Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Something really rather worrying - the Guardian reports today on the impact of television news, and it's ability to inform, especially with reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the article, an unsettling number of people are incredibly ill-informed about the matter, with some believing that the Palestinians are the aggressive occupiers.
I know it took me some time to figure out the background to the conflict, but I think I've always known that it's Palestinians who are fighting back. It's virtually impossible for me to comprehend how people could misunderstand things so completely. I really am struggling. I mean, don't these people watch Channel 4 News and Newsnight? Oh, what do you mean it's not compulsory viewing, and the former clashes with Corrie [I think], and the latter is one too late. Well at least watch Newsround then, as they used to be less biased than the main News (except they've probably gone down the populist route, and Israel's importance will rate at just under that of Blue).
It's very strange to discover the latent bias is the opposite of what I'd expect (given America and many Americans constant slam Britain and the rest of Europe for being anti-Israel), and indeed my own person bias.
Sorry, it's just surprising and disappointing.
Anyhoo,
I know it took me some time to figure out the background to the conflict, but I think I've always known that it's Palestinians who are fighting back. It's virtually impossible for me to comprehend how people could misunderstand things so completely. I really am struggling. I mean, don't these people watch Channel 4 News and Newsnight? Oh, what do you mean it's not compulsory viewing, and the former clashes with Corrie [I think], and the latter is one too late. Well at least watch Newsround then, as they used to be less biased than the main News (except they've probably gone down the populist route, and Israel's importance will rate at just under that of Blue).
It's very strange to discover the latent bias is the opposite of what I'd expect (given America and many Americans constant slam Britain and the rest of Europe for being anti-Israel), and indeed my own person bias.
Sorry, it's just surprising and disappointing.
Anyhoo,
