Oh Mass Media
So I have a good friend who gets her news primarily from news.bbc.co.uk, assuming that it's less controlled/propagandistic. I tend to agree with this point of view, but I've been poking around the interweb looking for entertainment, which resulted in me exhausting my normal sources and moving on to read both nytimes.com and the aforementioned bbc site, and discovered something I found interesting. Both sites feature the latest on the whole Russia in Georgia thing as the major story on their front page. But they present them very differently. First, check out the BBC blurb text:
Russia says withdrawal complete
Russia says its withdrawal from Georgia is complete, but the US says Moscow is "not in compliance" with a ceasefire deal.
Eyewitness: Russia withdraws
In pictures: Russian pull-out
So what's relevant here? Well the blurb says the US disagrees, and they offer "eyewitness" evidence of the Russian withdraw. Now the NY Times:
France and U.S. Say Russia Not Complying With Cease-fire
By ANDREW E. KRAMER and GRAHAM BOWLEY 22 minutes ago
Russia said its withdrawal from Georgia was complete, but the U.S. and France immediately voiced strong objections, saying Russia had not gone far enough.
* U.S. Sees Much to Fear in a Hostile Russia
* Russia Prevailed on the Ground, but Not in the Media
OK, the HEADLINE is that FRANCE and the US don't think Russia has completely withdrawn. The BBC doesn't mention that France AGREES with us until the eighth paragraph! (Please pardon my completely gratuitous use of all-caps) While there are other interesting comparisons to be made, I thought that was the most interesting one. We try to portray ourselves as having some international support. The UK tries to portray us as maniacal bastards who operate solely in our own interests. There are elements of truth in both, but they're both propaganda.
Check it out for yourself:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7576556.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/world/europe/23georgia.html?hp
Russia says withdrawal complete
Russia says its withdrawal from Georgia is complete, but the US says Moscow is "not in compliance" with a ceasefire deal.
Eyewitness: Russia withdraws
In pictures: Russian pull-out
So what's relevant here? Well the blurb says the US disagrees, and they offer "eyewitness" evidence of the Russian withdraw. Now the NY Times:
France and U.S. Say Russia Not Complying With Cease-fire
By ANDREW E. KRAMER and GRAHAM BOWLEY 22 minutes ago
Russia said its withdrawal from Georgia was complete, but the U.S. and France immediately voiced strong objections, saying Russia had not gone far enough.
* U.S. Sees Much to Fear in a Hostile Russia
* Russia Prevailed on the Ground, but Not in the Media
OK, the HEADLINE is that FRANCE and the US don't think Russia has completely withdrawn. The BBC doesn't mention that France AGREES with us until the eighth paragraph! (Please pardon my completely gratuitous use of all-caps) While there are other interesting comparisons to be made, I thought that was the most interesting one. We try to portray ourselves as having some international support. The UK tries to portray us as maniacal bastards who operate solely in our own interests. There are elements of truth in both, but they're both propaganda.
Check it out for yourself:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7576556.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/world/europe/23georgia.html?hp