It was brought to my attention by DawnWatch and Karen Dawn, author of Thanking the Monkey, that NY1 has done a fluff piece on the Ringling Bros. circus.
As per Karen…
The web version of the story, posted June 18, is headed, “Protestors Greet Circus Opening.” The story printed on that page opens with, “PETA members protested Thursday ahead of the opening performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Coney Island.”
But when one clicks on the video that actually aired on the station, one sees and hears nothing of protests. Instead we are treated to the anchor telling us:
“The greatest show on earth lands in Brooklyn! Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus is debuting the Coney Island Boomerang Show today. The animal open house begins this afternoon at 5:30 and the show kicks off at 7. But there are lots of fun things to do before the show begins!”
Then we see a head-dressed elephant being led around and doing tricks in the ring, after which the Ringling production manager tells us about all the fun things that can be done before the show — like trying on costumes.
After the clip the anchor shares information as to how long the show is running and where we can get more information and a complete schedule.
The “Protestors” heading on the web story might be a cynical attempt to appease complaints rolling in, or expected to roll in, about the coverage. Particularly cynical could be the opening line mentioning PETA, given that PETA is having such massive credibility issues this week.
You can watch the disappointing video on line at:
http://www.ny1.com/Default
OR, you can skip the video (why give them clicks for such shotty/misleading journalism?) and send them a comment instead.
NY1 takes comments at http://www.ny1.com/content