StudentNewsDaily.com

ABC Trumpets Greenspan’s Bush Went to War for Oil, Ignores His Real View

Wednesday's Biased Item - September 19, 2007

Directions

• If possible, print the article before reading.
• As you read, circle or underline the names of people, organizations and important facts.
• Use your own words to answer the questions in complete sentences.

Excerpt

INSTRUCTIONS: 
Read the excerpt below from Brent Baker's Sept. 18th Newsbusters.org post.   Scroll down and read "Types of Media Bias."  Then answer the questions. 

QUESTIONS:  
1.  Why do you think ABC's World News did not offer a correction on Monday night to its inaccurate Sunday night report on Alan Greenspan?
2.  Why is it a problem that ABC failed to issue a correction the next day, after Mr. Greenspan himself clarified his real belief about the Iraq War?
(Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.)

EXCERPT (from the NewsBusters.org post):
...ABC anchor Dan Harris,... at the top of Sunday's World News ... highlighted how “one of the most respected figures in Washington says the Bush administration went to war in Iraq because of oil.” Harris soon referred to it as “an eyebrow raising allegation on Iraq” in a new book from Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve. But after a Monday Washington Post story, in which Greenspan declared that oil was “not the administration's motive,” and an appearance by Mr. Greenspan on the Today show made abundantly clear the inaccuracy of the implication that Greenspan was somehow endorsing a...theory about how George W. Bush went to war to financially benefit Dick Cheney's oil industry friends. ABC's World News on Monday failed to offer any correction for its incendiary, and erroneous, reporting. In fact, the September 17 World News didn't mention Greenspan at all.

Go to NewsBusters.org for the original posting.

Types of Media Bias

Explanation of Media Bias

 

 

ANSWERS:
1.  Opinion question.  Answers vary.
2.  Alan Greenspan is a well-known and highly respected individual.  Even if ABC News made an honest mistake in their report, to not issue a correction to a majorly inaccurate report is irresponsible journalism.  What can the viewer assume but that ABC News cares more about saying that President Bush went to war for oil, than the fact that Mr. Greenspan did not mean to imply such a thing in his book.  Many people who only watch ABC's World News will be left with the false impression that Mr. Greenspan thinks the Bush Administration went to Iraq for oil.