Stossel has to go

It's Time for ABC to Demand John Stossel's Resignation
by John Beske

August 17, 2000

When I tuned into John Stossel’s apology to his viewers last week on 20/20, I did not expect this self-proclaimed “contrarian” to offer any more than a tepid and smug excuse for the inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and outright lies he presented in his February assault against the organic foods industry. After all, when the chorus of protests leveled against him were more or less limited to organic food proponents, environmental groups, and organizations calling for accuracy in news reporting - all traditional critics of Stossel’s - he predictably ignored them. Even after it had been clearly demonstrated to him, his producer, and his bosses that he had invented data to suit his bogus claims, he chose to run the segment again, and even went so far as to repeat words that he knew for sure to be lies.

It wasn’t until he became the subject of intense media scrutiny that he finally agreed to own up to the truth. And it is safe to assume that he would still have stayed silent on the matter had it not been for mounting pressure from his colleagues at ABC News, whose own reputations are quickly becoming sullied by association.

So I am not surprised, though I am deeply disappointed, that he skipped over many of the glaring faults in his original broadcast, such as his fraudulent representation of chemical industry shill Dennis Avery as an independent “expert” or his egregiously dishonest and self-serving editing of the interview with the Organic Trade Association’s Katherine DiMatteo (compare it to the unedited text).

Even when he did give lip service to the need for an apology, he still completely distorted or ignored facts. His admission that the test for E. coli performed on the organic produce did nothing to suggest a health risk completely invalidates the central claim of the original segment - that organic food is less healthy than food grown with pesticides. Instead of admitting that the entire segment was based on a false claim, he attempted to give the impression that he had never really meant to disparage organic food, but merely failed to mention that one should “always wash produce, conventional and organic.”

As for the big lie that got him such trouble with the New York Times and the rest of the honest world, he once again demonstrated that he is not to be trusted. Of course he admitted to a “mistake.” Certainly this much, at least, was forced upon him. But when he baldly stated that “we thought they had performed the test, but they hadn’t,” he disingenuously made a comment that everyone already knew to be untrue. It is well-documented that the Environmental Working Group had informed both Mr. Stossel and his producer that no pesticide tests had been performed well in advance of the July repeat of the segment. This was common knowledge already reported in the New York Times and dozens of other newspapers. In other words, John Stossel apologized for lying by telling another lie.

Further, one is compelled to ask exactly where Mr. Stossel obtained this pesticide residue data that so conveniently bolstered his argument. If he expected viewers to accept his sincerity, he should have offered an explanation. And if he and his producer truly did not know that the tests that formed the central claim of his argument were left undone, does this also not raise major warning flags? The scientists who took the assignment from 20/20 have been documented as saying that performing E.coli on produce tests was never part of the agreement. Now the fundamental issue left on viewers’ mind is this: Were Mr. Stossel and his crew guilty of gross incompetence or deceitful, manipulative journalism? Perhaps, if we are to believe him, the first time they aired the segment they were “merely” incompetent, but they don’t have the same luxury for when the piece was repeated in July: Again, all key players had long been presented with documentation of the false and misleading information. This does not sit well with many who have been following the case.

Mr. Stossel considers himself to be a journalist. I was taught to believe that journalists held truth to be sacred. I have also always considered ABC News to be a reliable and highly scrupulous news source. My confidence in the entire operation has been shattered by the fact that a senior voice of the network was allowed to lie even during a humiliating forced apology. If the culture exists within this organization where truth has lost its validity, what is left to be trusted? Are we suddenly compelled to question the veracity of such distinguished figures as Peter Jennings, Sam Donaldson, and Ted Koppel?

20/20 and ABC News have both been deeply wounded by the reckless and shameful abuses of the truth committed by John Stossel. The only way to restore public confidence in the organization is to demand his resignation. Only then can the department begin the task of regaining the trust and admiration of myself and all the other people whose faith in your network has been shaken by his indiscretions and ABC’s tolerance of them.

This is the address to send general comments to ABC News:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/email.html

This is John Stossel's message board:
http://boards.go.com/cgi/abcnews/request.dll?LIST&room=stossel

You can also email Stossel directly at stossel@abc.com or the show 20/20 at 2020@abc.com

Want to learn more about John Stossel, the hack for hire?

Read a report from the media watch group, Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting

Also, Salon magazine has written a story about Stossel: Prime Time Propogandist

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