Media Blackout: ABC, NBC, CBS Ignore Undercover Videos Exposing Planned Parenthood's Sell of Aborted Babies' Body Parts
The big three media networks, ABC, NBC and CBS, have spent a minuscule amount of time in their broadcasts reporting on the six undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood staff discussing ways in which they can profit off the harvesting and sell of aborted babies' body parts.
According to the Media Research Center, the three networks combind only spent 1 minute and 13 seconds of airtime playing the audio from Center for Medical Progress' three-year investigation into the practices of the nation's largest abortion provider.
This means that since the release of the first video in July, "ABC, NBC and CBS had 243 hours and 30 minutes [of airtime to fill for their] morning and evening news shows," but allocated only 0.16 percent of that time airing audio and video from the undercover investigative footage, according to the Media Research Center.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Arguing that the three netowrks are biased against covering pro-life issues, the Media Research Center highlighted the fact that ABC, NBC and CBS spent a total of 88 minutes covering the undercover footage of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney's "47 percent" remarks at a private fundraiser in Florida. Similarly, the big three networks allocated 146 minutes of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist remarks about the black men his former lover might be involved with on a secretly recorded tape.
- NBC total coverage of CMP videos: 6 minutes, 52 seconds
- 13 seconds playing CMP footage with audio
- ABC total coverage of CMP videos: 1 minute, 41 seconds
- 0 seconds playing CMP footage with audio
- CBS total coverage of CMP videos: 14 minutes, 59 seconds
- 1 minute playing CMP footage with audio
- Network coverage of CMP's investigation: 23 minutes, 32 seconds
- Network covergae of CMP video content played with audio: 1 minute, 13 seconds
In an op-ed published by Crisis magazine titled "Why News Corporations Protect Planned Parenthood." former newspaper editor Joseph Schaeffer asserted that Planned Parenthood's strong ties to corporate America accounts for the media blackout on this and similar stories.
"Some media outlets were so brazen in their support for Planned Parenthood that they were directly listed as donors on the sites of local affiliates," declared Schaeffer.
"Discover the Networks, a website run by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, lists The New York Times Company Foundation as a PP donor," added Schaeffer.
Yahoo, which is a funder of Planned Parenthood, ran a story on Thursday titled, "As 6th Video Is Released, Mounting Evidence That Planned Parenthood Attack Is Coordinated — and Years in the Making"
The author of the piece called the latest video "odd," portraying it to be less about an "alleged scandal" and more in line with "protecting traditional antiabortionist appeal" in order to protect "the so-called unborn."
"More so than ever, the CMP videos seem to be a clearly orchestrated effort in coordination with GOP leadership to make abortion — and the defunding of Planned Parenthood of federal grants that support family planning and preventative health services — a prolonged and critical election-season topic," according to Yahoo.
In a similar vein, a July New York Times editorial accused the Center for Medical Progress of carrying out a campaign of deception against Planned Parenthood.
"The Center for Medical Progress video campaign is a dishonest attempt to make legal, voluntary and potentially lifesaving tissue donations appear nefarious and illegal," declared the Times. "Lawmakers responding by promoting their own anti-choice agenda are rewarding deception and putting women's health and their constitutionally protected rights at risk."
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program in July, host Joe Scarborough, a former Florida congressman, argued that abortion characterizes the greatest bias in the media.
"I got to say of all the areas where I think there's media bias, I think the greatest area is on this issue," Scarborough said. "I think most reporters do the best job they can do and they try to be as fair as possible. But when it comes to the issue of abortion, there is the greatest built-in bias. And it is completely cultural bias."
