Kermit Gosnell

Abortionist Gosnell Found Guilty of Murder: Will ABC Finally Break Shameful Blackout of Coverage?
By Scott Whitlock | May 13, 2013 | 3:34 PM EDT

Jurors found abortionist Kermit Gosnell guilty on Monday of three first degree murder charges. In the eight weeks since the trial began, ABC has completely ignored the case, offering no coverage, discussion or mention of Gosnell and the gory details. It's not as though the network lacks interest in shocking criminal trials. In that same 56 day period, Good Morning America has devoted a staggering 187 minutes-- or 70 segments-- to sensational trials such as the Jodi Arias and Amanda Knox cases.

Over eight weeks, GMA featured Arias, who was convicted of slitting the throat of her ex-boyfriend, 38 times, more than 50 percent of the network's criminal trial coverage. Yet, World News, Nightline and GMA skipped Gosnell "snipping" the necks of newborn babies. Will ABC break the news blackout and cover the verdict?

Rep. Blackburn: Why Won't Media Cover 'One of the Most Tragic Murder Stories of Our Time?'
By Randy Hall | May 10, 2013 | 6:01 PM EDT

During an interview with MRCTV, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, asked what has become one of the most common questions across the country: Why won't the mainstream media give the murder trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell the coverage it deserves?

“We're talking about people being murdered,” she declared. Is the lack of attention “because we’re talking about poor women in minority neighborhoods, or is it because the media is trying to protect the abortion business?”

Pro-Choice Reporter Reconsiders Position Due To Gosnell Trial
By Matt Vespa | May 9, 2013 | 1:13 PM EDT

If there is anything positive that can come out of the Gosnell trial, other than a guilty verdict, is that it seems to have changed the mind of at least one pro-choice reporter.  As more of the gruesome details emerged from the trial, the journalist in question just couldn’t stomach that babies born alive were murdered in such a fashion.

J.D. Mullane of the Bucks County Courier, who was been present at the Gosnell trial from day one, said of himself, “there is one journalist sitting in that courtroom who writes for a local publication who has told me that he is very liberal, very pro-choice… but after sitting through the testimony in the Gosnell trial, he's reconsidered. He's changed his mind.”  As Mullane aptly noted, “that’s the power of the Gosnell case.”

MSNBC’s S.E. Cupp Provides Viewers Some Much Needed Perspective On Gosnell
By Jeffrey Meyer | May 7, 2013 | 5:05 PM EDT

Ever since MSNBC finally chose to cover the murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, the majority of MSNBC hosts have used the case as a disgusting opportunity to slam conservatives who want to regulate abortion clinics. Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough was the first MSNBCer to actually mention the case, expressing disgust and outrage over the abortionist's practices.

Today, which marks the 6th day since the jury entered deliberations, the network’s only other conservative, S.E. Cupp, finally used her daily platform to express similar outrage over the case involving Gosnell.  [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.] 

Kermit Gosnell's Attorney Blasts Fox News for Creating Documentary About His Client
By Randy Hall | May 7, 2013 | 12:03 PM EDT

The drama surrounding the trial of Kermit Gosnell took another surprising turn on Monday, when Jack McMahon, the lawyer for the Philadelphia “abortion doctor,” charged that the Fox News Channel's hour-long documentary entitled “See No Evil -- The Kermit Gosnell Case” was an example of “irresponsible” journalism.

The attorney unleashed his verbal barrage on Monday morning, when he called the decision to air the program on Friday and Sunday evenings “shameful” and “outrageous” since the jury is still deliberating on the fate of the 72-year-old physician.

Has Gosnell Murder Case Made Partial Birth Abortion Horrors Harder to Spin Away?
By Matthew Sheffield | May 6, 2013 | 10:10 PM EDT

Despite being largely ignored by the national press, has the murder trial against Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell effected a permanent change on the debate over abortion? Yes, argues Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, one of several major pro-life groups. Now that the gruesome reality of partial birth abortions have been revealed in a court of law by the government itself, things will never be the same, Dannenfelser argues.

“It will be very difficult from here on out to talk about at least post-viability abortions without remembering those images and that there are two sets of rights involved here,” she told NewsBusters in a interview.

During Special Documentary, Fox News Highlights Media Bias In Lack Of Gosnell Coverage
By Jeffrey Meyer | May 6, 2013 | 7:39 PM EDT

We here at NewsBusters have been documenting the virtual blackout of the Gosnell murder trial by the liberal media. As of May 6, the Big Three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) have offered scant if any coverage of the gruesome murder trial of Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell. 

In a May 3 special on the Kermit Gosnell case entitled “See No Evil” Fox News not only gave an in-depth and graphic account of the charges against Gosnell but also documented the broadcast media blackout of the case. Narrator Bret Baier introduced the segment by noting that:

Kirsten Powers: Abortion Rights Movement Is 'The NRA Of The Left'
By Matt Vespa | May 6, 2013 | 12:23 PM EDT

Kirsten Powers at Daily Beast made a shocking comparison – legislatively speaking – concerning the Gosnell trial and the abortion rights movement in her column today.  They’ve become “the NRA of the left," the liberal but pro-life Democrat charges.

To her buddies on the Left, those are meant to be fighting words. There is no greater insult for liberals than to be compared to the National Rifle Association, the nation's oldest civil rights organization founded in 1871.

'Face the Nation' Spends 30 Minutes on Gay NBA Player, Still No Mention of Gosnell
By Noel Sheppard | May 5, 2013 | 4:13 PM EDT

Does the outing of a previously almost unknown basketball player really deserve a half hour's coverage on a broadcast television Sunday political talk show?

The folks at CBS certainly felt it does as Face the Nation actually devoted the entire second half of its program Sunday to Jason Collins and gay issues.

'Meet the Press' Spends 8 1/2 Minutes on Gay NBA Player, 2 1/2 on Gosnell
By Noel Sheppard | May 5, 2013 | 2:44 PM EDT

NBC truly showed what its priorities are on Sunday's Meet the Press.

The outing of NBA player Jason Collins and the topic of same-sex marriage got a full 8 1/2 minutes while the murder trial of abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell received a whopping 2 1/2 minutes (video follows with transcript and commentary):

WashPost Media Blogger Slices and Dices NARAL Leader's Claim They Were 'First Out of the Gate' on Gosnell Case
By Tim Graham | May 3, 2013 | 7:16 PM EDT

Washington Post media blogger Erik Wemple spends a lot of time picking apart Fox broadcasts, but he was stunned by a Thomas Roberts interview on MSNBC with the new leader of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Ilyse Hogue. She claimed “we were the first out of the gate to call attention to this case.” Like a news butler, Roberts set her up to make that bizarre claim and then moved on to the next publicist's softball.

Wemple shot back: “Having done precisely 3,454 Nexis and Internet search on the Gosnell case, we missed the part where NARAL had led a charge to highlight the alleged atrocities in West Philadelphia.” He kept searching, and NARAL’s new boss kept looking sillier and sillier:

On FNC's 'Hannity,' NB's Bozell Slams Media Censorship of Gosnell, Disinterest in Benghazi Whistleblowers
By Ken Shepherd | May 3, 2013 | 11:44 AM EDT

Appearing on the May 2 Hannity program for the weekly “Media Mash” segment, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell noted that while the broadcast networks devoted considerable airtime in their news programming to courtroom sagas such as the murder trials of Amanda Knox and Jodi Arias or civil court proceedings like the Michael Jackson wrongful death lawsuit, they virtually ignored the trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell.

Gosnell is “a man who butchered babies” and the “details [of the story] are beyond gruesome” such as “babies floating in toilets, trying to swim to come out, while he put scissors in the back of their skulls,” the Media Research Center founder noted. And yet, because the underlying story involves abortion, the networks have censored the story, Bozell argued. [watch the full “Media Mash” segment below the page break]