"I believe it's a distraction for the Haitian people because they are talking more now about 10 people than they are about one million people suffering in the streets," he said.Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive's anger at the media's focus on 10 U.S. missionaries accused of child kidnapping may be cynically seen as the Haitian government trying to brush aside its own shortcomings. Yet the world press has not been entirely forthcoming and honest in their reporting on a post-earthquake Haiti.
British journalist and author Charlie Brooker's recent look on how the news is reported has become a viral video hit. A few days ago he examined the press coverage of Haiti in his cannot-miss show "Newswipe". As the video below shows, he found that among some bright spots in reporting the media was also guilty of sensationalism and the shameless "search for signs of conflict". (Note that starting at around the 1:50 mark Brooker very briefly touches on Venezuelan relief efforts).
On a personal note, "Newswipe" (and its predecessor "Screenwipe") are truly amazing programs that provide the misanthropic Brooker's astute analysis on the media, television, and pop culture. His observations tend to focus on British press and TV though this impressive takedown of Keith Olbermann and FOX News is a must -see video clip. If you'll forgive me for the hyperbole, Brooker is an absolute genius.
Online Sources - YouTube, BBC News
1 comment:
"Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive's anger at the media's focus on 10 U.S. missionaries accused of child kidnapping may be cynically seen as the Haitian government trying to brush aside its own shortcomings."?????????
So what now? Is the rule of law supposed to not be imposed because the law enforcement buildings have literally collapsed? Or should violating laws be abided only because it concerns 10 US Americans, in view this is the nation that has mostly given aid, even if these US Americans not only break Haitian law, but international law?
While the biggest US media outlets want to give everyone the impression that Haiti can't start off as an anarchic state, hence they send 20,000 troops for it and we all get the message, once a crime by their own people is commited, they place the Haitian government in a bad light solely for judging US Americans, who are supposed to have this "royalty right" status(not that I think there is a need to place it in a good light either, but certainly not distract people from what is really important, as the video suggests).
The fact that the Haitian government reinforces law regarding CHILDREN, with all its shortcomings and all the shortcomings you would like to attribute it, doesn't mean that it did it to "brush them off" in order to create media sensationalism. To correct your cognitive mistake, in spite of you ironically quoting a critical video on this subject, it is THE MEDIA exploiting any event in Haiti, TO create sensationalism and point out the shortcomings of the Haitian government and victimize the US Americans who violated law, in order to prevent the general US population from focusing in really helping, but instead create a grudge against Haitians and victimize these US Americans. Quite the other way around, but you don't seem to get it.
The Haitian government is being demonized for this isolated action by religious wingnuts, inciting people not to help because those "poor people were there only to help, they are 'Christian', hence they had no bad intentions" who also funnily and sarcastically make fun of "the Haitian government's shortcomings" like the writer of this article did. These 'Christians' allege that they didn't know that you can't abduct someone without "paperwork".
I wonder if this Latinamericanist "informative" blog will sometime burst out of its US-centric view of things? It's not Anti-American, it's only healthy, because sometimes your opinions contradict any possibility of making logical assertions. And no, sending the link to that media critical video 10 times in this article is not going to make you look better.
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