'Western Media Biased Against Arabs'

The Guardian (UK) ^ | 2-1-2006 | Julia Day

[blam]

'Western media biased against Arabs'

Julia Day in Qatar
Wednesday February 1, 2006

Western media are biased against Arabs, parrot government views and have a negative influence on western understanding of the region, a conference organised by satellite channel al-Jazeera heard today. In a debate on whether world media build bridges or creates divisions, delegates were told that western media - and the US media in particular - need to concentrate on press freedom more than Arabic media and must radically overhaul their coverage of Arabic issues.

Criticism of western media came from both western and Arab journalists and academics.

Marc Lynch, a professor of political science at America's Williams College, said: "After 9/11 a lot of Americans were not responding to the Arabic media, but to what they were being told about the Arabic media.

"The gap between how Arabs and Americans understand the world is enormous ... We need a real dialogue. Americans need to listen to Arabic media and vice-versa. We need Americans on Arab media," he said.

Countering criticism of the western media, the former editor of the Rand Daily Mail, Allister Sparks, said the Arabic world needed to get its own house in order first.

[SJackson]

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[Let's Roll]

We wish ...

[Convert from ECUSA]

If there had been large numbers of "moderate" arab/muslim protesters in this country peacefully protesting the evil actions of 9/11 in every city in the US, and the MSM had showed them, it would have gone a long way toward dispelling any "negative image" or "bias." While there were a few protests, they didn't seem to be very large.

[SunkenCiv]

All such protests are attached to big buts.

[Convert from ECUSA]

Yep, big buts (or big butts?!) in more way than one.