Bill Donohue comments on Minnesota Public Radio:
National Public Radio is no friend of Catholicism, but usually it tries to hide its bias. By contrast, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is so thoroughly anti-Catholic that it makes no attempt to be fair. Truth be told, it is a scam: its politics is pervasive. Here’s the latest proof.
On December 8, a jury acquitted Father Mark Huberty, a Twin Cities priest, of criminal sexual conduct; a woman claimed he took sexual advantage of her during counseling sessions.
Three media outlets in Minnesota have been tracking this story from the beginning: the Pioneer Press, the Star-Tribune, and MPR. When news reports surfaced clearing Father Huberty of wrongdoing, the two newspapers gave the jury verdict complete coverage. But not MPR.
For many years now, MPR has specialized in issuing lengthy reports on alleged priestly abuse; it ran a long story last week about a former priest. When a priest is found not guilty, however, that is of no interest to MPR. To wit: In 2013, MPR did four lengthy stories on salacious accusations against Father Huberty, but when he was exonerated this week, the best it could do was to offer a 134-word AP story. It had no motivation to recount its previous reporting, or to present its own story.
This is yellow journalism: the only Catholic news that excites MPR is dirt.
Contact Michael Popham, Director of Member and Audience services: mpopham@mpr.org
