The three major TV networks have continued their annual snubbing of the March for Life in Washington DC, despite a reported 100,000 marchers and a historic address from the U.S. President.
In fact, before the pro-abortion Women’s March even happened last weekend, the TV networks had already dedicated more time to covering it than their total coverage of the March for Life, which defends an unborn child’s right to life and is the largest annual march in the nation’s capital.
The ever-attentive Katie Yoder from the Media Research Center added up the total minutes dedicated to covering the two marches and found that the networks overwhelmingly favored the Women’s March, by a ration of 7 to 1. During their morning and evening news shows from Jan. 19 through Jan. 22, ABC, CBS, and NBC combined devoted 25 minutes, 24 seconds to the Women’s March, but just 3 minutes, 46 seconds to the pro-life march.
The major differences between the two rallies was that the March for Life opposes abortion, while the Women’s March combines pro-abortion slogans with Trump-bashing, and boasts abortion giant Planned Parenthood as its major sponsor.
The Women’s March was a dispersed event, taking place at a number of venues throughout the country, with an average of “6,700 to 10,400 per march” and a grand total estimated between 1.6 million and 2.5 million people. Marches for life also took place in different cities around the U.S., but their numbers are not included in the Washington DC figures.
Curiously, although the mainstream media micro-analyze every syllable of the President’s tweets and off-the-cuff remarks, when he makes history by addressing the March for Life live via satellite they pay no attention whatsoever.
Mr. Trump also reinstated Sanctity of Human Life Day on Jan. 22, after the 8 years during which the Obama administration declined to observe the commemoration, which was begun in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan.
“Science continues to support and build the case for life,” the 2018 proclamation reads. “Medical technologies allow us to see images of the unborn children moving their newly formed fingers and toes, yawning, and even smiling. Those images present us with irrefutable evidence that babies are growing within their mothers’ wombs — precious, unique lives, each deserving a future filled with promise and hope.”
Such medical advances “give us an even greater appreciation for the humanity of the unborn,” it reads.
According to organizers, more than 100,000 Americans participated in the 45th annual March for Life on Friday, commemorating the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which wiped away state laws, legalizing abortion across the U.S.
In their March for Life coverage, Ms. Yoder observed, all three networks described the marchers as “anti-abortion” rather than “pro-life,” and NBC even displayed a photo showcasing a tiny group of counter-protesters, as if that were significant.
Over the past five years, the three broadcast networks have devoted fewer than 24 minutes to the March for Life during their morning and evening news shows. To put that in perspective, Yoder writes, “ABC, CBS and NBC spent more than three times that on the Women’s March in 2017 alone, with 1 hour, 15 minutes, 18 seconds.”
On Wednesday, Pope Francis released his message for the 52nd World Day of Social Communications, titled “The Truth Will Set You Free: Fake News and Journalism for Peace,” in which he decried the ideology behind “fake news.”
To choose to minimally cover an important event like the March for Life out of ideological differences with the pro-life movement may not technically be “fake news,” but it certainly gives the lie to any claims of impartiality and unbiased journalism.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
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