Fortunato_NC's Journal: Truth the Victim in Schiavo Story

(I had pretty much decided not to comment on this, but I felt I needed to get some things off my chest. Here goes...)

Eric Boehlert's Salon.com piece on the media's appalling deference to the right wing's lunatic fringe ("A tale told by an idiot", 3/31) deserves to be tacked to the bulletin board of every newsroom in the country. Despite no shortage of real news in March, the bulk of the US media allowed itself to be whipped into a veritable journalistic frenzy over what, although tragic, is an everyday occurrence.

End of life issues aside, the real story in the Terri Schiavo story is the mainstream media's obsession with objectivity overshadowing the truth. In the mad rush to present all sides of every issue, the fourth estate has wildly overcorrected for any real or perceived bias. Case in point is the horrible character assassination of Michael Schiavo. The night after Terri Schiavo's death, searching Google News with the phrase "Michael Schiavo abuse allegations" garners 1,850 hits. Whether you agree with him or not, Mr. Schiavo has suffered enough without being accused of being a wife beater. The continual mention of these allegations of abuse (which began with an anonymous tip to the Florida Department of Children & Families) lends credibility to the conspiracy theorists who circulate rumors that Michael Schiavo wants his wife dead so he can finally collect the money remaining from malpractice settlements a decade old. The truth, on the other hand, is that Mr. Schiavo stands to inherit very little from Terri's estate. Most of what money there was was exhausted long ago by the costs of her care, and the rest will be turned over to Medicare, which has paid for her $73,000/year treatment since 2002.

This is not the first time the media has sacrificed the truth on the altar of objectivity. Every time we hear Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold referred to as the "alleged" Columbine killers or Mohammed Atta as the "alleged" September 11th ringleader, we are reminded that those we expect to cherish the truth above all else are becoming more and more deficient in their duty. The massive media coverage of Terri Schiavo's decline and ultimate demise crossed the line from being overly sensitive to being deliberately negligent. We deserve better from our nation's media.