Well it’s the morning after the big 20/20 debacle, and everybody is looking for a way to hit back.
Well folks, maybe you will feel better if you understand what the situation really is. This is not the first time a leftist, urban-based television network has pulled off something like this, and it won’t be the last. But because we know how to respond in an effective manner, the ABC Network and 20/20 may get more grief then they handed out.
Why? Because what they presented, and the way they presented it, won’t stand up to critical examination. The show consisted of contrived presentations that didn’t have circumstances that have occurred in real life.
In short, they say for example that if an armed student was in a classroom and someone entered and started shooting the events would come out a certain way; but they can’t point to an example where it did, because so far no school shooter has ever encountered armed resistances from anyone in the room. Hasn’t happened – anywhere.
So what 20/20 showed was conjecture on their part. What we have here is pure propaganda, not news.
So can we nail ABC and 20/20? Probably not, at least directly.
But we can go to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and file formal complaints against each and every television station that is an ABC affiliate.
To broadcast over the public airwaves they have to have a license from the FCC, and without it they are out of business.
That license makes them (not the network) responsible for everything they send out on the airwaves, and carries an obligation to be sure it is truthful and fair to differing point of view – unless it is specifically identified to be an opinion piece or editorial. Even then it may be open to rebuttal from others.
In this context, all of the ABC affiliated stations have got a potentially serious problem this morning. If challenged, and they will be, they must convince the FCC that, that pile of garbage 20/20 put out meets the Commission’s standards for news – and I don’t think they can do it. If they can’t some serious sanctions could come down on their heads.
Now do you feel better??
So remember, go after the individual stations, not the ABC Network or 20/20. They will get what they have coming later. Point out that the show consisted of contrived examples, presented only one viewpoint, and they were not supported by independent evidence.
http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm