Unlike the Wednesday CBS and NBC evening newscasts, ABC's World News highlighted a favorable development in Iraqi political progress as anchor Charles Gibson gave 20 seconds to:
Overseas, in Iraq, a breakthrough for the country's government that has been so often criticized. Iraq's parliament approved three contentious, but crucial, new laws long sought by Washington. The laws set a budget for 2008, grant amnesty to thousands of detainees and define the relationship between the central government and the provinces.
A month ago, on January 14, Gibson was also the only broadcast network evening newscast anchor to cite how “Iraqi lawmakers have put their differences aside and agreed to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to take government jobs. It's a key benchmark sought by the United States.”
The CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News on Wednesday night both found time to report on how Secretary of Defense Robert Gates broke his arm in a fall on ice and how, for the first time, a Beagle (named “Uno”) won “Best in Show” at the Westminster Dog Show. Gibson, who broadcast from Philadelphia, the site of the dog show, managed to note the development in Iraq as well as Uno's win.
My January 14 NewsBusters item recounted:
Just as ABC's World News was ahead of CBS and NBC in October and November with news of improving conditions and decreased violence in Iraq, on Monday night ABC alerted weekday viewers to a positive development on the political front over the weekend. Gibson introduced a January 14 World News story from Hilary Brown in Baghdad:
Overseas next, a significant political breakthrough in Iraq. Security has been improved there, but critics have wondered when political progress would come. Well, now Iraqi lawmakers have put their differences aside and agreed to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to take government jobs. It's a key benchmark sought by the United States. ABC's Hillary Brown reports...
Media interest in Iraq has declined as conditions have improved. The February 1 NewsBusters item by the MRC's Rich Noyes, “As U.S. Troops Succeed, Network News Retreats from Iraq War Story,” reported:
...over the last five months, the broadcast networks have consistently reduced their coverage of Iraq, as if the story of American success in Iraq is less worthy of attention than their old mantra of American failure in Iraq.
Media Research Center analysts tracked all coverage of the Iraq war on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts from September 1 through January 31, and we documented a steady decline in TV coverage of Iraq that has coincided with the improving situation in Iraq. Back in September, the three evening newscasts together broadcast 178 stories about the war in Iraq; in January, that number fell to just 47, a nearly fourfold decrease....
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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Well, KUDOS to ABC
February 13, 2008 - 22:23 ET by c5thenBased on the drastic drop in Iraq stories over the last few months, I predict that we'll have won the rebuilding effort sometime this coming summer as the terrorists won't be getting their necessary intel from the networks.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
a suggestion: bias score
February 13, 2008 - 22:46 ET by needlePraise the Lord!
BTW, this brings to mind a possible new feature to help make NewsBusters even more interesting, namely a running bias score for all of the usual suspects. I am inclined to using an open thread to establish what the detail rules of the game should be; but I would suggest, besides just piling up demerits of various magnitude for various infractions of bias, that there be awarded bonus points for surprisingly good behavior.
ABC just earned a teeny blue star.
Impunitas semper ad deteriora invitat.
The Obamagasm is simply
February 13, 2008 - 23:23 ET by SchnikeysThe Obamagasm is simply putting them in a good mood, that's all. They want to make sure the the sky is clear and the sun is shining for election time.
Damn, Gibson, you keep this
February 13, 2008 - 23:51 ET by jdhawkDamn, Gibson, you keep this up and your liberal "friends" will stop asking you to those cocktail parties.
Meanwhile, the big question is will our troops and the Iraqi people wind this war down before the defeatocrats can get into office and invite the Iranians to take over the whole region - in the name of the religion of "peace," of course.
You'all are voting dimocrat, aren't you?
Congratulations to
February 14, 2008 - 01:26 ET by RickTaLifeCongratulations to ABC!
Although, lol, I am suspicious now that I read that "Obamagasm" comment. Maybe they are just trying to keep things sunny and bright. :-)
Regardless though, it needed to be reported, and I'm glad it came on somewhere in MSM.
Now, NBC, CBS, CNN: Repeat after me - "Good news from Iraq IS news."
More to Iraq
February 14, 2008 - 02:41 ET by Lame CherryMr. Baker, Charlie Gibson was very clever in this Iraq news as he actually was twisting the story about Iraq. What you see as good news was heard as "Saddam is back in power after all those dead US soldiers by the Baathists" by the Kos kooks.
The part about provinces and federalism was Gibson tipping his hat to Joe "break em up" Biden. (I do not believe it was covered here that Biden stole this idea of autonomous states from Arnaud de Bourchgrave (sp) in his brilliant piece. Arnaud though solved the problem by making Iraq to mirror Swiss Cantons. Biden stole it.)
In this political triumph for Democrats of Iraq "going exactly the way they predicted", Gibson deliberately left out something you did no mention so I do not know if you know of it or not.
The United States Army has been very busy beavers in Iraq much to the chagrin of the central government. What the military has been doing is ARMING MILITIAS in good olde United States Constitution of the Second Ammendment, A well regulated (trained) militia being central in the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Sorry for the paraphrase but idiot liberals tend to not get Queen's English which the founders all spoke.
This is what Gibson has covered up. The Iraqi people are being groomed by the 2nd Ammendment and it is working marvelously.
So I would not praise ABC as they appear to only be setting the stage for late 2008 to show Democrats were right and ABC is covering up the Iraqi people are making the armed citizen the heart of their new Cantons.
Sort of like the entire MSM did not air yesterday the public hanging in Iran of two murderers in swift justice. It is easier to tell Americans that Iran is not building nuclear weapons in addition to what they have and ignore the one thing that works right in Iran........small cranes with ropes attached to them hanging thugs instead of Iranians feeding them for life like in America.
When ABC starts stating, Here is another George Bush success in a stable Iraq made that way by armed citizens.....
Then they deserve praise and notice.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
Agreed, Lame Cherry.
February 14, 2008 - 04:38 ET by SchnikeysAgreed, Lame Cherry.
Ask Obama
February 14, 2008 - 05:09 ET by KC MulvilleNow, the next hurdle is to see if anyone brings this up to Obama, Hillary, or even Pelosi, for that matter. Watch them brush it off as insignificant, or window-dressing.
Then, ask them if they know what the new laws actually were. Watch them give a Jackie Gleason hummina-hummina-hummina as they functionally admit that they don't know.