Where 'Frontline' failed
McComish, Barbara S Thorp, Frances X Hogan, Madeline
Where 'Frontline' Failed Excerpt from letter to David Fanning, Executive Producer, "Frontline," WGBH, February 9,1996. ...As women who have served for many years, and who continue to serve, in...
...Donald Spitz who is not even from Massachusetts, In attempting to understand the coverage of people who hate, like Donald Spitz, and the total lack of coverage of the mainstream prolife position, we have come to the inevitable conclusion that three professional prolife women leaders speaking on the issue did not satisfy "Frontline's" evident need to depict the prolife position almost entirely through the narrow and skewed lenses of angry, militant male images...
...Since we collectively represent the vast majority of those committed to the prolife effort in Massachusetts, it is truly extraordinary that not one word any of us said is reported...
...Rather "Frontline" treats us to the venomous and grossly antilife rhetoric of Rev...
...As women who have served for many years, and who continue to serve, in leadership positions in the prolife movement in Massachusetts, each of us was approached by the producers of "Frontline" after the clinic murders in...
...Each of us spent several hours with the producers, including lengthy filming ses-sions...
...Barbara S. Thorp, Director, Pro-Life Office, Archdiocese of Boston...
...We were stunned to find that absolutely none of our comments was found worthy to be part of the program...
...Brookline...
...Frances X. Hogan, President, Women Affirming Life...
...Madeline McComish, President, Massachusetts Citizens for Life...
...We felt that this was a tremendous opportunity to engage, on camera, in the civil dialogue called for in the wake of the murder by Cardinal Law, Governor Weld, and others...
...We were individually assured that the goal of the program would be to explore the aftermath of the murders and to delve into the abortion issue in a thoughtful, sensitive way rather than the superficial, stereotypical treatment that it so often receives in the media...
...So much for any hope of a thoughtful and balanced portrayal of prolife and abortion-rights supporters coming to grips with one of the most compelling human rights issues of our day...
Vol. 123 • February 1996 • No. 4
