Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan visited Venezuela on January 24th and joined President Hugo Chavez at a speaking event for the sixth annual World Social Forum in Caracas. You may not have heard this story because it wasn’t mentioned on Today, the Early Show or Good Morning America, among others. This is one of those cases where the bias is in what’s not reported.
Last December, CNN’s American Morning did a "Top Five in ‘05" segment, featuring the year’s most interesting people and stories. Ms. Sheehan ranked number three, higher then Pope John Paul II. Earlier in the year, they gleefully covered her trip to England. CNN has, thus far, not bothered to report on Cindy Sheehan’s appearance with a dictator who imprisons his critics and, according to U.S. News and World Report, is "flirting with terrorism." CNN’s website did mention the anti war activist’s appearance at the event, but only in the article’s 19th and final paragraph. Is it possible that the mainstream media doesn’t want to point out the irony that Cindy Sheehan, who once described George Bush as "the biggest terrorist in the world," is now meeting with Hugo Chavez?
One might wonder, if it’s bias to cover everything Ms. Sheehan says and everywhere she goes, wouldn’t it be better for the media to ignore her? That’s exactly the point. If this woman is news when she is protesting outside President Bush’s ranch, then she should be news when she makes appearances with thugs and dictators.
