Posted on 11/06/2001 9:31:38 AM PST by Mr. Mulliner
Don't trust the media, at least not CNN. Says who? A new York Times photographer in Pakistan. Catching up with an item caught last week by Jim Romenesko's MediaNews, on a Web page for sports photographers Vincent Laforet advised: "Don't trust anything you see on TV and be wary of some of the things you read." The Times photographer revealed: "We covered a pro-Taliban demonstration last week attended by maybe 5,000 protestors. CNN stated there were 50,000."In a lengthy recounting of his travails about photographing in Pakistan, Laforet wrote:
"Speaking of the media, I have but one thing to tell you. Don't trust anything you see on TV and be weary of some of the things you read. I witnessed how sensationalistic the media can be during the Florida recount. It's even worse here. We covered a pro-Taliban demonstration last week attended by maybe 5,000 protestors. CNN stated there were 50,000. The BBC estimated 40,000. We're continually hearing of "violent clashes with police" when the TV stations report on non-violent demonstrations we covered ourselves."To read his dispatch in full, illustrated by some of his photos, go to this address and scroll down to the second story: http://www.manginphotography.com/sptshtr36.htmlSince he offered no date, it's hard to correlate his statement with what CNN actually reported that day.
Photojournalists are the junk yard dogs of journalism. They go places other people are afraid to go and take photographs other people are afraid to take. The fact that this guy has the guts to be there, and to take the photographs he's taken, says a lot about him. His blatant disrespect for the power puff boys of the media and his willingness to talk about it...
You see- the press here spends their entire day lounging on lawn chairs in the garden of the Press Club. The government comes to them when they have a press release to hand out or an event they want covered. So a bunch of pro-active, aggressive journalists might as well be from Mars.
This statement alone could get him black-balled from dozens of news outlets, the ones where he makes his money. I'll grant, the guy could use a proof reader. Some of his words and spelling are off-base. All in all, though, I wish there were a lot more people like him out there. The truth might actually get printed sometimes, even if it is with a few typographical errors.
Don't worry, Geraldo is on his way!</sarcasm>
It's been so long I'm not sure if I can recognise it anymore.
This guy's the real deal. Here's the evidence.
1. It isn't in a fancy-smancy magazine, it's on a web site primarily aimed at other photographers, and people who enjoy "behind the scenes" info.
2. Those are his words. Photographers are notoriously bad spellers. Notice the woman was "whaling", not "wailing", and that he told people to be "weary", not "wary" of things you read. A good copy editor would have corrected those mistakes in a second, before allowing the story to be printed.
3. He didn't accuse the major media just of being lazy. He called them liars. "We're continually hearing of "violent clashes with police" when the TV stations report on non-violent demonstrations we covered ourselves." That's about as straight as you can call someone a liar. Betcha 50 cents THIS article never makes it into the mainstream. This is NOT a media plant.
Blame Jefferson. Seriously, how do you know when someone is lying or just mistaken or actually rightly going against conventional wisdowm?
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