By Brent Bozell
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Our left-wing media's somber, mourning coverage of
Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez once again demonstrates the double standard
journalists reserve for dictators.
Seven years ago, the left's greatest South American hate
object, Augusto Pinochet, passed away. Never mind how he used free-market
reforms to modernize Chile. Never mind that after 15 years of rule, he allowed
a national plebiscite to vote against him, and he stepped down peacefully. The
left-wing outrage pulsed on the front pages.
The Washington Post headline for Pinochet in 2006 was
"A Dictator's Dark Legacy." Reporters Monte Reel and J.Y. Smith
stated his government "murdered and tortured thousands during his
repressive 17-year rule ... leaving a legacy of abuse that took successive
governments years to catalogue." His death left "incomplete numerous
court cases that had sought to bring him to justice." In other words, he
was a right-wing dictator.
But for Chavez, about as committed a leftist dictator as
you'll find in South America, the Post's headline was neutral: "Anti-U.S.
leader had promised revolution: Venezuela's leftist president sought change
across region." Reporter Juan Forero said Chavez "went from a young
conspiratorial soldier who dreamed of revolution to the fiery anti-U.S. leader
of one of the world's great oil powers." Forero also noted right upfront
that Chavez had held power since 1999, "longer than any democratically
elected leader in the Americas."
Deep inside the paper, in a second story about the
"outpouring of grief from the poor masses," Forero added niggling
details of that "democracy" in action. "He was able to take
control of the courts, the congress, and all other institutions, while forcing
some of his toughest opponents into exile." Helluva democracy, that.
In 2006, The New York Times headline screamed Pinochet
was a "Dictator Who Ruled By Terror in Chile." Jonathan Kandell of
the Times began the article by describing him as "the brutal dictator who
repressed and reshaped Chile for nearly two decades and became a notorious
symbol of human rights abuse and corruption." He was "never brought
to trial." Both the Post and the Times used post-Pinochet government
estimates that more than 3,000 people were executed or disappeared during the
Pinochet dictatorship. But for Chavez, the headline was "Chavez Dies at 58
With Venezuela In Deep Turmoil." Then came this subhead: "Crowds Mass
in Capitol, Mourning Populist Who Defied U.S." The first three words of
the story were "President Hugo Chavez." He wasn't called a
"dictator," although Venezuela was "a country he dominated for
14 years," and his death "casts into doubt the future of his
socialist revolution."
The Times treated readers to Chavez's vice president
Nicolas Maduro, "close to tears and his voice cracking," breaking
"the hardest and most tragic news we could transmit to our people."
The Times not only quoted him, but crying retiree Andres Mejia proclaimed,
"He's the best president in history. ... Look at how emotional I am -- I'm
crying. I cannot accept the president's death. But the revolution will continue
with Maduro."
Reporter William Neuman credited the left-wing dictator
for having "changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and
energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and
excluded."
Here's another contrast from PBS. In 2006, the NewsHour
turned to John Irvine, a correspondent for Britain's ITV: "In Santiago,
none of the flags are at half-mast, because officialdom here has no interest in
marking the passing of Augusto Pinochet. But these on the other hand are
die-hard supporters, waiting in the hot sun to file past their hero and thank
him for their affluence. For the most part, they are well-off well-wishers for
whom Pinochet could do no wrong. But in truth, Pinochet was a polarizer, and these
demonstrators are from the other [leftist] end of the spectrum. ... At times,
they clashed with the police, for while they are delighted he's gone, they're
also frustrated he cheated the hangman over his many human rights
violations."
For Chavez, the same show turned again to a British
network, ITN, for a very different spin from Matt Frei, with no mention of
Chavez opponents: "This feels less like a funeral and more like a
celebration of immortality. And every time the camera passes, the exhausted faithful,
who have been waiting on their feet for 24 hours, play their part, all this
despite the soaring heat. ... Immortality is the rarest of compliments, and for
this crowd, Chavez has joined the top three. What they are saying is that the
three most important people in their lives, all dead, are Jesus Christ, Simon
Bolivar and now Hugo Chavez."
PBS broadcasts that Pinochet "cheated the
hangman" and that Chavez resembles Jesus Christ. There's your American tax
dollars at work, hailing a man who despised and smeared America on a daily
basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment