A REVIEW OF CURRENT MEDIA COVERAGE OF HAITI

This is a look at the current media coverage of the crisis in Haiti, and specifically how the media is covering the allegations that the U.S. forcibly removed Aristide from power. I have searched the sites for CNN, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, FOX, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. This story was written between noon and 4:30 pm, and all information on each news source is from within that timeframe.
(1.) CNN at http://www.cnn.com/---24 sentence article, with 4 sentences directly about Aristide's own claims and the rest made up of U.S. and French denials, plus expressions of "concern" from the Central African Republic (due to worries about maintaining good relations with the U.S.). Additionally, some sentences about the situation in Haiti and comments by the rebels. While the story is fourth under the list of headlines on the site, this section is at the top of the site and displayed with a bit of prominence. Story is here-- http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/02/aristide.africa/index.html
It must be noted that, while of the television news outlets CNN's is not as bad as most coverage on this issue, CNN's initial coverage was appalling. On Monday, March 1, when reports of Aristide's claims began to circulate, CNN mentioned the story but remarked that the claim was "a stretch" and further stated regardless, that the really "important" story was what was happening in Haiti. When CNN began to report the story in more "depth", they largely dismissed it and focused on denials and assertions that it was a "conspiracy theory". See this story here-- http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/01/haiti.revolt/index.html


(2.) ABC at http://abcnews.go.com/---48 sentence AP report, 7 sentence about Aristide's abduction, SIX of them are denials by U.S. and France. The story is not even a main feature at the top of ABC's site, but is instead in the listing of headlines (albeit the first one listed, with headline about Rebel leader). Story is here--http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040302_1155.html
Previous ABC coverage included photo of Aristide on plane with other diplomats in what appears to be friendly circumstances alongside an article about Aristide's departure by plane with other officals; photo not identified as to year, but was from 1994. See this story and photo here-- http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040301_515.html

(3.) CBS at http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/home/main100.shtml---Includes most of the same AP report used by ABC, but with additions by CBS that somewhat flesh-out the story of Aristide's abduction by a few sentences, but also more denials by U.S. As with ABC, story is not prominently displayed at all, and in fact is the fifth story under the headlines section of seven total headlines---and it is just two above one entitled "Ox Race Gone Wild". Once again, the headline deals with the Rebel leader, not Aristide's claims. Story is here--http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3053415/

(4.) MSNBC at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032092/?ta=y (note: this is a link to MSNBC's "news" page)---As with ABC and CBS, NBC also offers the AP story, but here it's given even less prominence than the other sites. It is far down, at the end of a list of headlines in small print beneath several featured main stories, and again the headline is about the Rebel leader. Story is here-- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4416174/

(5.) FOX at http://www.foxnews.com/---Biggest surprise, FOX has most coverage of major TV outlets! They have not one, but TWO stories on Haiti, and one of them is explicitly about the abduction. Story is here--http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,113056,00.html
In addition, FOX's section for headlines is much more prominent that ABC, MSNBC, or CBS. Only CNN's general headlines are more prominently displayed. It should be noted, of course, that FOX's story here is merely a reprint of an AP story. Still, compared to the other mainstream television news outlets, it is odd to see FOX News second only to CNN for the degree to which they address this story.

(6.) New York Times at http://nytimes.com/--- Here the coverage is perhaps most shameful. The NYT's print edition, and their webpage, ran a story today entitled "Haitian Rebels Enter Capital; Aristide Bitter", a 1,196 word article. In those 1,196 words, there were exactly 20 words about Aristide's claim that he was kidnapped, 10 of those words being about the denial by the White House. The other 1,176 words do not mention the topic. Here is the paragraph in which the 20 words appear, in the second sentence--
[The deposed president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, landed in a temporary exile in the Central African Republic. He said he had been overthrown by the United States, a charge dismissed by the White House as "complete nonsense."]
Story is here--http://nytimes.com/2004/03/02/international/americas/02HAIT.html
This story is not a feature, and is nowhere at the top of the site. It is under the "International" section midway down the page, as the second headline.
In addition, the NYT has now added to their website the AP story about the Rebel leader, the same story ran by ABC, MSNBC, and in modified form at CBS.
http://nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Haiti-Uprising.html?hp

(7.) Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/--- Here we get perhaps the "best" coverage by a major news outlet. They have several sources of coverage about Haiti in general and specifically about Aristide's claims. Their main article on the story is not great, but it contains many refereneces to Aristide's assertions that he was kidnapped, as well as statements in his support by U.S. Congressional Representatives. Story is here--http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20862-2004Mar1.html
There are, of course, ample segments of the article asserting the U.S. denials, but these are not nearly as overtly slanted as in other news sources. Additionally, the article does not merely dedicate one small segment of the article to the topic, then bury it by sticking it between large sections about other detailed issues. Instead, the questions as to what really happened are peppered repeatedly throughout the story. In short, this article seems to take the issue seriously, and while it is not perhaps given the amount of prominence some of us would like to see, it is still at the top of the site with the other main stories.
But this is not the only coverage the story gets at the site---directly beneath the main story linked above, there is also another headline about Aristide's claims causing Washington difficulties. Here is that story-- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/politics/administration/whbriefing/

(8.) The Los Angeles Times at http://www.latimes.com/ ---Here, we get simply the AP story about the situation in Haiti and the Rebel leader's assertions that he is chief of Haiti's military. While it's close to the top, and is one of the top headlines, there's nothing of real substance and certainly no real attention to the primary issue of a U.S.-orchestrated kidnapping of Aristide.

Overall, the quality of mainstream press coverage is not good at all. This is no different, of course, from the days prior to Aristide's kidnapping, when attention focused on how he was accused of corruption and was losing control, rather than on facts about the death-squad members roaming the streets against him. Notice, however, that for days Haiti was on the front page of every paper, was the lead story quite often when the articles were about the chaos in Port au Prince etc, yet as soon as the issue is about Aristide's forced removal by the U.S. the stories take a back seat in importance and coverage.

This is all just one more example of the media doing the bidding of its real masters, playing the role of official propaganda machines for our government---an especially disgusting role, since they currently still have a choice in the matter.

Drew Poe

http://dc.indymedia.org/feature/display/91947/index.php