MRC Press Release - Bozell: TIME Must Apologize

Alexandria, VA- According to the U.S. State Department, "dozens of Americans" were murdered or kidnapped in Tijuana, Mexico last year, and that "in numerous towns and cities in northern Mexico" the "equivalent to military small-unit combat" continues to routinely occur, which led the State Department on April 14 to issue a Travel Alert for the border nation.

More than a month later, the Big Three Networks have yet to report on the State Department's official warning.

The Alert states that "foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region", and that "criminals have followed and harassed U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles, particularly in border areas including Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Tijuana."

But the violence is not contained in and to Mexico. On May 14, the Associated Press reported that "according to Border Patrol statistics ... seven frontline (U.S.) border agents were killed in 2007, and two so far in 2008. Assaults against officers have also shot up from 335 in fiscal 2001 to 987 in fiscal 2007. There have been 362 assaults against officers during the first four months of 2008." Jayson Ahern, the deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, was quoted as saying "It's almost like a military fight. I don't think that generally the American public has any sense of the level of violence that occurs on the border."

And why is that? Because ABC, NBC and CBS have all left their viewers in the dark.

CNSNews.com, a division of the Media Research Center, reported on the State Department's Mexico Alert on May 16th, and their story received tremendous attention and innumerable references from the alternative media universe, including from the likes of talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Dennis Prager.

The Alert was also reported in traditional media outlets such as on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, and in the Los Angeles Times, the San Antonio Express-News and numerous border city and town publications.

But over a month after the Alert was issued, the Big Three Networks have yet to even mention what has been and continues to be a deadly and dangerous situation for Americans living near or travelling in Mexico.

MRC President L. Brent Bozell:

"NBC, ABC and CBS have clearly placed their wide-open borders agenda ahead of the safety and security of the American people. Apparently no news involving Mexico, no matter how horrendous, will be reported should it impede the push toward their vision of a policy-free immigration policy.

"Steadfastly refusing to report the murder, assault and abduction of American citizens on both sides of the border is the epitome of journalistic bias-induced malpractice.

"CNSNews.com delivered the State Department story a week ago, and it has been there for the reporting for over a month. And where have the vaunted three networks been? They have been and remain shamefully missing in action."