There is more fallout from a controversial two-part report on home schooling, produced by the CBS Evening News.
During Monday's "Eye on America" segment, CBS reporter Vince Gonzales cited a murder-suicide involving three teenagers in rural North Carolina as proof of what the network refers to as a "dark side" to home schooling. In that tragic case, the children's parents had been under investigation for abuse and neglect and were not abiding by the state's home school law.
But Hal Young, president of North Carolinians for Home Education (nche.com), says CBS News overlooked certain important facts in its coverage of the story. According to Young, if parents commit monstrous acts against a child, there are laws in place to deal with that situation. He says educational regulation is not meant to be a tool for social services or for dealing with criminal activity.
"By highlighting criminal cases that supposedly had a connection to home educators, CBS News is trying to create a linkage there to adapt the laws, adapt the regulations, to do something they are not intended to do," he says.
Young was interviewed for the "Eye on America" news report. During that interview, he says, the reporters went over the same questions several times, and it became apparent that CBS had only one objective in producing the report: to portray home education as a haven for potential child abusers and worse.
"When they came to speak with me, I think they already had their story planned and outlined. I'd have to say it was obvious where the story was going," the home education advocate says, adding, "I believe CBS already had a plan in mind, and their contact with us was mainly to gather a few sound bites."
The CBS Evening News, which is hosted by veteran news anchor Dan Rather, has several high-profile sponsors, including Cingular Wireless, Honda, Arby's, Philip Morris, and Wal-Mart. Young says in order to hold the network to a higher standard of journalistic integrity, families and individuals should contact CBS, its affiliates, and advertisers to express their concerns about the CBS Evening News and its anti-home-schooling coverage.
© 2003 Agape Press.
