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Legal News

: Lawbeat

Maudlin emotion in polygamist ranch coverage

By Mark Obbie

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Back in the day, CNN Headline News was an actual headline news service: the latest news stories, told in rapid-fire succession. It was a reliable place to tune in when you wanted a quick news update. In recent years, however, it's devolved into a carnival of smarmy showmanship, with entertainers using news as a jumping-off point to vent rage at easy targets. Some pinhead marketing guy saw the spike in ratings that Anderson Cooper enjoyed when he indulged his emotions in covering Hurricane Katrina, and the result is an endless loop of cartoonish imitation. One of the consistently worst offenders is Mike Galanos, host of Headline News' Prime News. His sneering and preening take the place of the journalist's legitimate tools of facts and skepticism about what is or isn't known. In fact, that's explicitly the plan on Prime News, according to its Web site:

"Prime News" host Mike Galanos uses the day's most powerful headlines as a starting point for diverse perspectives and spirited debate. In each show, Galanos challenges newsmakers and experts to help viewers gain a clearer understanding of the "right vs. wrong" conflict playing out across the country every day.

News as morality tale. Except, from what I've seen day after day, Galanos leaves out the "clearer understanding" part. His chief outrage-maker these days is the case of the Yearning for Zion ranch in Texas. Reacting yesterday to the Texas Supreme Court's decision upholding a lower court's finding that state authorities had not proven their suspicions of sexual abuse of children, Galanos could have explained the decision, questioned experts about what the possible next steps were, and mused about the problems involved in proving the children are in danger. Instead, he vented about the court, saying in effect that the justices had sided with the polygamists and evidently didn't care what happened to the kids. Galanos evidently doesn't rate highly enough in the CNN hierarchy to get his overnight transcripts published online. His rage-filled colleague Nancy Grace does, and the transcript of her show last night seethes with the same mindlessness:

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, breaking news, stunning ruling by the Texas supreme court up in their ivory tower, sending scores of children back behind remote and isolated walls of a Texas polygamist compound, this after shocking photos showing FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs planting deep kisses on two child brides, one age 12, the other 13, one shot their first anniversary photo. Hello! She`s only 12, and it`s their first anniversary? The crazy polygamy cult leader may be worshipped as a prophet, but the photos now prove he`s nothing but a pervert, confirming allegations of systematic marriage forced on little girls, not to mention alleged abuse on little boys and 41 known broken bones. But even so, tonight the courts decide to send the children back to this?

Jeffs is in prison already. And the whole point of yesterday's ruling is that the state failed to connect Jeffs' proven crimes to the Texas group's actions. Where's the outrage over the state's failure? Or actual facts about how the court supposedly botched the facts and the law? Or, better yet, explanation of what the state has done and could still do? Instead of doing their job, CNN and its pack of snarling program hosts treat their viewers as easily manipulated morons.

Full post as published by Lawbeat on May 30, 2008 (boomark / email).