Houston Democrats

Thanks to Barbara, who posted about her experience with the KTRK news desk at Daily Kos. Although it is too late to shame KTRK into performing the duties of reputable journalists in this particular case, it is not too late to inspire them to do better in the future. This e-mail to KTRK was my response to Barbara's call to action:

KTRK:

It has come to my attention that your station refuses to cover the protest by Gold Star Families for Peace at Crawford, Texas. Your News Desk person stated to a caller who requested coverage that he did not know what Gold Star families are, and that he had not heard of the Downing Street Memos, but that he was certain that we must listen to the President on "staying the course" in the Iraq War.

This exchange raises several questions:

1) Why is someone on the News Desk of a big city TV news operation patently ignorant of current affairs? I can understand that "the man on the street" might not know about the Downing Street Memos, but a News Desk professional? As for not knowing what a Gold Star Family is, this merely shows a total lack of knowledge of historical context, in this case the gold star flags displayed by the families of fallen soldiers since World War II.

2) Why is an obvious novice at the News Desk deciding what is or is not news based on his political support of the Administration's policies?

3) If coverage of an event is indeed based on the level of political support surrounding the event, has anyone at KTRK studied the latest polls, which indicate that a majority of the American people think the Iraq War was a mistake, and even more tellingly, that a majority of Americans now view the President as dishonest?

The event at Crawford was organized by the families of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country; anyone who attempts to label them as traitors is morally bankrupt. The families feel that the best way to honor their lost loved ones is to speak out about the web of deception that led us into this war. Our media should give them a voice, just as they gave a voice to those who spun the web.

If you too are appalled at the arrogance and ignorance of the KTRK/Channel 13 Weekend News Desk, please respond to Barbara's request that we work together to give them a clue.