1. Assume that the documentary, The Man Behind the Mosque, provided an accurate and research-based
perspective on how the “Ground Zero Mosque” became a story. Based on what you
saw there, what steps can you remember the cable-news media covering the story taking
to investigate who was actually
behind the Mosque in terms of mission, goals, and funding?
Frontline went to the man who originally had the idea for this project. His funding and idea was the original basis. (El-Gamal).
However, cable-news didn't really take any steps to actually investigate it.
2. Who brought the story of the “Ground Zero Mosque” to Fox
News, the station that broke the story and led coverage of the story?
Pamella Geller brought the story to Fox News. She is an anti-islamic extremist.
3. It can be argued that much of the cable news coverage of the
story was just that – coverage of a “story,” and how people felt about this
“story,” rather than actual reporting.
Explain how we can see this at work.
There didn't seem to be a lot of unbiased facts. Most of the information on the story was coming from one source and that was El-Gamal and he clearly favored one side over the other. Most of the interviewed people were 9/11 victims and that just voiced all of their opinions to make everyone feel guilty.
4. The journalists of Frontline included coverage of and
interviews with the staff of Park 51 (the NYU grad and a couple other
part-timers). Do these individuals
appear ever to have been interviewed on cable-news?
Park 51 staff - no
female interviewed by frontline but not by cable-news
Sharif was on both
5. What sources did Cable news appear to rely on for knowledge
and expertise about Islam? How credible
did you find these sources? Why?
hired analyists/speakers (Glenn Beck, Pamela Geller). They have bias because of the station they work for but are reliable because they know a lot of information.
no one was really an "expert"
no one was really an "expert"
6. How relevant is the ownership of a media source for
understanding its goals and how its goals may shape bias in its coverage?
Very relevant. If a certain station knows they have a specific type of follower, they are going to aim the news coverage to fit the beliefs of the watchers - creates bias. Every media source does this to some extent.
7. Who was, at the time of the Ground Zero Mosque story, the
second largest shareholder in the News Corp?
Saudia Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.
8. If you bring up the topic of the Ground Zero mosque today,
many people might say something like, “Oh yeah . . . What ever happened to
that?” Think about it: Given the level of urgency
that was attached to the story, why did cable news just stop covering the story
of the Mosque at Ground Zero?
The News Company began to take a lot of heat from involving Al-Waleed bin Talal.
9. Read about what polls reveal about Americans and their views
on Islam.
38% actually know a Muslim
45% link the religion to violence
36% of Americans don't know the basic principles of the religion (God and holy book)
55% have somewhat/unfavorable view of religion
13% said they understand well/extremely well
16% democrats more likely to have better views of religion
http://www.pewforum.org/2009/09/09/publicationpage-aspxid1398-3/
http://www.pewforum.org/2009/09/09/publicationpage-aspxid1398-3/
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