New York TV Demonstration

Part of the Global Perspectives on War and Peace Collection. January 30, 1991. In New York City, demonstrators march in protest of the media coverage of the Persian Gulf War.

0:00Copy video clip URL From Rockefeller Center in New York, Skip Blumberg begins his coverage of the demonstration by covering the media coverage of the event, asking other camerapeople who they work for and whether the story is going to make it on the air.

2:29Copy video clip URL Betty Aberlin of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” is handing out information about ways to ensure that the press is honest and distinct from the government. She comments on her role in this protest, coming from her position as a television celebrity. “When people ask me what Mr. Rogers is like, I joke and say he’s kind of like the flip side of Big Brother. When a child comes home, if there’s no adults home, there’s a kindly electronic gentleman telling everyone that they’re special… When I see our president, and this is a personal view, playing Mr. Rogers in his talk of a kinder, gentler I-don’t-know-what or his talk of the darndest search and destroy mission, I must say the resemblance is a little too close for comfort.”

5:07Copy video clip URL People march down the street, banging drums. One woman comments, “I think it’s kind of ironic that we’re trying to get media coverage while we’re protesting the media, but this is the sort of stuff that’s not making the news.” She goes on to say that the news media is giving out the impression that only small fringe groups oppose the war in the Persian Gulf, but in actuality, much of mainstream America is against it.

5:48Copy video clip URL The protest gathers in front of CBS. Bill Schaap of “Lies of Our Times” magazine talks about the simplistic nature of television news and how “television news is distorted and shaped to fit the establishment.”

8:10Copy video clip URL Protesters yell in front of ABC, holding signs saying “Cover this march!”

8:57Copy video clip URL Poet Allen Ginsberg, on his way to a birthday party, comments about the television news media over the noise of the street demonstration.