An ABC News segment on expiring unemployment benefits included an interview with a Democrat activist without identifying her as such.
From Newsbusters
Good Morning America’s Claire Shipman on Thursday tried to disguise a Democratic activist as just a jobless American who would be hurt by Republican failure to extend unemployment benefits. Shipman sympathetically recounted that Edrie Irvine, who she didn’t explain spoke at a Nancy Pelosi press conference on Wednesday, “never thought her very livelihood would depend on a political debate in Congress.”
A graphic reading “unemployed” appeared onscreen as Irvine complained, “They are talking about tax cuts for the rich and are holding people like me hostage.” Who is Ms. Irvine? According to her bio on the leftist Democracy For America web page, she’s a “tree-hugging, bleeding-heart, ACLU-card-carrying progressive liberal and damn proud of it!“
On December 1, Irvine appeared with Nancy Pelosi at a press conference. Pelosi enthused, “Thank you very much, Edrie, for your generosity of spirit to share your personal story with us.” On October 2, Irvine also appeared at the liberal One Nation rally and spoke. (One Nation was coordinated by the AFL-CIO and the SEIU, among others.) Shouldn’t Shipman have mentioned any of this?
At the rally, Irvine attacked Republicans: “Help me, and all the others like me, send a message to all those politicians that use us as a token in their political battles, who scapegoat us, who say we have to pee in a cup. Well I’ll tell you Mr. Hatch, I’ll pee right after you do.”
Shipman even showed a clip of Pelosi’s press conference, but still failed to inform viewers that Irvine spoke there: “This press conference in Washington drew hundreds of unemployed workers from around the country.” Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. Shipman’s husband is Jay Carney, communications director to Vice President Joe Biden.
It wasn’t as if ABC didn’t know of Irvine’s (no relation) background since she has appeared in public on several occasions railing against the GOP and supporting left wing causes so her inclusion in this report as just an ordinary citizen who can’t find a job is inexcusable.
Here are some other examples of Irvine’s activism.
Don Irvine is the chairman of Accuracy in Media and its sister organization Accuracy in Academia. As the son of Reed Irvine, who launched AIM in 1969, he developed an understanding of media bias at an early age, and has been actively involved with AIM for over 30 years.
