KRDO coverage of Westboro Baptist verdict omitted church's anti-gay agenda

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

During its 10 p.m. newscast on October 31, Colorado Springs ABC affiliate KRDO NewsChannel 13 reported that the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, was ordered to pay almost $11 million “to the father of a fallen Marine” who sued after church members protested at his son's 2006 funeral. But NewsChannel 13 failed to mention the anti-gay agenda of the church, whose website is godhatesfags.com.

Reporting on October 31 that the “fundamentalist” Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, had been ordered to pay nearly $11 million in damages “to the father of a fallen Marine” after protesting at the son's funeral in 2006, Colorado Springs ABC affiliate KRDO's NewsChannel 13 at 10 broadcast omitted that the church, whose website is godhatesfags.com, has an anti-gay agenda. In contrast, Denver ABC affiliate KMGH's 7News at 10 p.m. on the same day reported, “The church claims ... U.S. military members killed in Iraq died because Americans tolerate homosexuality.”

From the October 31 broadcast of KRDO's NewsChannel 13 at 10:

ERIC SINGER (anchor): A fundamentalist Kansas church will appeal today's judgment of nearly $11 million against them. The Westboro Baptist Church leader is ordered to pay the damages to the father of a fallen Marine. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder in March of last year. The father of that Marine sued the church. The members of Westboro are no strangers to Colorado. They've held protests all over our state. They picketed the funeral of fallen Fort Carson soldier Sergeant Gordon Misner in March of last year, holding signs like “Thank God for dead soldiers.” Well, to protect the families of fallen soldiers during funerals, a group calling itself the Patriot Guard began holding large American flags and revving their motorcycles to drown out protesters.

While Singer noted that members of the Westboro Baptist Church “picketed the funeral of [a] fallen Fort Carson soldier” holding signs such as “Thank God for dead soldiers,” the NewsChannel 13 report failed to mention that, in the words of 7News anchor Anne Trujillo, "[t]he church claims [Matthew Snyder] and other U.S. military members killed in Iraq died because Americans tolerate homosexuality."

From the October 31 broadcast of KMGH's 7News at 10 p.m.:

TRUJILLO: A federal jury in Maryland awarded nearly $11 million to the father of a fallen Marine. The dad sued a fundamentalist church in Kansas for protesting at his son's funeral. The church claims his son and other U.S. military members killed in Iraq died because Americans tolerate homosexuality. Well, the jury today decided the picketers violated the father's right to privacy. No word yet whether the church will appeal that multimillion-dollar verdict.

As Reuters reported on October 31, during the trial, Snyder “testified that his son was not gay, but the church targeted the military as a symbol of America's tolerance of gays.” Reuters further reported:

The jury awarded Snyder's family $2.9 million in compensatory damages plus $8 million in punitive damages in the first civil suit against the church, which has demonstrated at some 300 military funerals the past two years.

The lawsuit said church Web sites vilified U.S. soldiers, accusing them of being indoctrinated by “fag propaganda.”

[...]

The church, which is unaffiliated with any major denomination, is headed by Rev. Fred Phelps, who has led a campaign against homosexuality for years. Most of the estimated 70 members of the church belong to his extended family.