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| Alleged al-Qaeda tape gives ABC pause | |
| 2004-10-28 | |
It has all the makings of an incendiary story: a chilling pre-election videotape featuring a supposed member of al Qaeda, declaring in English that "blood will run red in the streets of America." The problem, say ABC News executives, is that they can't determine whether the tape, obtained by a producer, involves a real threat -- or even the identity of the figure on it, a man wearing an ammunition belt and a headdress that obscures his face. The network enlisted the aid of the FBI and CIA but still can't authenticate the 75-minute videotape. "We're not quite there to broadcast something that would be quite frightening," investigative reporter Brian Ross said yesterday. "I'd love to have the exclusive, but first we'd like to get it right."
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #27 ed - the Blue Network After watching the ABC news for the first time in 20 years to see the tape, I thought they handled it pretty well. They definitely did not give al-Q any propaganda victory and did not stir up any hysteria; coverage in the middle of the show. But they didn't hide it either. They were sending a message that they don't want to become the al-Jizz of the US or CBS. If al-Q is so damn smart why didn't they give the tape to CBS? They would have run the whole thing Sunday night without giving a copy to DoD. Jenings made no comment about giving only a partial tape to DoD. To me this signals that they want to appear not to take Drudge seriously. As Drudge cannot fully verify things, this may be one that doesn't pan out. If it does pan out, screw ABC. But if not, and I suspect that is highly probable, I think they've done a pretty good job. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-28 8:55:14 PM |
| #26 but, point taken... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-28 8:43:34 PM |
| #25 the ABC of 1942? Bzzzzzzzt! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-28 8:43:09 PM |
| #24 Would the ABC of 1942 air propaganda from the Third Reich? Why does the ABC of today think it's good to spread enemy propaganda? |
| Posted by: ed 2004-10-28 8:37:15 PM |
| #23 "Must be a pretty strong pro-Bush message." My guess is that the tape ends with: "I'm John Kerry, and I approved this message." |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-10-28 8:35:35 PM |
| #22 Peter Jennings would interrupt the last pitch of the World Series if he thought the story was bad for Bush, Well, that would solve the Tim McCarver problem... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-10-28 8:26:34 PM |
| #21 Drudge has a story now. Key quotes: ABCNEWS withheld portions of an alarming new al Qaeda videotape which warns the next terror attack will dwarf 9/11 from the feds when they submitted the video for analysis, a top federal source tells the DRUDGE REPORT. ABC strongly denies the charge. ... One ABC source, who demanded anonymity, said Thursday morning, the network was struggling to find a correct journalistic "balance" before airing any story on the video. "This is not something you just throw out there while people are voting," the ABC source explained. Must be a pretty strong pro-Bush message. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-28 5:32:00 PM |
| #20 n godamer thm t hell! [/m4d] |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-10-28 5:04:52 PM |
| #19 Belay my comment No. 9, after reading Mrs. Davis' comment No. 17. Asshat shitbag mofo worthless Islamofascist tool Alfa Bravo Charlie fog-eyed slogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-10-28 5:03:31 PM |
| #18 oh, but of course they withheld that for reasons of patriotism and responsible journalism, too, right? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-28 4:57:23 PM |
| #17 Just when you thought it was done, Drudge has flashing lights: ABC withheld the final 15 minutes of the tape from the CIA, where the alleged terrorist warns about Bush, Cheney, federal sources tell DRUDGE... MORE |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-28 4:55:19 PM |
| #16 The Monitor's generally an excellent source for international news: thorough, non-partisan, usually accurate. I recommend them over WaPo and of course over the NYT: www.csmonitor.com |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-28 4:04:05 PM |
| #15 There's more on the tape here. A Christian Science Monitor reporter watched it. |
| Posted by: growler 2004-10-28 3:16:11 PM |
| #14 If you want to push the cynicism meter up, I'll bet ABC will air it November 8th or so. That way they can get the good ratings, but not remind people who is backed by our enemies before the election. I remember in 1992 all the news about the recovery and the big employment gains came about 3 days after the election. |
| Posted by: jackal 2004-10-28 2:56:26 PM |
| #13 I agree Crikey, Charles Gibson and Katie Curic would be wetting themself in eagerness if were unfavorable to Bush. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-10-28 2:43:25 PM |
| #12 I agree with Crikey. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-10-28 2:33:30 PM |
| #11 Put down the crack pipe, boys. The only reason they're not running it is it's bad for Kerry. Peter Jennings would interrupt the last pitch of the World Series if he thought the story was bad for Bush, as long as it were a remotely plausible story. |
| Posted by: Crikey 2004-10-28 2:16:34 PM |
| #10 Their prime motivation may be CYA, Alaska Paul, You get an "A+" in this class! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-10-28 1:44:24 PM |
| #9 Whatever the motivations of ABC, the fact that they are: 1. Submitting it to the govt first for authentication and security issues 2. Thinking it through before airing it implies that ABC is learning. Their prime motivation may be CYA, but they are doing the right thing. They want the story, but they also do not want to be seen as "useful idiots" in running a foaming propaganda cd. Unfortunately, or otherwise, CBS has not learned from their little foray into fraud. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-10-28 1:18:47 PM |
| #8 No offense, jackal. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-28 1:12:40 PM |
| #7 Maybe they just don't want to be seen as stooges broadcasting terrorist propaganda nonsense. It could be as easily argued that Kerry could be helped by the airing of it, since he claims that "the country is less safe" with Bush as president--the "threat" on tape being "proof." I think they possibly may not want to join the idiocy of CBS--it's a long shot, but possible. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-10-28 1:08:01 PM |
| #6 Kudos to ABC for learning from the experience of others. What ABC probably learned is not so much that telling lies to further their agenda is a bad thing; what's bad is being caught doing it. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-28 12:39:25 PM |
| #5 "...the anti-Bush partisans in the broadcast industry. These jackals are..." I resent that slanderous slur. |
| Posted by: jackal 2004-10-28 12:23:13 PM |
| #4 Not sure either kudos or brickbats are in order here. Yes, I have little doubt that ABC would rush to hurt Bush is they could do so without suffering a hit to their reputation or ratings. But I also believe that the marketplace here is performing a very useful check on the irresponsibility of the anti-Bush partisans in the broadcast industry. These jackals are more than glad to tear each other apart if given an opening to do so. and this, ironically, is a better spur to responsibility than a thousand Accuracy in Media watchdogs. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-28 11:40:14 AM |
| #3 Kudos? Give me a break. If they thought it would harm GW, they would have run with it to get the full 380 ton explosive impact...instead of just the 3 ton one. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-10-28 8:19:45 AM |
| #2 Good thing CBS didn't get it first. |
| Posted by: smokeysinse 2004-10-28 7:59:22 AM |
| #1 Kudos to ABC for learning from the experience of others. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2004-10-28 7:57:21 AM |