Hannity & Colmes gave lopsided coverage to anti-Murtha rally
Written by Rob Dietz
Published
A Hannity & Colmes segment on dueling rallies for and against Rep. John P. Murtha dedicated twice as much time to the anti-Murtha rally, despite reports that twice as many people attended the pro-Murtha rally.
During the October 3 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes in a report on dueling rallies for and against Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA), Fox News correspondent Lauren Fritts dedicated more than twice as much time to the anti-Murtha rally, despite reports that twice as many people attended the pro-Murtha rally. The segment of Fritts's report on the pro-Murtha rally lasted 49 seconds and included clips of speeches from Murtha, former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE), and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) but did not quote a single member of the audience. By contrast, the segment on the anti-Murtha rally lasted one minute, 44 seconds, included the singing of the national anthem, quoted four speakers, and included an interview with an attendee. The lopsided coverage came despite what was reportedly a turnout of 2,000 people at the pro-Murtha rally, compared with an estimated 1,000 people at the anti-Murtha rally.
From the October 3 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:
ALAN COLMES (co-host): Critics and supporters of Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha held dueling rallies over this past weekend, and our own Lauren Fritts has this exclusive report.
[begin video clip]
FRITTS: Here in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, there are two different groups with two very different opinions about one congressman.
MURTHA: Right now, over three-quarters of the people in Iraq say it's all right to kill Americans. Our troops, our sacred troops are caught in the middle of a civil war, and we've got to let them settle this themselves. We cannot do it for them.
KERREY: He had the courage to stand up and say that our leaders are not telling us the truth about Iraq, that our leaders are not fighting that war with competency, and our leaders are not making certain that our contracts are not corrupt and the taxpayers are getting their money's worth.
RENDELL: Jack Murtha is the best asset this state has. And are we going to let any outsiders come in and tell us we should lose Jack Murtha? Absolutely not. Absolutely not.
FRITTS: On Sunday, opponents of Murtha got their chance at a rally aimed to oust the congressman.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Jack Murtha's got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho, Jack Murtha's got to go.
CRAIG MINNICK (Boot Murtha organizer): As a veteran, I consider it my duty to defend those who defend America against repeated public attacks by a politician who cares nothing more than political and personal gain than the welfare of our fellow Americans on the battlefield.
JOHN WROBLESKI (lost son in Iraq): We are winning this war. And we will win if we stay the course and unite as a country.
TERRY PENNINGTON (father of Marine charged with murder): I feel very angry about the public statements he has made. Those kind of statements embolden the enemy. They put our people in danger. They're giving aid and comfort to the enemy by saying these things. He, in particular. And I feel that -- I feel a great deal of outrage about what he had said.
WROBLESKI: We need to elect leaders, not appeasers. We need to elect leaders who will support our troops, not undermine them. We need leaders who want to kill the terrorists, not protect them and embolden them with their rhetoric.
EARL JOHNSON (World Trade Center survivor): We will never forget, and we will not tolerate elected leaders who treat the men and women who voluntarily serve to defend this great nation at a time of war as criminals, nor allow their honor and sacrifices to be disparaged and lessened in any way.
DAVID BEAMER (son killed on Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001): There is a time and a place for everything. So John P. Murtha, it's time for you to redeploy back to Johnstown as private citizen Murtha.
FRITTS: Reporting from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, I'm Lauren Fritts for Hannity & Colmes.
[end video clip]
COLMES: And coming up, a bear goes on a bender in Colorado. We're going to show you the video of this total teddy.
SEAN HANNITY (co-host): Whoa.