Veteran media blogger Bob Harris looks at (BobHarris.com, 12/11/08) the meager media pick up five hours after “the Washington Post [reported] a bipartisan Senate investigation has concluded that blame for the abuse of prisoners at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib… belongs at the very top.” Reading the Post‘s conclusion that “the true genesis of the decision to use coercive techniques, the report said, was a memo signed by President Bush on February 7, 2002,” Harris thinks: “Um… that’s kinda big news. Or is it?”:
As of 2:52 PST on 11 December 2008… it’s nowhere to be found on CNN‘s front page.
Although they’ve somehow found room for “Child’s Skull Found,” “Navy Mom Surprises Son, 8, in Class,” and “Pretty Robot Slaps Men Who Get Fresh.”
No surprise, the Fox News front page is also not carrying the story.
Although they have room for “KFC Workers in Hot Water After Sink Baths,” “Outrage After Teacher Tells 7-Year-Olds Santa Is Fake,” and “Georgia School Staff Accused of Inflatable Mattress Sex.”
To its credit, however, MSNBC, generally considered the most liberal of the three major 24-hour cable news nets, has indeed placed the story on the front page. In a single-line, fine-print text link.
Just beneath “Bowel-Clearing Drugs to Get Sternest FDA Label” and “Child’s Body Found Near Missing Girl’s Home.”
Even though this sole mention comes “in the same vital column with ‘Vegas Still Offers Fun for the Budget Conscious’ and ‘Aniston on Jolie: “No Daggers Through the Heart,”‘” Harris is forced to admit: “So you can’t say the media is ignoring the story completely.”
What used to be the “Fifth Estate,” has become the National Enquirer. We can be bombarded with “Girls Gone Wild,” Videos, while we wait for the next stream of propaganda from the largest FCC license holders.