Iraq gets sympathetic press around the world - International media wary of U.S. reporting

USA Today ^ | 4/2/03 | Marco R. della Cava

[Libloather]

LONDON -- With the exception of pressing regional issues and breathless soccer analyses, global media reportage these days is all war, all the time.

Although such saturation coverage of the war in Iraq wouldn't surprise most Americans, the tone of these reports might. Channel-surf from Britain's BBC to Germany's ZDF, or flip through newspapers from Spain to Bangkok, and one finds stories that tilt noticeably against the war and in favor of besieged Iraqi civilians. Often these are emotional first-person accounts of visiting hospitals or bombed-out apartments, accompanied by graphic photos of the dead and dying that would never appear in U.S. outlets.

[Libloather]

...stories that tilt noticeably against the war and in favor of besieged Iraqi civilians.

Not one peep while Saddam murdered, tortured, beat, hanged, strangled and gassed innocents. *Crinton bombs the place - not a word - because it wasn't hip. A nation is about to be truly liberated from a tyrant and the global, leftist Big Media has a cow.

[afuturegovernor]

The left-wing controls the media in other places in the world too.

[Enduring Freedom]

Socialists conspire internationally.

By controlling the media, they control the hearts and (limited) minds of the populace.

It is imperative that the coaliation beam the video of freedom-welcoming Iraqis incessantly.

Let them call it propaganda.

It will be truth, impossible to ignore, and it will work.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I'm not too worried. These pro Saddam media Clymers are going to have a big problem when the war ends. They'll have to explain how after all of their glowing reports of Iraqi victories, Iraq lost. The "street" Arabs might even come after them.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Those poor butchering death squad militias and goons torturing civilians for Saddam. How could the U.S. be so evil as to kill them? It's a culture thing and the U.S. just doesn't understand the culture of Iraqi torture and brutality.

[Timesink]

The very concept of an "unbiased, objective news media" - a total joke, of course - is pretty uniquely American, and didn't even come to pass here until well after WWII. European journalists don't even have to pretend, except to a tiny extent at the BBC (which has to at least offer the appearance of adherence to the rules laid out for it in its Charter). The rest of the world's media doesn't trust ours because they know ours are pulling a fast one on the people they supposedly serve, while they're all OPENLY anti-American.

[afuturegovernor]

If you don't think the press in most of Europe is leftist then I respectfully have a bridge to sell you. The French media on the whole is socialist. The reason that they don't support ridding Saddam from Iraq is because they want to create a Europe united against America. Germany, Russia, Germany, and Belguim support this too. However, Britain, Spain, Italy, and new Europe do not. I hope we find lots of stuff in Iraq with "made in France" written on it.

[chilepepper]

Of course they don't: the outcome is too revolutionary and they end up on the losing end.

Terrorism is the Armed Forces of the World Socialist movement, which is why the Communist and Socialists all over the world went into the streets in perfect synchronization, dragging in the weak minded from all over the world who were drawn in by their noble, if manipulated sense that War per se is a terrible thing.

(opposition to War is something i agree with in general -- except that if socialists are against it, then i get suspicious. is it that their opposition is because an important asset of theirs like Saddam is in danger? recall folks, Saddam is the head of the Ba'ath Socialist Party)

[Timesink]

In England, if you're liberal, you'll buy the Daily Mirror; a staunch Tory, perhaps the populist tabloid The Sun.

You get one guess which paper actually sells more copies. Hint: It's not the former.

The Mirror, while long pro-Labour, was generally more concerned with celebrities than anything else pre-9/11, and always lagged behind The Sun. After 9/11, they made a snap decision to emphasize politics instead, and went hard, totally looney left. Anti-Bush, anti-Blair, anti-war ... they basically adopted an editorial stance of Hate. Results? In the last circulation measurement taken six months ago, sales of The Mirror were at an all-time low. I presume they'll be even worse when the new set of numbers come out soon.

[denydenydeny]

Todd Gitlin, professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University, says these charges have some merit.

Todd Gitlin, infamous Clinton butt-boy, is always good for an anti-American quote.

[Ciexyz]

Jealous pukes. They just want to limit US power.

They praise jello-bellied Clinton and Carter and dangle the promise of a Nobel Prize in front of them, if they'll keep the US weak and afraid to fight for our own safety.

[TheLion]

"We don't seem to want to know why others are angry.''

Maybe some of us are considering the source!

[Michael121]

Let's see the last we heard today was that in a statement the Minister of Information said they are winning. They were going to beat us with the rep. guard, 2 div poofed, 3 under attack with 1 down to 50%.... 12,000 dead from one div that means division is annihilated. And our "press" still believes Iraq over Washington. Sheesh! These reporters are the same who during the 50th aniversary of the A-Bomb they let the PC spell checkers run with the headline. "THE ENOLA HOMSEXUAL" because "gay" is supposed to automatically be replaced with homosexual. and the paper was DELIVERED. What a bunch of IDIOTS. If you can't get a job asking "do you want fries with that?" you can always be a reporter.

[Dat]

Then what created it? Iraqi telepathy?

[SendShaqtoIraq]

To those of you who use the teeny-tiny print:

Could you please use a different way of drawing attention to the remarks? It is very difficult and sometimes impossible to read for those of us who do not have perfect vision. Even with our glasses on.

Thank you.