As reported by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting - a nonpartisan media watchdog organization - A sparsely attended Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C., on March 31 in support of federal spending cuts received generous media attention. One report (Slate, 3/31/11) suggested there was "at least one reporter for every three or four activists," and a Republican politician joked that there might be more journalists than activists at the event.
An antiwar rally in New York City on April 9 was in some respects very similar. Protesters were speaking out on an equally timely issue (wars in Afghanistan and Libya), and connecting them to the budget and near-government shutdown in Washington.
The difference? The ratio of activists to journalists. The antiwar protest had thousands of attendees--and received almost zero corporate media coverage.
According to the Nexis news database, the rally was apparently deemed not remotely newsworthy. The local New York Times didn't cover it--though it did have time for the D.C. Tea Party rally (4/1/11). NPR's Morning Edition (4/1/11) and the PBS NewsHour (3/31/11) reported on the Tea Party rally, which was also mentioned a few times on CNN and previewed on NBC's Today show (3/31/11).
Who did cover the antiwar rally? You could find reports from local New York outlets like the news site Gothamist (4/10/11), WABC and NY1, the left-wing Socialist Worker (4/11/11) and a handful of other sites.
What explains the wildly different treatment of the events? The organizers of the antiwar rally say they put serious resources into media outreach, and held a press conference the day before the event (which was reportedly attended by one reporter from Russia Today). The rally was framed as a way to talk about war and the budget debate, so it's hard to argue that it wasn't timely or relevant.
Corporate media has taken the reigns of ‘main stream media’ to become the ‘voice of America’. This is a sad state of affairs for Americans. Citizens who still believe in their right to receive the truth about what goes on in America need to understand that the internet and independent newspapers will soon be our only source of reality reporting.
Since major news media outlets are now owned by corporate America the citizens of this country can only receive a myopic and sanitized view of world events. This defacto censorship of events that are contrary to corporate views undermines First Amendment guarantees.
To all non-profit sources of information I salute you. To all muzzled journalists I applaud your tenacity. To all organizations seeking to suppress minority and dissenting viewpoints I condemn you you.
To all you passive consumers of news who sit in your easy chair and complain about the direction this world is taking, get off your butts and do something about it. Vote, voice your opinion, help those who are out there struggling to keep your freedoms from being trampled on.
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