Media chides dissenters

A demonstration against the war in Manhattan last week “provoked a public display of pro-war sentiment by Fox News.”

The news ticker rimming Fox's headquarters on Sixth Avenue wasn't carrying war updates as the protest began. Instead, it poked fun at the demonstrators, chiding them.

"War protester auditions here today ... thanks for coming!" read one message. "Who won your right to show up here today?" another questioned. "Protesters or soldiers?"

Said a third: "How do you keep a war protester in suspense? Ignore them."

Still another read: "Attention protesters: the Michael Moore Fan Club meets Thursday at a phone booth at Sixth Avenue and 50th Street" - a reference to the film maker who denounced the war while accepting an Oscar on Sunday night for his documentary "Bowling for Columbine."

The protesters said Fox's sentiments only proved their point: that media coverage, in particular among the television networks, is so biased as to be unbelievable.

"They're all bad, but Fox is the absolute worst," said Tracy Blevins, 32, a New York City resident. "The people who report the news aren't journalists. They just say what the government tells them to say."

Fair and balanced, as always.

It is worth noting, however, that other networks have been doing their best to equate protests against the war as being 1) protests against “the troops” and 2) protests which support Saddam Hussein.

To cite just one example, check out Aaron Brown’s interview with Daniel Ellsberg.

See FAIR's special section on Iraq & the Media for further analysis of how the media has been lining up behind the war, and marginalizing dissent.