U.S. Conservative Media Reacts to Haiti

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201001150038

(I'll preface this post by explaining that it does come from a media advocacy organization therefore I won't be reposting the editorial elements of this article in its summary however I'll be providing my own based on the facts of the data on news coverage which speak for themselves.)

This week has brought to us what sadly may prove the worst humanitarian crises of a generation. Struggling U.N. aid workers have discussed that as bad as the southeast asian tsunami was this is proving frustrating in new ways as there are no longer any functioning beurocracies with more than ten government ministries either damaged or destroyed and the U.N mission itself severely damaged and personnel displaced. The Haitian government has said that they fear as many as 100,000 are dead and that the total may be much worse.

In the face of this crises, the leading conservative media outlet in America has chosen to devote only seven minutes to Haiti over its top rates shows compared to its rivals including MSNBC which were shown to have devoted more than two hours. Fox's headline detailing the presidential response read, "President Obama Reacts to Haiti Earthquake Faster than Christmas Bomber." Upon the announcement that the Obama administration had accepted Haiti's request to give Haitians in America temporary protected status, an immigration policy designed to respond to natural disasters or war the headline read "Obama Moves to Grant Amnesty to Haitian Illegal Aliens." On the same topic a fox news guest and sitting congressman suggested that all Haitians in America should be immediately deported and forced to become relief workers.

Rush Limbaugh first stated that Obama was responding quickly to appeal to his black light and dark skinned constituency. Then, in response to a caller said that "Americans already give to Haiti, its called the federal income tax." When a caller brought up what his mother was doing to help limbaugh replied, We've been helping them for thirty years and its all come to nothing. In 1994 Limbaugh had this to say about Haiti. "We are there because the congressional black caucus want's it. Our only interest in Haiti is that they make baseball bats." Previously this year Limbaugh criticized Obama for ordering the killing and capture of somali pirates stating a white president killing an African child would be treated differently.

Glen Beck mirrored the Fox Headlines by complaining, that he believed that the presidents reacted quickly to intentionally divide Americans. While Pat Robertson of the 700 Club Said that Haitians were cursed because their slave revolt was a deal with the devil to rid them of the French and they had suffered misfortune throughout history as a result.

Fox did respond to the criticisms of its coverage, with two minutes devoted to it on their editorial program Red Eye. Thats a third of the time they had previously spent covering the disaster on their editorial programs. Calling the group responsible for the study disturbed, and then playing a supposed animated reenactment of the organization talking about the study which ended with one of the two characters representing the media advocacy organization soliciting the other for gay sex.

I'll judge Fox and the rest of the conservative media through their own rubric: "We Report You Decide." Please let me know what decision you reach on this fair and balanced news coverage of more than 100,000 killed, three million made homeless and the two million children among the affected. If you believe I am fabricating these reactions I will post each individually for your edification.