Media Take a Pass on Live March Coverage

O'Reilly Admits Factual Errors in Piece on Dearborn

"Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly admitted to factual errors in a piece that aired on O'Reilly Factor Thursday night, but remained firm in his defense of the feature as satire," Randall Yip reported Saturday for his AsAmNews site.

"In the segment called Watters World, correspondent Jesse Watters traveled to Dearborn, Michigan where the population is about 50 percent Arab, many of them Muslims."

The Arab American News reported last week, "The video segment aired on the O'Reilly Factor Monday night; a day later, close to a dozen calls for bombing Dearborn surfaced on Fox News's Facebook page. City officials and community activists condemned the news network for its inaccurate portrayal of the city. . . ."

Yip continued, "Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations[,] appeared on the show Friday to take O'Reilly to task for many factual errors in the piece.

"Walid called the feature 'old tired bigoted frameworks' about the community of Dearborn.

"O’Reilly admitted to several errors after they were pointed out by Walid.

"The story incorrectly stated the police chief of Dearborn is Muslim when he’s a Lebanese Christian.

"The story failed to correct a false assertion by a person interviewed that a Muslim woman was killed there for simply having a condom and that there are honor killings in Dearborn. . . ."

Morocco on "Campaign of Intimidation" Against Press

"As he sits in a jail cell with seven other inmates, Hicham Mansouri, an investigative journalist, worries about his colleagues on the outside,"Aida Alami reported Sunday for the New York Times.

"For now, at least, they remain free.

"'They got to me as a warning to the others,' said Mr. Mansouri, referring to other members of the Moroccan Association of Investigative Journalism. 'Moroccans should start getting concerned about what is happening in their country. The media is more repressed.'

"About a year ago, Morocco, a monarchy that cultivates a pro-democracy image, embarked on a campaign of intimidation against the press, arresting journalists and activists and even deporting foreign reporters. Mr. Mansouri's case is one of the examples of the crackdown on opposition independent voices that emerged after the 2011 revolutions in the region emboldened democracy advocates.

"In May, a judge sentenced Mr. Mansouri, 35, to 10 months of prison on adultery charges in a country where sex outside marriage is illegal. He was accused of having an affair with a married woman. Human Rights Watch denounced the trial as politically motivated and falling 'short of due process and fair trial standards.' . . ."

Short Takes

• "Enrique Gratas, an award-winning journalist known famously for being the face and voice of Univision's news show 'Ultima Hora' for over 10 years, died on Thursday,"Milly Contreras reported Friday for Latin Post. He was 71. Contreras also wrote, "According to People en Español, Gratas released a statement in September informing the public that he suffered from a critical illness, although he did not specify the exact nature of the illness. . . ." 


• "Errin Haines Whack, an award-winning reporter who has written extensively on the intersection of race, inequality and politics, is rejoining The Associated Press as a reporter in Philadelphia," the AP announced Monday. In August, Whack concluded a two-year term as vice president/print of the National Association of Black Journalists. 

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