ABC News Vice President Jeffrey Schneider has apologized for a story on his network that connected a CEO who supports traditional marriage to the Westboro Baptist Church and their offensive "God hates fags" signs. Mr. Schneider contacted the Media Research Center on Thursday after our social media department [1] requested members call and complain about the comparison.
Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was fired earlier this month when it was revealed that he donated $1000 in 2008 to Proposition 8. As Good Morning America reporter Linzie Janis explained the story on April 4 [2], footage of the completely unrelated Westboro protesters holding "soldiers died 4 fag marriage" signs appeared onscreen. ABCNews.com [3] offered this apology:
The segment as originally aired on Good Morning America on April 4, 2014, and included on this page, has been updated to correct an error. Video of a demonstration by the Westboro Baptist Church, which is not connected to this story, was inadvertently used in the original segment. We apologize for the error and have removed that video.
To see the original video, as it appeared on the April 4 GMA, go here. [2] (Also, see picture above.)
ABCNews.com has replaced the Westboro footage with pictures of Prop 8 supporters. (See picture at right.)
On the December 07, 2012 [4] World News, ABC reporter Terry Moran used the same hateful Westboro Baptist video for a story on the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling.
ABC News has assured the Media Research Center that such footage will not be used in the future. The network deserves credit for realizing their error and taking action.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter. [5]