CNN: US EDITION
CNN, in it's many articles and broadcasts on Park 51, has said that Park 51 is in fact a community center for Muslims which will have a mosque inside of it. More specifically, in the article "New York Muslim-American leaders gather to show support for Park 51," Park 51 is said to be specifically, "the planned Islamic center and mosque" (http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/20/new.york.muslims.mosque/?hpt=T2). Also, in the article "Landmark status resolved, NYC group moves forward on Islamic center," the first paragraph reads: "Now that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has denied landmark status for a building, near "ground zero," that could house a proposed Islamic center and mosque, the Muslim organization behind the project says it will begin moving forward with efforts to make the building 'a model for community service and engagement'" (http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/03/new.york.ground.zero.mosque/index.html?iref=allsearch).
There have been no possible untruths reported by CNN saying that Park 51 is anything but a much needed community center, 2 blocks away from Ground Zero, being used for "community service and engagement" by Islamic people in New York City
We declare this segment: TRUTH
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THE COLBERT REPORT
Colbert addressed the confusion of whether this building project is actually a mosque or a cultural center. Much like John Stewart, Colbert plainly states that proposed building IS a community center. He uses the term mosque, while through humor making it clear that it is not just a mosque; that there are other elements to the building such as a swimming pool and an art center. (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/343735/august-12-2010/the-word---weapon-of-mass-construction)
He supports the facts as reported by politifact.com that this center is a cultural center with many elements, including a mosque. (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/aug/20/fact-checking-ground-zero-mosque-debate/) Like John Stewart, Colbert too uses satire to point out the absurdity of people claiming that it is anything other than a cultural center. Colbert made it clear that the building is in fact a cultural center. Being a "fake news reporter," The Colbert Report doesn't have a strong ethical obligation to report a "fair and balanced" story, but he chose to convey the truth regarding this issue.
We declare this segment: TRUTH
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THE DAILY SHOW
In regard to whether this building is a mosque or a cultural community center, Jon Stewart, host of "The Daily Show," has explicitly stated that it is not just a mosque, it is an Islamic cultural center. The first time he made this clarification was on August 10, 2010 (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-august-10-2010/municipal-land-use-hearing-update). Beginning August 23, he started satirically referring to it as the "Terror Mosque,"and as of August 25, the "Community Center of Death" (http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/mon-august-23-2010-rod-blagojevich, http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-23-2010/daily-show--8-23-10-in--60-seconds, http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-25-2010/tennessee-no-evil). He then suggested a "no talk endless half-invisible mosque downtown center" with the motive of confusing everyone involved and therefore preventing a reaction altogether.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Tennessee No Evil | ||||
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(See :34 to about 3:12).
Despite the overall hilarity, and perhaps because of the obvious satire of Stewart's program, he clearly identifies the facts regarding this matter. He makes blatant clarifications to ensure the message that this is indeed a cultural/community center gets to the public, while also making fun of anyone who believes otherwise. Stewart uses gatekeeping strategies to decide what elements are valuable enough, funny enough, or outrageous enough to include on the show.
We declare this segment: TRUTH
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GLENN BECK
Though there is not much information to be found about this subject, Glenn Beck does indeed refer to Park 51 as a mosque. Although a mosque is included in the building plans, there are other parts intended to become a cultural center as well (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/aug/23/al-hunt/ground-zero-mosque-not-even-mosque/). This could be used as an excellent example of gatekeeping. Though there is a mosque included in the project, he chose to exclude the fact that there is also a cultural center included in the building plans. It could also be used as an example of framing. The definition of framing is "the central organizing idea for a news story that supplies a context and emphasizes certain aspects of a story while minimizing or ignoring others." Glenn Beck emphasizes the part about Park 51 being a mosque. However, he doesn't ever really mention that it will be used as a cultural center as well.
We declare this segment: TRUTHINESS
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MSNBC
MSNBC references Park 51 as a community center, which includes things such as basketball courts, a culinary school, etc., in addition to a house of religion. Of the proposed thirteen stories of the building, only the top two are to be areas for worship. It is a common misconception that Park 51 is strictly a mosque, and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann sets viewers straight (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38730223/).
In this segment, Keith Olbermann quotes Pastor Martin Niemoller, a Holocaust survivor: "They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." When referencing Pastor Niemoller, Olbermann takes care to make sure we, as his audience, are aware that he is not proposing that opposition to the mosque is equivalent to the horrors of the Holocaust, but warns of a "willingness of a seemingly rational society to condone the gradual stoking of enmity towards an ethnic or religious group warning of the building-up of a collective pool of national fear and hate, warning of the moment in which the need to purge, outstrips even the parameters of the original scapegoating, when new victims are needed because a country has begun to run on a horrible fuel of hatred- magnified, amplified, multiplied, by politicians and zealots, within government and without... He was warning of the thousand steps before a Holocaust became inevitable. If we are at just the first of those steps again-today, here- it is one step too close."
Although Olbermann's statement about the hatred that exists surrounding the proposed community center is accurate, his mention of the Holocaust and its relation to this issue are more opinion and commentary based than straight facts. One might argue that the Holocaust reference could be considered an attempt at cultivation, but because his opinion and the actual facts are clearly separated, media consumers can choose for themselves to agree or disagree with the Holocaust reference. Olbermann still provides us with correct information: that Park 51 is a community center, with a small portion designated for worship.
