GMA Ignores Parents' Responsibility for Flying Kids
Forget the Xbox or the Wii. When kids get bored, they jet off without telling their parents.
On the August 13 edition of “Good Morning America,” Steve Osunsami reported on three
Rather than question the parents for being unaware that their children were flying over 500 miles away, GMA put the blame squarely on the airline industry:
“So who deserves to be grounded: the traveling trio or the airline who let them fly,” ABC co-anchor George Stephanopoulos teased.
Maybe the parents should be grounded, George.
Osunsami couldn’t stop emphasizing the fact that the kids were “on their own:”
“They paid for a cab to the airport, on their own. When they got there, they bought tickets from Southwest airlines, spent $700, on their own. They passed through security, on their own.”
GMA did air statements from both the TSA and Southwest Airlines, who both followed proper guidelines by not questioning the kids because, as Southwest pointed out, two of the three kids were over twelve and could travel without a parent, and since the third kid, who was eleven, was accompanied by the two older kids, he was in the clear too.
Rather than challenging the parents, Osunsami portrayed them as victims by claiming they “still can’t believe it.”
At the end of the segment, Stephanopoulos and substitute co-host Elizabeth Vargas were “astonished” Southwest didn’t stop the kids:
“It didn’t occur to anybody to ask these kids, you know, where’s your mom, your dad, your guardian?” Vargas lamented.
“I don’t get it,” Stephanopoulos replied.
The airline industry has long been a media punching bag and ABC has lambasted the industry on a number of occasions. Additionally, the media never challenge parents, but expect companies to double as babysitters for their kids.
