A History of Racist Media Bias: ABC's 20/20 Report on Mumia Abu-Jamal

Throughout the segment, prosecution claims are stated as fact. "As the officer spun around, he grabbed his revolver and, as he fell to the sidewalk, fired a shot that wounded Jamal in the chest," Donaldson declares. Not only is this version not supported by two of the three main prosecution witnesses, it is inconsistent with the course of the bullet that hit Jamal, which entered the top of his chest and ended up in his lower back.

When supporters of a new trial for Jamal are quoted, their points are immediately dismissed. When actor Ed Asner is quoted saying that "no ballistic tests were done, which is pretty stupid," Donaldson's voiceover cuts him off: "But ballistics test were done," he says, referring to tests that suggested that the bullet that killed Faulkner was the same caliber as Jamal's gun. But Donaldson doesn't mention that tests to determine whether the gun fired the bullet had not been done. Police neglected to perform simple tests to see whether Jamal's gun had even been fired, or if gunpowder residues were on his hands. This is sloppy police work; not reporting it is sloppy journalism.

The entire report is similarly slanted, with 20/20 using every opportunity to spin viewers in the prosecution's direction. Statements from Jamal's lawyer were jarringly edited and shot in disconcerting close-up. Producers from People's Video Network told FAIR that ABC not only used audio from an interview that they did with Jamal without permission, but seemed "to add layers and layers of echo to Mumia's voice, both distorting it and making him sound like a cave-dwelling animal waiting to escape and wreak havoc on America."

It's clear that a balanced account of the Jamal case was never intended. In a letter asking permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to interview Jamal (a request that was denied), 20/20 pointed out that "we are currently working in conjunction with Maureen Faulkner [the officer's widow] and the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police."

While the Fraternal Order and its lobbying campaign for Jamal's death is never mentioned in ABC's piece, Faulkner's widow is featured prominently and has the last word: "Tell a lie, tell it big enough, tell it often enough, and it becomes truth." Donaldson seems to be counting on that.

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