Monday, May 9, 2011

KMOX Correction Request

On April 28, KMOX posted an article regurgitating smears about UMSL and UMKC professors that originated from Andrew Breitbart's websites and Dana Loesch's radio show. KMOX reporter Kevin Killeen said the following about UMKC professor Judy Ancel:
In one clip, Ancel appears to be telling students that violence is a legitimate tool of organized labor.

“Violence is a tactic and it’s to be used when it’s the appropriate tactic,” Ancel said.
Killeen's claim is false and misleading, as can be seen in the full video:


Killeen also says the following about Don Giljim:
In one clip, Giljum appears to tell students that being a labor activist is not always calm discussion.

“I can’t really honestly say that I’ve never wished, or have never been in a position where I haven’t wished real harm on somebody, or inflicted any pain and suffering on some people that, you know, didn’t ask for it,” Giljum said, “It certainly has it’s place.”
Again, this is misleading, as it selectively leaves out portions of Giljim's full quote explicitly saying that the need for those tactics have changed and that the tactics would do more harm than good, as can be seen in the video:

Killeen also wrote the following:
The tape also shows Giljum telling students how his union intimidated a company CEO by sending union members to his church and a shopping mall to “bump into him” and ask the CEO how the negotiations were going. To the delight of students giggling, Giljum said the CEO became so intimidated that he started wearing a “flack jacket” on the plant floor to protect himself.
However, this leaves out the very next line from Giljim, who says "I don't know why. Nobody did anything like that, or threatened anything like that:"


Killeen reported three completely misleading claims. Despite being told about the misleading nature of the full videos, he has still not made a correction or acknowledged the full videos nearly two weeks later. If KMOX continues to ignore the full videos and leave these lies uncorrected, this indicates an amazing level of disrespect for people who rely on them for news.
Please contact Killeen at kakilleen@kmox.com , News director John Butler at kmoxnews@kmox.com , and Director of Programming Steven Moore at swmoore@cbs.com and tell them to issue a full correction. It should be clear that this involves chttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifreating a new report describing the longer videos and the fact that these videos contradict Loesch and Breitbart's original claims, rather than simply adding a sentence to a stale old story from two weeks ago. You can also call the KMOX newsroom at (314) 444-3234.

Update #2: KMOX has a new story with the UMSL statement and does a good job pointing out the misinformation.

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