January 31, 2012, - 1:12 pm

VIDEO: ABC News Lies to Fit “Evil Rich White People v. Blacks” Murder Narrative

By Debbie Schlussel

Even though it’s old news that most of the major news media outlets are biased towards liberals and that they lie and distort, I was a fan of ABC News reporter Dan Harris’ reports because he seemed balanced and many of his stories are non-political and interesting.  But that stopped last night when I watched his report about a major news story here in Detroit.  His coverage of the murder of a wife and mother in a Detroit suburb showed me that he will blatantly lie to make something more dramatic and shamelessly skew a story to fit his false liberal narrative, regardless of facts that point elsewhere.


ABC News Reporter Dan Harris Blatantly Lies to Fit His Liberal Narrative

Last week, a woman named Jane Bashara was found strangled to death with broken fingernails in her Mercedes SUV in an abandoned alley of a bad Detroit neighborhood (yeah, I know “bad Detroit neighborhood” is a redundant phrase–they’re all bad).  Her husband, Bob Bashara, from a prominent Christian Arab family (many people of Lebanese Christian heritage live in the Pointes suburbs of Detroit), is the suspect, and it’s now turned out he lied to police, had a girlfriend on the side, and failed the polygraph exam he voluntarily took. But that’s not the issue. The issue is that Dan Harris’ report keeps talking about Grosse Pointe, Michigan, shows palatial mansions, and talks about how auto magnates of old built their homes there. That’s misleading. The Basharas live NOT in extremely wealthy Grosse Pointe but in neighboring, average Grosse Pointe Park, which does not have any of the mansions he showed, and is simply a middle class suburb with fairly modest homes and some hipster-wannabes. Any decent reporter would not deliberately confuse the two to sensationalize the story and make it seem to be a murder among the rich and famous. But Dan Harris is clearly not a decent reporter. He’s a liar. And he and his ABC News fabricators called the story “Murder in Grosse Pointe.” Again, the murder was in Grosse Pointe Park. It’s like me calling a murder in South Central L.A., “Murder in Beverly Hills 90210.” The video is below.

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And Harris did all of this to make his liberal eat-the-rich/occupy Wall Street narrative stick, when that simply doesn’t fit here. Listen to the beginning of the story as the Nightline anchor introduces it by saying there is a debate as to who committed the murder, outsiders (meaning “the evil rich White people are accusing poor Black people from Detroit of the murder,” as ABC wants to frame this) or insiders (meaning “the evil rich White people”). But there are no “rich White people” in the story. It’s a middle class to upper-middle class neighborhood. And there’s no debate here in Detroit regarding who did it, nor has there ever been. In fact, Mr. Bashara, the hubby, was publicly under suspicion from day one. The only debate was, “Do you think he did it?” And now everyone thinks he did. Nobody ever said, “Blame the Black people!”


But why should Dan Harris let the facts get in the way of the race-baiting class warfare story he wants to tell instead of the story that is, which is nothing of the kind? And if you think that this is the first time Dan Harris made up facts to tell a story he wanted to tell–instead of the story that actually was–think again. He’s been a reporter since at least 1995, and people are creatures of habit. He didn’t just start making stuff up 17 years later. He’s apparently been fabricating and lying for those 17 years and–before that–in his previous jobs as a “reporter.”

The next time you see a report from Dan Harris–or anyone else at ABC News–ask yourself what the real story is. Because you ain’t gettin’ it from them.




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22 Responses

Funny, closer to the end of the tape you can clearly see the Gross Pointe Park neighborhood and the houses are much more modest than the ones shown in the beginning. I used to love ABC and Diane Sawyer before they became clearly in the tank for Obama.

CJ on January 31, 2012 at 1:48 pm

Debbie in my neck of the woods a wealthy housewife was abducted, shot and her body dumped onto a busy street from her own SUV in broad daylight. People knew her husband was a no goodnik but he has not been implicated. I’m surprised the popo haven’t solved the crime but I suppose there’s a remote possibility her shlumphedikah husband didn’t set it up. Also I think we should start drone attacks in Egypt.

A1 on January 31, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    I remember growing up in the 80s as a young man, I was struck by the hype surrounding Claus Von Bulow. They never did find out if “he did it.”

    My point is what the media presents rarely bears ant resemblance to the actual truth. That’s why its the “info-taintment” business. They can take liberties in the quest for higher ratings and professional objectivity all too often take a back seat to other more esoteric concerns.

    NormanF on January 31, 2012 at 1:58 pm

A reporter who can’t be bothered to do simple fact checking and just honestly tell the story.

It doesn’t really surprise me. Not just ABC. Every one remembers the faked Kinkos memos that were used to try to sway an election.

And the MSM’s incredibly biased one sided reporting on Israel. I stopped paying attention to it a long time ago.

I know exactly what they’re going to say and for me it doesn’t hold any interest.

What ABC News did in the story on Grosse Pointe Park to fit an agenda isn’t the first time an American news organization has played fast and loose with the truth and it won’t be the last time that happens.

NormanF on January 31, 2012 at 1:53 pm

In much the same way as you do your movie critiques for us — using an analytical eye to see things the average movie goer would miss, so too must we approach the news media. Two things I have come to realize about the major news outlets: 1) What they don’t tell you is usually infinitely more important than what they do tell you. 2) Due to their power of influencing public opinion they really have become the unelected fourth branch of government. Think about that for a minute. That is an awesome amount of power.

The true art of journalism in which the reporter should cast himself as a bias-free outside observer then let the facts fall where they may seems to have died many decades ago. Instead, they carefully shape exactly what their audience will hear in accordance with their own political and/or personal beliefs.

You live in Detroit and know the real story but think of the millions who only have one side of the story — the reporter’s to go on. Most will simply assume the reporter is giving them the truth and will be overtly or subconsciously affected by it.

We must keep a keen eye on the news media as we approach the presidential election using a sharply focused analytical approach.

007 on January 31, 2012 at 2:14 pm

I might also add that when my wife and daughter were brutally murdered only the local media covered the story. The national outlets, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc., wouldn’t touch the story for reasons I won’t go into here. Suffice to say it didn’t fit their politically correct agenda.

007 on January 31, 2012 at 2:31 pm

    Oh my, God. This is horrible. I’d be climbing the walls if I had to walk in your shoes. Was the murderer black? If so, I can well imagine the timorous mainstream networks taking a pass on the story.

    Seek on January 31, 2012 at 3:30 pm

    My condolences! I can’t imagine what its like losing your family. As for the conduct of the media, well like Debbie pointed out, the truth isn’t necessarily what they are after.

    NormanF on January 31, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    My condolences also, 007.

    JeffE on January 31, 2012 at 8:43 pm

      My condolences also, 007.

      JeffE on January 31, 2012 at 8:43 pm

      Reply

      And mine. I can’t imagine how you’re holding yourself together. Were the murderers ultimately arrested and convicted?

      Miranda Rose Smith on February 1, 2012 at 4:03 am

About 20 years ago, a reported from the NYT visited a small business that I had intimate knowledge of. She wrote a story about the business that was filled with outright lies and distortions, including the name of the business. These were clearly not accidental mistakes, but purposeful lies to fit a chosen theme.

David on January 31, 2012 at 3:39 pm

DS-I am a big fan so I want to help you get some information correct. In all the ABC news footage I saw, the homes/streets are all in Grosse Pointe Park. They are specifically located on Windmill Pointe Drive except for the Bashara home, located around the corner. I don’t know that any of these particular homes were built/owned by the auto barons. The point is (no pun intended), I don’t think ABC mischaracterized the “Pointes”; the entire 5-city community is very nice, featuring homes of all sizes and styles. All income levels are represented. There is no major difference between the Park, City, Farms, etc.

I did notice an incorrect caption. Dan Harris is seen in the alley where she was found (Detroit) but the caption reads Grosse Pointe Park.

I do object to the rhetoric about the community wondering if this incident came from the “outside”. My own opinion is that this crime invigorated a general uneasiness and wariness about security and safety and so forth.

This community is quite shaken by the incident, but we are all proud of the efforts by the local police, in cooperation with the Detroit PD.

SB: Are you sure you are from the area? In fact, Grosse Pointe Park, parts of which are very rundown, has a much lower average median home price than the other Pointes. And those homes they showed are from Grosse Pointe, not Grosse Pointe Park. DS

Scott Bowlick on January 31, 2012 at 4:29 pm

You have been more and more stories like this, which in the past would have been strictly local fare. Trying to concoct a racial/class warfare story out of what is almost certainly a spouse murdering a spouse situation is grosteque. This goes beyond biased or slanted reporting. It is fabrication for the purpose of incitement.

Worry01 on January 31, 2012 at 5:31 pm

    They can pretty much say what they want and when you have a corporation with deep pockets, its difficult to prove libel and slander. The courts give the media a good deal of leeway unless its a gross untruth they’ve reported.

    NormanF on January 31, 2012 at 5:37 pm

Speaking of ABC News, here’s a story of an Islamic terrorist in my home state of Colorado accused of providing material support to a banned Islamic terrorist group operating in his homeland of Uzbekistan.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-helped-aurora-man-now-accused-terrorism-15481020#.TyhXJl3gKfQ

Yup, another one of those upstanding “moderate” Muslims brought to these shores. Ain’t nothing moderate about them!

NormanF on January 31, 2012 at 5:43 pm

Liberal bias on anything other than fox news?

Shocka!

Not….

Pat in Michigan on January 31, 2012 at 6:10 pm

Make no mistake. Many will be bandwagon-jumping to fit the Barack Obama re-election campaign of 2012.

He can’t run on his atrocious record so his strategy os class warfare, get the 1% and eat the rich.

That’s the mantra to win to keep the Obamas in the WH so they can use the tax-payer money any old way they wanna.

Skunky on January 31, 2012 at 6:58 pm

“News” has so many variables, eg timing, slot availability, does it bleed?, are children involved?, is sex involved?, are white people involved?, are rich white people involved?, is there a racial component? and of course the more local it is the better you can editorialize, you know, give it your own slant right or wrong and obtain the “scoop” so you can say “You first heard it here”.

Ron Wolf on February 2, 2012 at 12:28 am

Wrong as always, Little Debbie.

The mansions shown on Dan’s piece are a half a block away from the Bashara home. If you stand in their driveway the mansions are at the end of the street. The Bashara’s live in the upscale Windmill Pointe area. Joe Gentz, the guy who turned himself in, lived in the Cabbage Patch.

Grosse Pointe Park has very diverse housing, but outside of the cabbage patch it’s very upscale.

Jealous much?

Pudenda Shenanigans on February 5, 2012 at 6:04 pm

I am always concerned about media inaccuracies, but I must say, your article was also full of them. If you know the Grosse Pointes, you would know that there are 5 cities, all diverse, and yes there are many large mansions in Grosse Pointe Park very near the Bashara house. So the ABC report was much more accurate than you gave them credit for.

reggie on February 16, 2012 at 6:59 am

ABC news is the go-to for “How to waste 30 minutes of your life”. Aside from the fact masonic puppets control the output of actual, FACTUAL news, this ingrate led people onto waiting for a topic about how to lose weight rapidly. 2 commercial breaks and 4 viagra/menstruation medication/cancer/chest problem pharmaceutical tirades later, and LONG AFTER MENTIONING about the topic as though it was RIGHT on the fence to talk about, with the stupid pathetic attempts at mind controlling the populace, tuned into their televisions as though going out and breathing could wait, they reach the conclusion of their program. But not before explaining what an apple is, and how you can lose weight by consuming at 30g of fiber a day. FIBER. COMMON KNOWLEDGE, USED AGAINST THE PEOPLE AS THOUGH THEY DO NOT KNOW THAT. This is what is “world” news. This is what is the new “world” order.

Ubiquitous Truth, I am everywhere in the people on February 22, 2015 at 11:02 pm

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