Missing the Story at the March for Life

It is a bit of a cliche in conservative circles to complain about the media's lousy coverage of the annual March for Life, the event in which thousands of pro-lifers gather to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. But just because the complaints have become something of a tradition, does not make them any less valid. True to form, the media's treatment of this year's March left somthing to be desired.

Jill Stanek, a former nurse who uncovered the fact that her hospital simply abandoned babies who survived abortions, leaving them to die, has pointed out some errors made by Newsweek reporter-blogger Krista Gesaman.

First, Gesaman headlined a blog post, "Who's Missing at the 'Roe v Wade' Anniversary Demonstrations? Young women." Gesamen quotes a police officer who tells her that the average age of the marchers is 60, leading Gesamen to wonder:

where are the young, vibrant women supporting their pro-life or pro-choice positions? Likely, they're at home. "Young women are still concerned about these issues, but they're not trained to go out and protest," says Kristy Maddux, assistant professor at the University of MD, who specializes in historical feminism....

Well maybe, but as Stanek notes, check out the time stamp of that post. 7:15 a.m. In other words, hours before the March had begun! In fact, photos of the March, as well as articles written after it had begun, suggest that there were plenty of young women there (as was the case in 2004, the year I attended the March). See Stanek's blog for helpful links in this regard.

In the same post, Gesaman claimed that the march route had been shortened for this year's event, so that all those elderly marchers could make it through to the end. In fact, the route has been the same for at least four years.

And Gesaman was far from alone. For instance, Gateway Pundit notes that the Associated Press reported that the March was only "three blocks long." Umm, really?

These could be innocent errors. But isn't it interesting how, year after year, the press's mistakes concerning the March are all in the same (anti-March) direction?

(via The Anchoress)