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November 16, 2004
Ivory tower
If anyone believes the French media are better than the US media, let him examine French mainstream media coverage of the problems in the Ivory Coast these days.
I see and hear plenty about how Chirac and the government are protecting the peace, blah, blah, blah. Very little about events on November 9. Le Monde claims the death of "at least 7 civilians" in a November 15th article, down from the quote of 50 dead, 600 wounded in a French military massacre of unarmed loyalists on November 10. The television and the radio are of course primarily concerned with the human interest stories around French evacuees, and Chirac's grandstanding at the UN.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not supporting Gbagbo, the rebels, or anybody in particular. Neither do I think, however, that the media are likely to do us much good in these situations. The value of looking at how the other guy does it is to get some idea of what your own blind spots probably look like.
Posted by Mark at November 16, 2004 09:20 PM