QandO

June 14, 2004

Flag burning hardly "news"
Posted by McQ

Sometimes I wonder.. This is a 3 paragraph story which was headlined: "Angry crowd sets fire to U.S. flag". I guess that makes the car bombing, etc. secondary, huh?

A car bomb exploded at rush hour today along one of central Baghdad's most heavily trafficked streets, killing at least 12 people. Angry Iraqis shouted "down with the USA" and set fire to an American flag.

The car bomb explosion is news. But the little demonstration later (with a handy American flag?)?

Hardly.

Well, unless you're the LA Times and its important to "pick every nit" when it comes to portraying the negative side of the US's role in Iraq.

Fox, on the other hand, covers it with a detailed story about the car bombings and victims. In passing it mentions:

A crowd gathered after the attack, shouting "Down with the USA," and dancing around a charred body.

In other words, business as usual and not worth much more than a mention. Fox's headline? "Explosions Rock Baghdad; at Least 12 Killed".

Any wonder why people believe there's a bias in the press.

I'm with others who believe the press ought to quit playing games and declare their bias. Then we could put anything said by the LA Times, for instance, in its proper context: the reporting of a liberal daily newspaper.

It would make life much less complex and confusing.

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