CNN vs. BBC - no wonder Americans' view of the world is so fucked

[Spanky11]

Check this shit out, BBC and CNN both writing about the exact same bombing incident in Al-Shaab, a residential market district.

BBC - tells it like it is
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2888429.stm

CNN- Just tries to cover it up.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/26/sprj.irq.baghdad.market/index.html


No wonder yanks are the way they are.

that is all.

 

[JohnyJuice]

oh Lord. From what i have heard, we werent anywhere near that market. And if we were, whatever. We have gone out of our way to only target military installations. Iraqi's are using civilians as shields, breaking all sorts of geneva conventions and rules of war, and we still play nice. So do us a favor and lay off the bullshit. If one bomb did go astray, its not the end of the world.

 

[big_bad_buff]

I watch Fox news, forget CNN.

 

[plornive]

So do us a favor and lay off the bullshit. If one bomb did go astray, its not the end of the world.

You totally missed the main point. Are you admitting that the CNN article maybe be biased and falacious?

 

[JohnyJuice]

ahhh. Well, yeah it could be. Most journalism sucks from what i see. They always either dive to deeply into shit that is really just what it appears to be, or they dont look deeply at something that is obviously so much more than it appears.

 

[JohnyJuice]

You totally missed the main point. Are you admitting that the CNN article maybe be biased and falacious?

If that was what was meant, i appologize. And hell yeah the news can be baised. Thing is, it is usually biased in its own self interests, not neccesarily those of who is watching it or our governments.

 

[Spanky11]

why don't you just admit that the article (and CNN), is totally biased.

 

[Austrian]

no one knows for sure where the rockets came from. CNN reports the facts but is open minded about who is to blame. BBC reports the same facts only in more gruesome details but does nothing to find out who is behind the attack. The details about which body parts were flying around is not newsworthy, it just stirs emotion. And then the underlying assumption they have is probably that it must have been the allied forces so we don't even question what Iraqi officials say. As it would not be possible that Hussein's private guerillas are capable of creating carnage among their own people. BBC (and most European media) is more biased in my view.

 

[WODIN]

The BBC did report the simple facts with out and sugjugation is the point spanky11 is trying to make. I have to agree.

 

[vixenbabe]

Ya know....I was talking to my dad last night 'bout this VERY subject!

We are giving Saddam hell for having gov. censored TV stations for his people...But....Are we all that different from him?

I'm the type of person who likes to deal with truth..I like to see it, taste it, feel it before I believe ANYTHING in life!

As far as the market place bomb....IF the US had a bomb go goofy..WE need to step up too the plate and admit it! IF Saddam did this to his own people...What else is new?

 

[musclebrains]

I wonder what Fox ran? Pictures of Iraqi children picnicking in the rubble, grinning, and handing chocolate-covered hummus to the invading heroes?

 

[CanadianCripple]

Keep in mind, CNN is without reporters in Baghdad.

I would also note that while CNN may not have been able to describe the scene (short of what we've all seen on TV), they did a more balanced news item. 2 missiles? Unconfirmed. Definite US missile(s)? Nope, unconfirmed too. CNN reported what the military has stated in it's daily briefings... BBC didn't.

This may have been an American missile, but (sorry to be blunt) shit happens. Same goes, if it turns out to be an Iraqi antiaircraft missile which missed & fell to earth.

This is why people should use a multitude of news sources. No one media source tells the whole story.

 

[musclebrains]

I would also note that while CNN may not have been able to describe the scene (short of what we've all seen on TV), they did a more balanced news item. 2 missiles? Unconfirmed. Definite US missile(s)? Nope, unconfirmed too. CNN reported what the military has stated in it's daily briefings... BBC didn't.

Um, isn't that exactly the problem? Confirmed by whom? The US military? Devoting half the story to the military's hemming and hawing and boasts about technology, alsong with including the peripheral argument about the Iraqis' use of their own people as human shields is very bad reporting. The innuendo of the business about the civilians has an obvious purpose, but of course WE don't have independent confirmation of that, do we?

BAsically, the BBC story is reporting of the actual event. The CNN story is reporting of the Pentagon's response to the event. One is actual reporting. One is getting fucked in the ass by the Pentagon and not complaining.

 

[CanadianCripple]

Um, isn't that exactly the problem? Confirmed by whom? The US military? Devoting half the story to the military's hemming and hawing and boasts about technology, alsong with including the peripheral argument about the Iraqis' use of their own people as human shields is very bad reporting. The innuendo of the business about the civilians has an obvious purpose, but of course WE don't have independent confirmation of that, do we?

BAsically, the BBC story is reporting of the actual event. The CNN story is reporting of the Pentagon's response to the event. One is actual reporting. One is getting fucked in the ass by the Pentagon and not complaining.

Read my last sentence.

 

[Ffactor]

The tone is completely different. I listen to the BBC. CNN is terrible!

 

[Fast Twitch Fiber]

I must admit that I don't like CNN's war coverage. All they show is buildings exploding from a distance as if there are no people inside those buildings. Of course now they don't have any reporters in Iraq. They are showing a completely sanitized war just like they did the last time. War is gruesome and offensive. It should be reported this way as well.

Remember, the goal of a news channel is to get high ratings. If they show gruesome images then they might lose viewers.

 

[CanadianCripple]

You all seem to want unsanitized news so much... here ya go:

Abu Dhabi TV

http://alarabnews.com/alshaab/alharb/shohadaa.htm

 

[gsxr1000]

Our government is very careful about what they allow us to see and hear, and what they deny us. It is there opinion that they only allow us to see the information that they think we can handle. They believe that if they were absolutely forthcoming with us about all the actual information that they have, that the common American citizen couldn't handle it.

So basically they keep up in the dark for our own good, as they see it, and that's the truth.


And good point nav...............it's alot different when you are seeing pretty explosions on tv as opposed to seeing people being killed right outside your window.

 

[the nature boy]

if bbc came out with a 24 hour news channel, that would be cool.

 

[p0ink]

this is the same piece that the BBC received a scathing letter from Britains Defence Minister. he told them (the BBC) that they were risking their credibility by reporting such nonsense, like this. Both sides (the US and the UK) deny up and down that they bombed anywhere near that area. how do you know some of saddam's random AAA fire didnt come down and blow these people up? you think those things just blow up and incinerate itself up in the air? get real.

why are some of you always so ready to blame the US and take sides with saddam hussein?

lets be real here, how many of you people actually care about these people? i know you may like to say you do (especially in public), so you can stroke your ego and tell yourself what a good and decent human being you are. i seriously doubt any of you are going to lose any sleep over the fact that some people you never met got blown up in some place you would never visit.

 

[gsxr1000]

this is the same piece that the BBC received a scathing letter from Britains Defence Minister. he told them (the BBC) that they were risking their credibility by reporting such nonsense, like this. Both sides (the US and the UK) deny up and down that they bombed anywhere near that area. how do you know some of saddam's random AAA fire didnt come down and blow these people up? you think those things just blow up and incinerate itself up in the air? get real.

why are some of you always so ready to blame the US and take sides with saddam hussein?

lets be real here, how many of you people actually care about these people? i know you may like to say you do (especially in public), so you can stroke your ego and tell yourself what a good and decent human being you are. i seriously doubt any of you are going to lose any sleep over the fact that some people you never met got blown up in some place you would never visit.

I think the point that's trying to be made is that sure, of course it's a possiblity that radom AAA fire that missed it's target came down and could have killed some innocent people. But, how many times can you use that as an explaination?

They used that same excuse plenty of times during the 1st Gulf War, then after the fact they were like........Uhhhhhh, well, those laser guided bombs that we thought were so accurate weren't quite as accurate as we figured.

And I for one have a great respect for human life, so yes I can say that I do care whether they live or die. I'm sure if war ever came to our soil and innocent people, yourself inclluded, were being killed needlessly, you'd want someone to care too.

 

[CanadianCripple]

I'll repost this again... seeing as such 'truth' is in so much demand:

Abu Dhabi TV

http://alarabnews.com/alshaab/alharb/shohadaa.htm


Nobody was marching for the Iraqi people previous to the talks of war. Nobody is marching to help the people of N. Korea now, so when/if a coalition goes in there, don't start talking about the millions of N. Koreans who will die... they're already doing that in spades.

 

[the nature boy]

this is the same piece that the BBC received a scathing letter from Britains Defence Minister. he told them (the BBC) that they were risking their credibility by reporting such nonsense, like this. Both sides (the US and the UK) deny up and down that they bombed anywhere near that area. how do you know some of saddam's random AAA fire didnt come down and blow these people up? you think those things just blow up and incinerate itself up in the air? get real.

why are some of you always so ready to blame the US and take sides with saddam hussein?

hey einstien, nobodys defending saddam. Where did anyone defend saddam hussein?

and where did you hear or read that there was a denial of bombing that area? Last I heard on CNN this morning they havent' said yey or nay about that.

 

[p0ink]

hey einstien, nobodys defending saddam. Where did anyone defend saddam hussein?

and where did you hear or read that there was a denial of bombing that area? Last I heard on CNN this morning they havent' said yey or nay about that.

what do you call believing Iraqi state propaganda over your own government?

they were talking about this situation yesterday; unless this bombing just happened, i assume they are talking about this incident. i heard it mentioned on fox, and it was mentioned on talk radio as well. ill try to pull up the articles about the letter from the minister of defence from the UK.

 

[p0ink]

I'll repost this again... seeing as such 'truth' is in so much demand:

Abu Dhabi TV

http://alarabnews.com/alshaab/alharb/shohadaa.htm


Nobody was marching for the Iraqi people previous to the talks of war. Nobody is marching to help the people of N. Korea now, so when/if a coalition goes in there, don't start talking about the millions of N. Koreans who will die... they're already doing that in spades.

who the fuck cares about these pictures? i would rather see 2 million more of them just like that, than see one american soldier come home in a fucking body bag.

 

[danielson]

if bbc came out with a 24 hour news channel, that would be cool.

they do. its excellent in the early hours as it actually reports news properly

 

[p0ink]

It's called "media strategy".

When the horrible news is reported, the US government has to "deny all reports pending an investigation".

And then they wait til the news is forgotten and overtaken by other war news. And we all forget. Heck i don't even remember all the bombing incidents of last week.

By then no one's asking about that bomb and the US government got away with it. Great technique.

Imagine if the US government kept saying "Yeah it was our bomb. We fucked up". And you keep hearing that every 3 days. It would make the US look sooo bad. Therefore, this "media strategy" gets implemented. Trust me, those guys in Washington KNOW how to work with media, and vice versa. They're fucking pros.

-= nav =-

then let them work the media all they need to.

the only way saddam can win this war is by prolonging it and by showing people the 'atrocities' of war. he is hoping that if enough is shown on TV, this war will be nothing but a repeat of mogadishu, where after a few american corpses were paraded through the streets, the US cut and ran.

 

[CanadianCripple]

who the fuck cares about these pictures? i would rather see 2 million more of them just like that, than see one american soldier come home in a fucking body bag.

Just a little something for those who are eager to see this on their news.

Don't get testy... I think, for the most part, we're in agreement.

 

[the nature boy]

what do you call believing Iraqi state propaganda over your own government?

they were talking about this situation yesterday; unless this bombing just happened, i assume they are talking about this incident. i heard it mentioned on fox, and it was mentioned on talk radio as well. ill try to pull up the articles about the letter from the minister of defence from the UK.

dude, the media US media reported that a market place was bombed, and the red cross verified this. Sure the iraqi's could have bombed their own city. But which is more likely (factoring the amount of ordinance being launched by both sides) an accidental bombing of the market place by the US, or the iraqi's bombing their own city. Tomahawks can and do go off course, unless you think that it was a lie that 2 tomahawks accidently flew into Iran.

 

[Hengst]

if bbc came out with a 24 hour news channel, that would be cool.

BBC DOES have a 24 hour news channel. It's called BBC World News.

It's WAAAAAYYYYY better than CNN.

 

[the nature boy]

BBC DOES have a 24 hour news channel. It's called BBC World News.

It's WAAAAAYYYYY better than CNN.

who's your satellite or cable provider?

 

[muscle_geek]

Ya know....I was talking to my dad last night 'bout this VERY subject!

We are giving Saddam hell for having gov. censored TV stations for his people...But....Are we all that different from him?

I'm the type of person who likes to deal with truth..I like to see it, taste it, feel it before I believe ANYTHING in life!

As far as the market place bomb....IF the US had a bomb go goofy..WE need to step up too the plate and admit it! IF Saddam did this to his own people...What else is new?

The US has been admitting its errors. They admitted to accidentally bombing a Syrian bus and firing off a couple of missiles into Iran. They said they would look into the matter of bombing the market. They can't find any proof that it was our missile, or how that would happen. I believe they would admit it if was our missile. We've always admitted these type things. And in the overall context it wasn't that bad. Civilians are going to die. There were only 14 in this incident.

 

[ariolanine]

Check this shit out, BBC and CNN both writing about the exact same bombing incident in Al-Shaab, a residential market district.

BBC - tells it like it is
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2888429.stm

CNN- Just tries to cover it up.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/26/sprj.irq.baghdad.market/index.html




No wonder yanks are the way they are.

that is all.

The BBC guy dramatizes it. The CNN article tells it like it is. Far from a cover up. England has what? two sources for their news, BBC and SKY. That's supposed to be more objective than the myriad of networks we have here? Whatever.

 

[Slowmo21]

This is why I watch BBC world. IMHO the best choice (of the ones that are available to me) if you want to know what's REALLY happening. Fox news/CNN and Al-Jazeera are the same, just different ends of the spectrum. The former channels are probably a bit more credible, however.

I support the US in this crisis, think that the UN couldn't have done any more and also appreciate America's role in the world, but it still appals me how ignorant some of you people are. This is one of the reasons many people are so against you. On the other hand, I'm pleased that there are some Americans here who think with their own brains (not going to say any names).

 

[Ffactor]

what do you call believing Iraqi state propaganda over your own government?

they were talking about this situation yesterday; unless this bombing just happened, i assume they are talking about this incident. i heard it mentioned on fox, and it was mentioned on talk radio as well. ill try to pull up the articles about the letter from the minister of defence from the UK.

That's the stupidist thing I have ever heard. What do you know about American soldiers fighting over there?

 

[the nature boy]

That's the stupidist thing I have ever heard. What do you know about American soldiers fighting over there?

I so was going to call him on that. He probably doens't know the marines there, nor will he ever go to iraq.

 

[p0ink]

come on, lovebirds, show me the error of my ways.

please tell me why i should believe what comes out of iraqi state tv, which is run by saddam hussein's son.

enlighten me.

 

[the nature boy]

come on, lovebirds, show me the error of my ways.

please tell me why i should believe what comes out of iraqi state tv, which is run by saddam hussein's son.

enlighten me.

dude are you dense? nobody says that anyone should go by what iraqi news says. you've got serious problems.

 

[Ffactor]

come on, lovebirds, show me the error of my ways.

please tell me why i should believe what comes out of iraqi state tv, which is run by saddam hussein's son.

enlighten me.

We are not talking about Iraqistani state TV. We are talking about how the BBC and CNN are talking about a single event that occured. Why do you make me resort to violence to get a point across???

 

[vixenbabe]

The US has been admitting its errors. They admitted to accidentally bombing a Syrian bus and firing off a couple of missiles into Iran. They said they would look into the matter of bombing the market. They can't find any proof that it was our missile, or how that would happen. I believe they would admit it if was our missile. We've always admitted these type things. And in the overall context it wasn't that bad. Civilians are going to die. There were only 14 in this incident.

I can not argue with you cuz I avoid the TV(No, NOT since the war has taken place either. I've NOT watched a whole lot of TV in year's)

I did hear that the US stepped up when one of the bombs went into an un-populated area. I had NOT heard about the Syrian bus mistake though.

I'd say it COULD be a USA Public Relations NIGHTMARE if we own up too many mistakes perhaps- Right?! Nothing is perfect...Not even the "smart" bombs we brag about.

Easy for me to say...I'm sitting in my safe, beautiful home when our troops are defending our country and dieing!

I just pray it's for a better world when this heartache is over....

 

[Ffactor]

I can not argue with you cuz I avoid the TV(No, NOT since the war has taken place either. I've NOT watched a whole lot of TV in year's)

I did hear that the US stepped up when one of the bombs went into an un-populated area. I had NOT heard about the Syrian bus mistake though.

I'd say it COULD be a USA Public Relations NIGHTMARE if we own up too many mistakes perhaps- Right?! Nothing is perfect...Not even the "smart" bombs we brag about.

Easy for me to say...I'm sitting in my safe, beautiful home when our troops are defending our country and dieing!

I just pray it's for a better world when this heartache is over....

I knew there was a reason I loved you!

 

[Lao Tzu]

You totally missed the main point. Are you admitting that the CNN article maybe be biased and falacious?

I'm sure they're biased, thats the nature of the media when the public wants to believe something. Remember the anti-drug propaganda that peaked in the early 90's?

Best you can do is try to read all types of media. Pro coalition, anti coalition, and neutral.

Read The Russian magazine Pravda they are biased too just in the opposite direction.

Sadly the Iraqi News Agency (official Iraqi website) was shut down before the war started so i can't get their POV on whats happening. But it would have been interesting.