NEW YORK TIMES DOES ABOUT-FACE ON OCTOBER 26 ANTI-WAR COVERAGE
Outraged people across the country demanded a truthful and unbiased news story30 Oct 2002-- Flooded by e-mails and calls from people around the country, the New York Times today has printed a new article under the headline "Rally in Washington is Said to Invigorate the Antiwar Movement." This article reflects the magnitude and power of the October 26 March on Washington to Stop the War Against Iraq and the growing antiwar movement. This sharp turnaround in Times coverage is the result of mass anger against a biased report published on Sunday, October 27.
On October 27, the New York Times published an article titled, "Thousands March in Washington Against Going to War in Iraq" by Lynette Clemetson, claiming that the demonstration was only in the "thousands" and featuring a sub-headline that said the size of the protest was "below expectations." The organizers of the demonstration, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism, http://www.internationalANSWER.org ), were extremely pleased by the massive number of people filling the streets in the 25 solid blocks of marchers encircling the White House, as were all who attended and supported the march.
The organizers, who had never been contacted by the reporter from the Times, attempted to have the article corrected on Saturday night when the first electronic edition appeared. The New York Times refused to speak with them and stated that it stood by its story. The New York Times piece was flatly contradicted by even police estimates and the Washington Post which stated that the number of demonstrators was above 100,000, and by organizers and other news media, including Pacifica, which put the turnout at over 200,000.
While it is not unusual to experience biased reporting about progressive activities in the corporate media, the transparently false representations of what took place on October 26 as reported by the Times stood in stark contrast to what participants could see and feel for themselves. This created a wave of outrage which was communicated rapidly to the Times in the form of e-mails, phone calls, and letters.
On Monday, October 28, FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting) sent out an Action Alert (http://www.fair.org/activism/npr-nyt-protests.html ) which was recirculated by many people and organizations urging people to contact the Times and National Public Radio whose reporter Nancy Marshall stated that the turnout was under 10,000.
For ADDITIONAL REPORTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS of the October 26 National March in Washington DC, joint action in San Francisco, and actions around the world, and for information about how you can get involved, see http://www.InternationalANSWER.org
To register your opposition to the war, Vote No to War! and become a volunteer for the PEOPLE'S ANTI-WAR REFERENDUM at http://www.VoteNoWar.org
From: New York Times Wednesday, October 30: Rally in Washington Is Said to Invigorate the Antiwar Movement [click here for full article]
By Kate Zernike
Emboldened by a weekend antiwar protest in Washington that organizers called the biggest since the days of the Vietnam War, groups opposed to military action in Iraq said they were preparing a wave of new demonstrations across the country in the next few weeks.
The demonstration on Saturday in Washington drew 100,000 by police estimates and 200,000 by organizers', forming a two-mile wall of marchers around the White House. The turnout startled even organizers, who had taken out permits for 20,000 marchers. They expected 30 buses, and were surprised by about 650, coming from as far as Nebraska and Florida.
A companion demonstration in San Francisco attracted 42,000 protesters, city police there said, and smaller groups demonstrated in other cities, including about 800 in Austin, Tex., and 2,500 in Augusta, Me.
"The rally was like a huge gust of wind into the sails of the antiwar movement," said Brian Becker, an organizer of the Washington protest. "Our goal was not simply to have a big demonstration, but to give the movement confidence that it could prevail. The massive turnout showed it's legitimate, and it's big."
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In California, college students are leading teach-ins against the war at high schools. Richard Becker, an organizer with Answer in San Francisco, said the group was setting up an emergency response plan to accommodate a mass protest -- complete with sound systems, placards, the requisite permits and even portable toilets -- on the day United States troops enter Iraq.
"There is not going to be one speech or one demonstration, after which everyone goes home," said Barbara Lubin, the founder of the Middle East Children's Alliance in Berkeley, Calif. "This is a movement against war, and it's building momentum." Those who have been organizing and attending demonstrations for several months said the swelling size of the protests showed how much antiwar sentiment had increased as the threat of war intensified.
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In Houston, Lois Wright, a 46-year-old saleswoman in a drapery workroom, said she felt compelled to take the two-day bus ride to Washington, because the Bush administration seemed "hellbent on going to war."
"It's O.K. to do stuff in Houston, but nobody gets to hear about it," she said. "I felt if we were right in their faces, they couldn't ignore us." ...
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: dc@internationalanswer.org New York 212-633-6646 Washington 202-332-5757 Chicago 773-878-0166 Los Angeles 213-487-2368 San Francisco 415-821-6545
October 30, 2002 on Democracy NOW! Story:
WHO DO YOU BELIEVE THE NEW YORK TIMES OR THE NEW YORK TIMES?: AS THE NATION'S PAPER OF RECORD CHANGES ITS STORY ON THIS WEEKEND'S ANTI-WAR PROTESTS, WE LOOK AT HOW THE TIMES AND NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO HAVE MINIMIZED THE PEACE MOVEMENT
Covering this past weekend's anti-war rally in Washington D.C. the nation's paper of record reported that "thousands of protesters marched through Washington's streets" and that "fewer people attended than organizers had said they hoped for." That was on Sunday. Today, three days later, the paper reports: "The demonstration on Saturday in Washington drew 100,000 by police estimates and 200,000 by organizers', forming a two-mile wall of marchers around the White House. The turnout startled even organizers, who had taken out permits for 20,000 marchers. They expected 30 buses, and were surprised by about 650, coming from as far as Nebraska and Florida." Two reports. Two different stories.
The same was true at National Public Radio. On Saturday an NPR reporter at the Washington protest announced: "It was not as large as the organizers of the protest had predicted. They had said there would be 100,000 people here. I'd say there are fewer than 10,000." Within the past 24 hours, NPR issued a correction for the misinformation. "We erroneously reported on All Things Considered that the size of the crowd was 'fewer than 10,000.' While Park Service employees gave no official estimate, it is clear that the crowd was substantially larger than that." NPR has since reported that at least 100,000 did in fact attend the rally.
Guests:
* Jeffrey Dvorkin, National Public Radio ombudsman.
* Sara Flounders, member of the ANSWER coalition steering committee.
* Peter Hart, media analyst at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).
* Liz Mason-Deese, freshman at the University North Carolina who attended Saturday's protest and was quoted in the New York Times.
* Nancy Kanwisher, M.I.T. professor of cognitive neuroscience. She too was quoted - inaccurately - in the Times. Related links:* Read the original New York Times report (10/27/02)
* Read the "new" New York Times report (10/30/02)
* Listen to NPR's original report on Weekend All Things Considered
* Read NPR's transcript w/ the correction
* Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
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