RUSH: I don’t know if this is a new trend or not, but I know that it’s the second time that I know of that it’s happened when ABC went after Fox over Paula Abdul and that show American Idol. Now, ABC’s Good Morning America is going after CNN. Charlie Gibson today says, “We’re going to start this half hour with a reality check. Thousands of children were reported missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but those reports may not be reflective of the reality. David Muir is here with some good news.”
MUIR: Their images are posted on the Internet and play repeatedly on cable television.
CNN’S WOLF BLITZER: Children still missing.
MUIR: But authorities in Louisiana are now concerned the public is getting the wrong message.
MARKETA GAUTREAU, LA DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES: The images that there are these thousands of children in Louisiana that are missing, and that is just not the case.
MUIR: In fact, in Louisiana and Texas, state authorities say there are now fewer than a dozen children who remain in shelters on their own. So why the discrepancy?
GAUTREAU: Often we have a mother that got out with the child or a grandmother that got out with the child, and maybe mom doesn’t know grandmother has the child.
MUIR: The majority of the children labeled as missing are in fact with loved ones who have yet to get the word out that they’re okay.
RUSH: Now, you say, well, what was the attack on CNN? Well, “cable television” and the voice you heard, “children are missing” was Wolf Blitzer of CNN. And, in fact, if you turn on CNN they have a nonstop graphic up flashing different pictures of missing children and the phone number to call if you can unite these families. But this is, again, it’s unusual to see this, one network going after another. But it’s heartwarming to see, folks. I knew this would start. All it took was just one network tipping the iceberg, as it were. And let’s hope we get more of this, if for no other reason than just the fun of it.
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