Study Finds Corporate Media Coverage of ACORN Follows GOP Script

Interview with Christopher Martin, journalism professor at the University of Northern Iowa, conducted by Scott Harris

When two conservative activists, posing as a pimp and prostitute released covert video tapes showing the staff of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, offering the phony couple assistance to evade federal tax laws, conservative groups with the support of corporate media, immediately demanded an investigation and the defunding of the group. Congress quickly complied, passing resolutions cutting off federal funds to one of the nation's leading social justice organizing groups.

ACORN, has long been a target of the Republican party and the conservative movement for their successful voter registration drives, getting large numbers of low-income and minority citizens to the polls. But the group, with 400,000 members and offices in 75 cities, also effectively advocated for increases in the minimum wage across the nation and assisted poor families in purchasing homes.

It was this largely unreported history of political antagonism between ACORN and the GOP that prompted journalism professor Christopher Martin at the University of Northern Iowa and politics professor Peter Dreier of Occidental College to conduct an independent study of the corporate media's flawed coverage of ACORN during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. Here, professor Martin summarizes his study titled, "Manipulating the Public Agenda: Why ACORN Was in the News, and What the News Got Wrong," which found the media often repeated unverified allegations and distortions regarding charges that ACORN was engaged in committing "voter fraud."

Read the study online at www.mediacrit.com

Real Audio:
btlonline.org/2009/ram/martin100909.ram

MP3:
btlonline.org/2009/mp3/martin100909.mp3

LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below:

RealAudio:
btlonline.org/2009/ram/btl100909.ram

DOWNLOAD the MP3 by visiting:
btlonline.org/download

VIEW the Between the Lines website by clicking on the link below:
www.btlonline.org

***********************************
"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: www.btlonline.org
*
"Between the Lines," WPKN 89.5 FM's weekly radio news magazine can be heard Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. ET; Wednesdays at 8 a.m. ET and Saturdays at 2 p.m. ET (Wednesday's show airs at 7:30 a.m. ET during fundraising months of April and October).
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Weekly Summary" which features a RealAudio link to the week's program for Between The Lines, send an email to btlsummary-subscribe-AT-lists.riseup.net
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Q&A" which features a RealAudio link and weekly transcript to one of the interviews featured on Between The Lines, send an email to btlqa-subscribe-AT-lists.riseup.net
*
betweenthelines-AT-snet.net
*
www.squeakywheel.net/
*
Distributed by Squeaky Wheel Productions
©2009 Between The Lines. All Rights Reserved.