Media Sues to Restore Schiavo’s Life

Associated Press

April 1, 2005

ATLANTA -- A consortium of broadcast networks and cable news stations has filed a 13^th-hour plea to a Federal judge in Atlanta, seeking a court order to restore Terri Schiavo to a persistent vegetative state.

The plea demands that health care providers at the Pinellas Park Hospice “use heroic measures” to reanimate the 41-year-old former Floridian, who died on Thursday, 13 days after her feeding tube had been removed.

“This is more than a question of life and death, this is a question of ratings,” said one cable executive who declined to be named. “Terri was a blockbuster. We want to renew her for at least another 13 weeks.”

Privately, executives fear that without the Schiavo story, news stations might have to fill their broadcasts with stories about the spiraling Federal deficit, the privatization of Social Security, the Bush administration’s controversial judicial nominations, and House Speaker Tom Delay’s multiple ethics investigations.

“These issues are just too complex for our viewers—and, frankly, our reporters – to comprehend,” bemoaned the executive. “All we want is a good story to tell in as simplistic a way as possible.”

Members of the consortium include the three major networks, CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC. Fox News declined to join the consortium. A Fox spokesperson said the network opted instead to tell its viewers that Schiavo was still alive, and that candlelight vigils were continuing.