Former NBC correspondent Liz Trotta on Sunday called out journalists for ignoring the skyrocketing murder rate in Rahm Emanuel's Chicago. In her Fox News commentary, Trotta singled out George Stephanopoulos, an Emanuel friend, for skipping the topic when he interviewed the (now) mayor of Chicago.
Describing Emanuel as the "closest of all cronies to Obama," Trotta reminded, "What about Chicago, Mr. Mayor? There were no questions on ABC about Chicago." Pointing out the 600 gangs active in the city, she added, "You know, it is so interesting how you can get the liberal media excited about children that are accidentally killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan because of a stray bomb, etc. But nobody seems to care about the children in Chicago."
Host Eric Shawn noted the statistics: "259 murders. Up 38 percent. Compare that to New York where murders are down 17 percent. And mayor Emanuel talks about values."
So, what did Stephanopoulos and his former Clinton White House colleague Emanuel discuss? The 2012 presidential race and how harmful Obama's attacks on Mitt Romney have been.
In 2009, Media Research Center president Brent Bozell wrote an open letter to ABC's President about collusion between Stephanopoulos and Emanuel:
Last week's Politico story broke the news that George Stephanopoulos, your Chief Washington Correspondent and the host of your Sunday morning news show This Week, has daily phone discussions with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, which help formulate and shape the thoughts of and messaging for the Democratic Party and the Obama Administration.
As stated in the Politico:Everyone likes to deride the "conventional wisdom." In fairness, though, the wisdom is not yet conventional at the moment it is hatched. And in any given news cycle, it is quite likely that Washington's prevailing political and media interpretation - at least on the Democratic side - is being hatched on these calls.
This is a clear conflict of interest. But it is more than that. It is a clear violation of journalistic ethics. In a public statement on Thursday, we called on Mr. Stephanopoulos to give an explanation and to recuse himself from coverage of the Obama Administration if the Politico story is true
A transcript of Trotta's July 15 commentary is below:
America's News HQ
11:55
ERIC SHAWN: Well, a crisis has been unfolding in Chicago, the city struggling with a big spike in gang violence and a soaring murder rate. So, how is the media covering it? Liz Trotta, author, journalist and a Fox News contributor joins us every Sunday at this time with a commentary. Good morning, Liz.
LIZ TROTTA: : Good morning, Eric.
SHAWN: You know, I hear stories from folks in Chicago that it's really getting bad.
TROTTA: Yes and it is about time that at least some of the media has awakened to it. What is so interesting is if you look at the front page of the New York Times this morning there is a story called two classes divided by "I do." And basically, what it says is that single motherhood is now seeping into the white class. Before it was just looked on as a racial matter. But now, white mothers are a part of the number. And that number is that 40 percent of the births in the United States are illegitimate. Now, that is going to offend some people, Illegitimate. Even the Associated Press in its style books say please don't use illegitimate. Say they are children born of people- children who are not married.
Well, it kind of gives you an idea of where, at least the media, the liberal media is looking at this culture. The Times story has not one word about Chicago. This is just some sort of airy, fairy compilation of studies. Do you know that in Chicago recently they had a museum exhibit dedicated to gangs, and of course they spotlighted white gangs going all the way back to Al Capone. That's interesting and fashionable to think about that. City Journal has been- and that is the publication of the conservative Manhattan Institute- has been very good on this. They have a story in the spring edition called the second rate city- nice illusion to the AJ Liebling Second City- in which they talk about how bankrupt- or how virtually bankrupt the state is and the city just as well might be in the same problem.
It was interesting to see Rahm Emmanuel this morning, who is the mayor of Chicago, and, of course, the closest of all cronies to Obama, waxing forth on Bain Capital and Romney. What about Chicago, Mr. Mayor? There were no questions on ABC about Chicago. The city is, virtually, large parts of it, very large parts of it, and now extending into the suburbs, in a war. There are at least 600 gangs with many, many more factions there. Most of them are minorities, and the most prominent victims in all of this are children. Children are being killed at an alarming rate. You know, it is so interesting how you can get the liberal media excited about children that are accidentally killed in either Iraq or Afghanistan because of a stray bomb, etc. But nobody seems to care about the children in Chicago. It is just a matter of emphasis, don't you think?
SEAN: Well, you know, it is ease astounding. 259 murders. Up 38 percent. Compare that to New York where murders are down 17 percent. And mayor Emanuel talks about values. I mean, what do they do?
TROTTA: Well, what they do is they cite the latest study. And that's all they do is talk to academics and, of course, the University of Chicago just churns out all of these studies that say social programs are the answer. You know, we had after school basketball 30 or 40 years ago. They haven't moved from that. But as one official said in Chicago, "well we don't want to arrest our way out of this predicament." Well, I see, so it's hands off from the cops?
