while domestic dissent on the war was minimal, opposition from abroad—in particular, from Iraq and officials from countries such as France, who argued for a diplomatic solution to the standoff—was commonly reported on the networks. While we surmise the opinions of foreign leaders would probably have been accorded less credibility by many Americans than the views of U.S. officials, the public was not entirely deprived of an alternative viewpoint.
(HT: The Monkey Cage)
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I’m shocked.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:12 pmBush administration officials were the most frequently quoted sources
Nothing like talking to a wall …………
April 24th, 2008 at 2:13 pmI must say that I was shocked during that time to witness some very large war protests and then to turn on the television and not even find a mention of them. It is a shame when the opinions of the administration officials is reported, but the collective opinion of tens of thousands of Americans are simply disregarded. I would hope the media would take a collective look in the mirror, but the reality is they are all profit centers for major corporations whose best interests are served by propping up a puppet administration.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:13 pmTHE NUREMBERG PRINCIPLE STATES THAT THOSE INCITING VIOLENCE ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS THOSE THAT PERPETRATED IT.
BAD NEWS FOR REPORTERS, ADMINISTRATION AND THE MEDIA IN GENERAL AT THE UPCOMING WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:15 pmDAMN that liberal media!!!!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:18 pmI am shocked! Shocked, I tell ya!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:20 pmSee what happens when you wear a flag pin, but don’t know why?
April 24th, 2008 at 2:21 pmI wouldn’t call comments from the Iraqi government an “alternative viewpoint” in the rush to war. With the government and its media enablers pounding the table for war putting an Iraqi spokesman on television is akin to giving camera time to the designated villain at a wrestling match. It just whips the crowd into a bigger frenzy. Identifying France as a war opponent had a similar effect at that point. Using unpopular foreigners to state the antiwar position was undoubtedly intentional.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:22 pmI’m sure that if they had also studied Fox News’ coverage that they would have found it disproportionately fair and balanced!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:24 pmAnybody want some Freedom Fries?
April 24th, 2008 at 2:29 pmGoebbels is smiling in his grave.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pmDayum. I attempted to post bits from a pertinent op/ed from USA To day, but evidently it has vanished into the black hole of Awaiting Moderation…
Anyway, the point of the op/ed was that the vast majority of the so-called “military experts” who shilled for the war on network TV were being prepped and scripted by the Pentagon — to make sure they were disseminating the right message…
Reminds me of #6 on the list of the 14 defining characteristics of fascism…
6. Controlled Mass Media – Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:33 pmJohn McCain is America’s ‘Baghdad Bob’.
Both use or have used rose colored glasses to describe events.
Baghdad Bob, at least, allowed humor into his discussions.
Other than a patronizing fake smile, I don’t recall McCain ever really laughing. In fact, his smile makes him look like he’s constipated.
McCain is spouting Bushisms, and that’s certainly NOT funny.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:35 pmWar is good for ratings and network profits.
Besides, if they had not been cheerleaders for Bush, someone might have called them “unpatriotic.”
April 24th, 2008 at 2:38 pmI wonder why they didn’t look at NBC?
April 24th, 2008 at 2:38 pmThis is a case of liberalis mediaval!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:43 pmDah!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:44 pmABC & CBS were just mouthpieces for whatever the Bush Administration said. Skewed is too mild of a term to describe their coverage. They had a responsibility to double check sources, to verify fact from fiction. That is basic journalism.
Instead we were given bulls**t and lies on a daily basis. We expect that propaganda from Brit Hume, Tony Snow and O’Reilly. But ABC & CBS should stop worrying about ratings and start doing Real News Stories again.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:45 pmrastaman Says:
THE NUREMBERG PRINCIPLE STATES THAT THOSE INCITING VIOLENCE ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS THOSE THAT PERPETRATED IT.
BAD NEWS FOR REPORTERS, ADMINISTRATION AND THE MEDIA IN GENERAL AT THE UPCOMING WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:56 pm————————
Excellent point that I try to make often. Propagandists in Germany were tried for war crimes. I hope this gives Rush, Sean and BillO at least one bad night’s sleep.
Doc Rock “I’m sure that if they had also studied Fox News’ coverage that they would have found it disproportionately fair and balanced!”
(The sarcasm is in the exclamation mark)
A study of Fox using the same criteria would be highly illuminating in comparison to the ABC/CBS study—especially with viewership respective included (I’ve only partially read the crieria used by this study so I don;t know if audience share is included).
If the ratio of ‘pro’ and ‘con’ on FOX was more biased towards ‘pro’ than even ABC and CBS and if its audience was larger than ABC or CBS the cumulative effective would be magnified and further explain why the Bush administration was so confident in going to war.
It would also illuminate, by virtue of discrete data, the extent to which FOX contributed to public perceptions of the administrations claimsthat were declared true whilst oppostional claims were declared false, when in fact the revers was the case then and has been irrefutably proven over the last five years.
It would be also interesting and illuminating if Syracuse applied the same process to the medias treatment and public acceptance of other Bush administration positions and policies–energy, education,industry regulation and most especially Climate Change. I doubt there would be any change in the patterns found regarding Iraq.
After five years it is evident that a great many people have come to realize they have been duped, but to what extent and by what means is probalbly still not properly realized.
Furthermore, just because the formerly blind now see the falsehoods of the recent past, it doesn’t mean they can see the falsehoods of the present, and just because they might now be wiser now, doesn’t mean they can’t be fooled again.
The trick to not repeating ‘mistakes’ is to apply the knowledge and wisdom it provides to the present and the future, not to merely acknowldge the mistake as footnote to history.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:59 pmCBS and ABC use the Public’s airwaves to propagandize us and sell us an illegal immoral war.
CBS and ABC profit to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars by using OUR airwaves.
Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine and take away the licenses of these corrupt companies.
The warmongers have owned our airwaves for a long time. Let peaceful groups take ownership of them now. I assure you the results will be much better.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pm5th estate..
The media coverage of all major stories is so skewed, and has been going on for so long, we hardly notice it anymore.
Almost every story is presented from the viewpoint of corporate interests.
How many times did ABC and CBS have PEACE ACTIVISTS on to counter the Pentagon spokespeople in the run-up to the war? You’re probably falling over yourself laughing at that question. That’s how messed up “news” coverage is.
How many times are business stories presented from the perspective of LABOR?? Why do they only present Management’s view? I think I’d fall over if I saw a story where Labor’s viewpoint was the focus.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:09 pmThe trick to not repeating ‘mistakes’ is to apply the knowledge and wisdom it provides to the present and the future, not to merely acknowldge the mistake as footnote to history.
This is particularly applicable to the current drumbeat about Iran.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:10 pmBy the way 5th Estate, you are an excellent and thoughtful writer. I just checked your blog, and would love to see you be active with it again. (I added you to my “Favorites”)
April 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pmI hate the way so many people today say “everyone thought Iraq had WMD back in 2002-03″. The weapons inspectors who were actually in Iraq at the time looking everywhere and finding nothing did not think that. Hanz Blix, the IAEA, Scott Ritter, etc. said there was no WMD. The vote in the Security Council was going to be 11-4 opposed to the invasion. There were literally one million on the streets of London, one million on the streets of Rome, and millions across the US who knew the invasion was wrong and counter-productive.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:17 pmNoam Chomsky won a poll taken of world foreign policy analysts on who was the top intellectual today by a large margin. It would be laughable to think ABC, NBC, CBS, or CNN (the liberal cough choke media) would have him on. If they did they would probably give him ten seconds to answer a complicated question.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:22 pm#20 5th Estate Says:
Furthermore, just because the formerly blind now see the falsehoods of the recent past, it doesn’t mean they can see the falsehoods of the present, and just because they might now be wiser now, doesn’t mean they can’t be fooled again.
The trick to not repeating ‘mistakes’ is to apply the knowledge and wisdom it provides to the present and the future, not to merely acknowldge the mistake as footnote to history.
Thank you for the great post. I throughly enjoyed reading it.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:38 pmYou are always thought provoking and as impeachcheneythenbush put it an excellent writer. I second the motion!!!
Hey TP…why, yet again, for the 3rd day in a row, is one of my comments “Awaiting Moderation?” What’s up?
April 24th, 2008 at 3:44 pm“You could get a journalist cheaper than a good call girl, for a couple hundred dollars a month.”
- CIA operative discussing with Philip Graham, editor Washington Post, on the availability and prices of journalists willing to peddle CIA propaganda and cover stories.
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/ RANCHO/ POLITICS/ MOCK/ mockingbird.html
April 24th, 2008 at 3:46 pmThis story is about 5 years too late.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:30 pm.
ABCNNBCBS&FOXPRAVDA
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April 25th, 2008 at 2:14 am“Data show ABC and CBS skewed pre-Iraq war coverage.”
Ya think?
April 25th, 2008 at 6:48 pm