Sarah Leonard

By SARAH LEONARD

Sarah Leonard is a guest blogger for Future Majority. She is currently a student at Columbia University and a Fellow of the Roosevelt Institution at Columbia University.

The American media has propagated a tremendous falsehood with regard to President Ahmadinejad’s speech at Columbia University. The bottom line, with remarkably little variance across major news networks, has been that Columbia is being un-American by engaging in controversial free debate.

This is hardly shocking from conservative sources, such as FOX news. Bill O’Reilly has been reveling in this story for days now, since it combines his two favorite subjects for condemnation – the Ivy League and a Muslim with a podium. He won’t have to imagine a new liberal outrage for at least a few more days.

But the journalistic travesty committed by more mainstream networks, not usual shills for conservative politicians, has been chilling. The typical news segment follows this pattern: a reporter menacingly describes Ahmadinejad’s ethical and political crimes. The reporter then notes that this bad man will not be allowed to lay a wreath at Ground Zero. But, the voiceover adds, Columbia will be welcoming the Iranian President on Monday! Cut to head-shaking anchor.

The clear implication of each of these sorry excuses for reporting is that Columbia University is the only place un-American enough to host this man. He’s been rejected by the NYPD at Ground Zero, but welcomed by Lee Bollinger at Columbia. This reporting fails to address the real issue of debate and diplomatic engagement, instead regurgitating right-wing talking points in sanitized form.