Bashir's sexism

Kim Pearson — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:57:33 -0500

Yes, Bashir's remarks were really bad. Supposedly, he has a reputation for this kind of behavior among people who work with him. Presumably, AAJA didn't know that. I do wonder, though, why nobody voiced objections to what he said about Obama. That was offensive as well.

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

What A Pig!

Sue Walsh — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:30:47 -0500

Martin Bashir is a sexist pig and should be ashamed of himself. I used to watch Nightline all the time but am rethinking that.

The Wedding Blog

Media roundup: Bloggers demand ABC come clean, reporter protest station's "sensationalism;" Martin Bashir apologizes

Kim Pearson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:18:03 -0500

There's a lot going on in the mediaverse these days, and bloggers have a lot to say about all of it. Here's a cooks' tour of some of the issues and stories attracting comment from blogging women (and some men):

Should ABC News disclose the sources that spread a false story in 2001 that Iraq was involved in the anthrax attacks on the US? After reading Glenn Greenwald's enumeration of the falsehoods that ABC trumpeted and attributed to "well-placed" anonymous sources, bloggers and journalism professors Jay Rosen and Dan Gilmor are asking bloggers to post these questions on their own blogs:

"1. Sources who are granted confidentiality give up their rights when they
lie or mislead the reporter. Were you lied to or misled by your sources
when you reported several times in 2001 that anthrax found in domestic
attacks came from Iraq or showed signs of Iraqi involvement?

"2. It now appears that the attacks were of domestic origin and the anthrax
came from within U.S. government facilities. This leads us to ask you: who
were the “four well-placed and separate sources” who falsely told ABC News
that tests conducted at Fort Detrick had found the presence of bentonite in
the anthrax sent to Sen. Tom Daschle, causing ABC News to connect the
attacks to Iraq in multiple reports over a five day period in October, 2001?

"3. A substantially false story that helps make the case for war by raising
fears about enemies abroad attacking the United States is released into
public debate because of faulty reporting done by ABC News. How that
happened and who was responsible is itself a major story of public
interest. What is ABC News doing to re-report these events, to figure out
what went wrong and to correct the record for the American people who were
misled?"

Marcy Wheeler has a helpful, concise timeline of the events of this curious case. She also traces the Iraq-anthrax claim as it emerged in the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, ABC Nightline staffer Martin Bashir is apologizing after making sexist and crude comments about Asian women journalists and Sen. Barack Obama in remarks before the Asian American Journalists Association last month. After saying he was happy to be in the presence of so many "Asian babes," he added that he was "happy the podium covers me from the waist down." Richard Prince reports (second item) that Bashir also joked about the difficulty some people have with Obama's name, suggesting new nicknames for him: "why not the Great White Fear of the Big Dark Phallus...Big Black Barack!"

Jen Phillips at Mojo Blog was among the many who were not amused:

" I may be only half-Japanese but I'm more than half-offended by Bashir's
comments. The guy has experienced racism in his life, both as a person
and a journalist. He knows better."

In his apology, Bashir expressed regret for "an inappropriate comment" during the speech.

Bashir's remarks would likely bother Rhode Island television reporter Jim Hummel. The veteran investigative reporter quit his job with Providence's ABC6 news because he was reportedly concerned about the "sensational" language the station was encouraging reporters to use in its effort to boost ratings. This included calling criminal suspects "thugs and "lowlifes." Pat Crowley at Rhode Island's Future is cheering:

"Jim, consider this an open invitation to post a story here on RIFUTURE,
uneditied, saying anything and everything you would like to say."

Finally, Sen. John McCain's campaign is trying to reassure journalists that race had nothing to do with the fact that Tallahassee Democrat reporter Stephen Price was booted from a campaign event in Panama City last Friday. According to the McCain campaign, Price was standing in an area where only national press was allowed, but Price says other local journalists were allowed to stand in the same area. Bilerico's Nadine Smith notes that Price showed his employee ID and press credentials credentials, to no avail.

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Bashir's sexism

What A Pig!

Media roundup: Bloggers demand ABC come clean, reporter protest station's "sensationalism;" Martin Bashir apologizes