By Chad Groening
March 20, 2003

(AgapePress) - A media watchdog group is calling ABC News to task for what it calls "consistent anti-American war coverage."

The Media Research Center examined more than 230 World News Tonight stories between January 1 and March 7. MRC spokesman Tim Graham says the network has championed the French and U.N. positions, but has questioned the Bush Administration's ideological and economic motives for war.

"Generally what you have [on ABC] is tough, skeptical, cynical coverage of the United States -- and easy-going, 'cheerleading' coverage for France and the United Nations," Graham says.

According to Graham, ABC consistently championed France and the U.N. over the U.S. "They were constantly bemoaning the hard line of the Americans against the U.N.; the ideological biases of the [Bush] Administration -- but nothing about the U.N.; [and] the greed for oil of the United States -- but nothing about the economic relationships France may have with Iraq," Graham explains.

And Graham says ABC presented the Administration's pronouncements with great skepticism, while not challenging what was clearly Iraqi propaganda. "They've had a reporter in Baghdad [Dan Harris] who's done several reports that were just 'here's what the Iraqis want you to see and hear.'"

Harris, he says, has been nothing more than a channel for Iraqi propaganda.

Graham says despite what he calls CBS anchor Dan Rather's "pathetic interview" with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a few weeks ago, he still considers ABC World News Tonight the most biased of the evening news programs.

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