ABC Hypes Occupy Protest 'Within Sight of the White House'; They Aren't
According to Good Morning America's Josh Elliott on Monday, the Occupy "protests within sight of the White House turned violent over the weekend."
Actually, the protests occurred at McPherson Square, two blocks from the White House and not in "sight" of it. (See a map here.)
Perhaps Mr. Elliott, who grew up in California and went to high school in Los Angeles, can be forgiven for such an error. It's bizarre that the Washington Post, in a front page story, made the same mistake. Monday's paper claimed the latest protest occurred "in view of the White House."
ABC's Elliott even showed video of the arrests- arrests that were not in view of the White House.
On CBS's Early Show, Betty Nguyen got the geographical facts right, but used sympathetic language for the liberal group: "Another crackdown on Occupy Wall Street protesters. More than 30 people were arrested for refusing to leave McPherson Square park in Washington, DC."
NBC's Savannah Guthrie also avoided Elliott's hyperbole: "A standoff between Occupy Washington protesters and U.S. park police ended last night when officers used a cherry picker to remove a half dozen protesters from the roof of a wooden shack."
A transcript of the three news reports can be found below:
