Times, NPR Change Their Take on DC Protests

Three days after its first report on the D.C. antiwar protests, readers of the New York Times were treated to a much different account of the same event. On October 30, the Times reported that the October 26 protests “drew 100,000 by police estimates and 200,000 by organizers’, forming a two-mile wall of marchers around the White House. The turnout startled even organizers, who had taken out permits for 20,000 marchers.”
This directly contradicted the Times’ October 27 report, which noted that the “thousands” of demonstrators were “fewer people… than organizers had said they hoped for.” The October 30 Times report also included much more information about similar protests around the country, and featured quotes from various antiwar activists…
…National Public Radio, another target of FAIR’s action alert, has also offered a correction of its misleading coverage of the D.C. protest. The following message is now posted on NPR’s website:
On Saturday, October 26, in a story on the protest in Washington, D.C. against a U.S. war with Iraq, we erroneously reported on All Things Considered that the size of the crowd was “fewer than 10,000.” While Park Service employees gave no official estimate, it is clear that the crowd was substantially larger than that. On Sunday, October 27, we reported on Weekend Edition that the crowd estimated by protest organizers was 100,000. We apologize for the error.

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What a funny headline. It leaves out the part about the NYT having most of the information wrong in its earlier articles on the subject.
Luckily the public wrote in over 1,000 letters to help clairfy the situation.
Rally in Washington Is Said to Invigorate the Antiwar Movement
By Kate Zernike.

Emboldened by a weekend antiwar protest in Washington that organizers called the biggest since the days of the Vietnam War, groups opposed to military action in Iraq said they were preparing a wave of new demonstrations across the country in the next few weeks.
The demonstration on Saturday in Washington drew 100,000 by police estimates and 200,000 by organizers’, forming a two-mile wall of marchers around the White House. The turnout startled even organizers, who had taken out permits for 20,000 marchers. They expected 30 buses, and were surprised by about 650, coming from as far as Nebraska and Florida.
A companion demonstration in San Francisco attracted 42,000 protesters, city police there said, and smaller groups demonstrated in other cities, including about 800 in Austin, Tex., and 2,500 in Augusta, Me.

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Here is Ron Kovic’s speech from yesterday’s Anti-War Rally in San Francisco
(as transcribed from my video footage, which I’ll be posting Monday afternoon):

This is the most important moment in American History. You are a part of an extraordinary moment in the turning of the history of this country. You will take this government back on behalf of the people of the United States.
Because we all know here, each and every one of us who have come to this place on this day know, that the truth is, this country, the power, this country belongs to the people of the United States. We are going to be represented, if we have to take democracy to the streets of every city and town across this country. They’re going to listen to us!
This is your moment. You were born to be here at this moment. You were born to take this country back on behalf of the people, on behalf of democracy, to make this nation a true, authentic democracy: “Of the people, by the people and for the people.”
And there’s an old saying: “Move on over or we’ll move on over you.” And in the days, the difficult days, and it’s going to be difficult, in the difficult days and weeks and months ahead, I encourage you to move with dignity. Move with the spirit of Martin Luther King. And as our numbers continue to grow and we begin to recognize that this is not only an anti-war movement more powerful than any anti-war movement in the history of this country, but that this is also becoming a powerful movement for peoples’ democracy in this country. When we begin to realize…
And when the leaders in Washington that are perpetrating this terrible, terrible war. The leaders, the President, those in power right now, who have in fact made targets of terror of all of us because of their policy. They are the ones who have brought on 911. It is their violence that brought the violence to our nation, and it’s their violence that we must stop and stop forever!
Never underestimate…Never underestimate who you are! Never underestimate the power of what you represent. Your beauty and your dignity. Your honesty and your integrity. You are going to change this nation. Think about it. This is your moment. Your destiny is to change this nation. Years from now many of you will be able to tell your children that we lived through an extraordinary turning point in American History. And we have the courage to step over that line with dignity, with non-violence and with great determination, and make this is a country that we can all love again and can all be proud of. Thank you so very much. Thank you!
Peace Now! Peace Now!
This is just the beginning! Thank you!

Sorry for only getting the tail end of this! I’ll have the video that goes with this up sometime tomorrow afternoon. Ron Kovic’s speech is on the way…(yes, the whole thing 🙂
Barbara Lee is really starting to shine as a leader in this movement.
I’m so happy to have been able to capture yesterday’s experience for all the people across the country and around the world who couldn’t be there to see for themselves.

…to re-dedicate ourselves to moving forward aggresively to making sure that this silent, they say minority, which it is a vocal majority, is being heard in Washington DC — and that is you!
Keep the peace process moving forward! Keep it moving forward!
And I just want to thank you for all of your support. I want you to know that your emails and your rallys and your marches and your voices are being heard very loudly in Washington DC. We’re gonna stop this madness! We’re gonna, yes, rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. We’re gonna rid the entire world, including our own country, of weapons of mass destruction! That’s what we’re gonna do! That’s what we must do! That’s what we must do!
How can we tell our children that violence is not an option, when they see our government supporting first strikes! How do we explain that to young people? How do we tell them “no” to violence?
So let me conclude by just saying: Let today be the first day of taking back the White House in 2004! That’s what we gotta do! Thank you!

Just got back from having a totally incredible experience at the Anti-War March today!
Barbara Lee and Ron Kovic (the Vietnam Veteran and war hero/anti-war hero of “Born on the 4th of July”) both spoke at the rally. I’m in the process of transcribing their speeches now — I filmed their speeches and shot a bunch of great footage.
I was able to grab some stills that will have to tide you over until I upload the movies:
My Pictures From the October 26, 2002 Anti-war March in San Francisco

I’ll be there at Justin Herman Plaza with my video camera!
See you there!

STOP THE WAR AGAINST IRAQ BEFORE IT STARTS!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26
NATIONAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON DC
Rally @ 11 am
Constitution Gardens adjacent to the
Vietnam Veterans War Memorial
21st St. & Constitution Ave. NW
**March to the White House**
JOINT ACTION IN SAN FRANCISCO
11 am at Justin Herman Plaza

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