Nick Berg Media Coverage

[TheAnvil 0]

Mr. Prager's article is pretty well written and mirrors my views in many respects. No link. Here it is:

The news media and Nick Berg
Dennis Prager


May 18, 2004


For those who still doubt that ideology guides most of the world's major news media, the reporting of the Islamic ritual murder of Nick Berg provided textbook examples of an almost universally leftist bias. News media have essentially become propaganda organs for anti-Americanism.

We have already seen the hysteria over the Abu Ghraib abuses, with the daily running of photos on front pages and the continued news and editorial preoccupation that greatly damage the war effort. (If German prisoners in World War II had been stripped naked and humiliated to get information to save American lives, would any major American paper have published the photos during the war?)

On the day The New York Times reported the savage murder of Berg -- in the most subdued fashion of any major paper in America (just one column on the front page, with a photo, the smallest of three front-page photos, at the bottom of the column) -- its lead editorial was yet another in a series denouncing the Bush administration for prison abuses in Iraq.

Now, the Berg murder provides further evidence of how a leftist worldview determines the way news is presented, namely the media's depiction of it as "revenge for America's Iraqi prison abuses."

The vast majority of the world's news media are so anti-American and so morally confused that they reported the claims of anti-American butchers as if they were facts.
Nick Berg's murderers said their butchery was revenge for American abuses in the Abu Ghraib prison, and the world's press dutifully published this as if it were a fact (or even worse, as if it were an understandable, though admittedly extreme, act of revenge).

Here are examples of the headlines -- not subheads -- in major American newspapers:

"American beheaded in revenge for abuses" -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Grisly Vengeance" -- The Hartford Courant

"Militants avenge abuse with taped beheading" -- The Des Moines Register

"Vengeance on Video" -- The Arizona Republic

"With a Vengeance" -- Newsday (Long Island)

Lest their readers be distracted from the real evil in Iraq -- the American treatment of Iraqi prisoners -- some newspapers actually conflated that with the Berg murder in their headline:

"Amid prison inquiry, revenge" -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

"U.S. civilian beheaded in Iraq; abuse responsibility in dispute" -- The Providence Journal

On the other hand, the few non-liberal newspapers in America had very different headlines, making no mention of the "revenge" claim:

"Terrorists Behead American" -- The New York Sun

"Pure Evil" -- New York Daily News

"Savages" -- New York Post

"Bastards" -- Philadelphia Daily News

Perhaps the starkest example of the pronounced leftist impact on news reporting is the difference between the headlines in Canada's two major national newspapers. The headline in the liberal Globe and Mail was "Murderous revenge: U.S. hostage dies in wake of Iraq prison abuse." The headline in the conservative National Post was "Al-Qaeda Beheads American." Even its subhead had no connection with the supposed vengeance: "Businessman was in Iraq to help build antennas."

Furthermore, the National Post devoted all six of its columns to the headline and the story, while The Globe and Mail devoted four columns and reserved its biggest print headline to "Oil at $40 worsens the 'pain.'"

Revenge? Islamists slaughtering innocents is never revenge. Was the slaughter of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan "revenge"? The terrorists called Berg's murder "revenge" in order to justify their savagery and because they know that the world press is so malleable and so anti-American that it will print their lie.

Finally, Nick Berg was slaughtered, not beheaded. The world's news media distorted the nature of the savagery inflicted by Islamic "militants" on a young American man who went to Iraq to help Muslims. While he was indeed literally beheaded, that word does not accurately convey what was done to him. Nick Berg was slaughtered in the way an animal is. People who are beheaded have their heads chopped off. Nick Berg's head was cut off. This huge difference was completely missed by the media. Why? Because "slaughter" implies moral judgment, while "beheading" does not. Just as "terrorist" implies moral judgment, and therefore "militant" is preferred. The media's attempt to be morally neutral frequently leads to distortions of fact.

The bottom line is that the United States of America is fighting the world's news media as well as Islamic totalitarianism. Until we understand that, we have no chance of winning.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[Nightingale 0]

but... you fail to mention the headline of the Los Angeles Times, from that oh-so-liberal hotbed of California!


"U.S. Businessman Beheaded in Iraq as Militants' Videotape Rolls"


I don't see any mention of revenge/vengeance in that headline...

and yes, he was beheaded. beheaded means removing the head, which is exactly what happened. However, I would agree that he was also slaughtered.

[TheAnvil 0]

Bashing the LA Times wasn't the point of Prager's article (though it certainly would be easy to do).
I don't read the LA Times very often. Even when I was living in California. The last time I picked up a copy of the LAT I was at a friend's apartment in LA after flying in from my Cancun/Belize/Guatemala trip while waiting for him to get home. One of its main stories was a re-hash of GWB's guard service and I remember thinking what a stupid article that was to have on page one (and how poorly written it was as well). There were a couple of major events that deserved page 1 coverage that day. Wish I could remember what they were.

I DO read the NYT fairly regularly - several times a week. Its coverage disgusted me.

Hope Cali life is treating you well. When does Law School start?

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[Nightingale 0]

law school orientation starts August 11. Classes begin on the 16th.

[jerry81 10]

Hell, I'll bite...

Quote

The bottom line is that the United States of America is fighting the world's news media as well as Islamic totalitarianism. Until we understand that, we have no chance of winning.

First of all, this conclusion is a bit frightening. To me, it basically implies that media all over the world should report things as USA sees them. Whatever happened to seeing things from different perspectives?

And second- on the point of coverage the prison abuses were given versus the violent death of Nick Berg; perhaps the reason lies in cognitive dissonance- islamic extremists slaughtering an innocent civillian is hardly a shock, gruesome as his death may be, while US soldiers sadistically torturing men that may (or may not) be linked to said extremists, well, I suppose we haven't gotten used to that yet, hence the outrage.

As for the wording, I'll partially agree that posting unsubstantiated claims as facts is hardly good practice, whether they come from Al-Qaeda or the US government, but, regarding the second to alst paragraph, I'd also like to point out that the term 'terrorist' itself has apparently acquired a certain connotation of moral judgment that can, in my opinion, make it less suitable for use as it is becoming more and more of a blanket term for everyone who should with force oppose the United States. For me (and bear in mind that this is once again purely my opinion, although I suspect a few people may share it) the term 'Islamic militant' does not paint a person in any better light, but it does, however, make for a more precise description than 'terrorist' would.
Just my view...

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[billvon 3,120]

Exactly! Why do they have to bash the US at every opportunity instead of showing all the good things that the US has done in Iraq? Why not have headlines like:

"No member of the Iraqi interim council was assassinated today"
"113,856 US solders were not implicated in any abuse scandals whatsoever"
"97% of Iraqi prisoners survive US captivity, new study shows"
"Poll indicates the great majority of Iraqis would not be willing to die in order to kill Americans."
"Power availability in Baghdad goes from 50% to 70% in some areas"
"FOX News study shows US troops only killed bad people"

[turtlespeed 226]

Quote

The bottom line is that the United States of America is fighting the world's news media as well as Islamic totalitarianism. Until we understand that, we have no chance of winning.

First of all, this conclusion is a bit frightening. To me, it basically implies that media all over the world should report things as USA sees them. Whatever happened to seeing things from different perspectives?

[kallend 2,150]

Despite Ashcroft's best efforts, it is still a (fairly) free country and anyone with enough money can open a newspaper or radio/tv station.

If the Right thinks that the media is Left biased, it is only their own fault for not putting their money where their ideology is.

Why don't YOU start a right wing newspaper?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[wmw999 2,589]

Excellent post.
thanks
Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[jerry81 10]

Quote

Quote

The bottom line is that the United States of America is fighting the world's news media as well as Islamic totalitarianism. Until we understand that, we have no chance of winning.

First of all, this conclusion is a bit frightening. To me, it basically implies that media all over the world should report things as USA sees them. Whatever happened to seeing things from different perspectives?

So if I slander you and try to paint you as a malicious murdering lout, would you not defend yourself? And if it were quite a few people that have the same opinion - would you not? Or, would you just hold your hands up and say, "Eh, yeah , sorry , your right."

[TheAnvil 0]

Interesting.

1. Different perspectives. Different perspectives are fine. The article questions the intellectual bona fides of anyone who considers the Berg execution revenge for prisoner abuse. Those who do so are obviously anti-American. Disagree with that if you like, but given the lack of response from the Muslim world to executions and torture under the Hussein regime, you'll have a tough time convincing me that cutting a man's head off is 'revenge' for humiliation of any sort.

2. Cognitive dissonance. Islamic extremists killing anyone to further their cause is an unfortunately all to common thing. Cutting of a man's head on videotape is NOT common. The cognitive dissonance argument doesn't hold water.

3. This 'terrorist' adjective evolution to which you refer doesn't hit home with me. We must be reading different newspapers. I've yet to see such.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[kallend 2,150]

Quote

Interesting.

1. Different perspectives. Different perspectives are fine. The article questions the intellectual bona fides of anyone who considers the Berg execution revenge for prisoner abuse. Those who do so are obviously anti-American. Disagree with that if you like, but given the lack of response from the Muslim world to executions and torture under the Hussein regime, you'll have a tough time convincing me that cutting a man's head off is 'revenge' for humiliation of any sort.

2. Cognitive dissonance. Islamic extremists killing anyone to further their cause is an unfortunately all to common thing. Cutting of a man's head on videotape is NOT common. The cognitive dissonance argument doesn't hold water.

3. This 'terrorist' adjective evolution to which you refer doesn't hit home with me. We must be reading different newspapers. I've yet to see such.

I see this event as qualitatively different from bombing a factory for tactical reasons knowing there MAY be peeople inside.

I don't see it as much different from terrorists planting a nail bomb in a crowded pub full of civilians, or as much different from blowing up the OKC Federal Building with a pre-school inside, in terms of deliberate sickening brutality.

On the whole I don't find Muslim extremists any worse than IRA terrorists or Tim McVeigh.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[jerry81 10]

Quote

Interesting.

1. Different perspectives. Different perspectives are fine. The article questions the intellectual bona fides of anyone who considers the Berg execution revenge for prisoner abuse. Those who do so are obviously anti-American. Disagree with that if you like, but given the lack of response from the Muslim world to executions and torture under the Hussein regime, you'll have a tough time convincing me that cutting a man's head off is 'revenge' for humiliation of any sort.

2. Cognitive dissonance. Islamic extremists killing anyone to further their cause is an unfortunately all to common thing. Cutting of a man's head on videotape is NOT common. The cognitive dissonance argument doesn't hold water.

3. This 'terrorist' adjective evolution to which you refer doesn't hit home with me. We must be reading different newspapers. I've yet to see such.

Interesting as well.
1.My comment was directed more to the statement I bolded out- to consider that execution a form of revenge may or may not be obviously anti-american (as a foreigner I may not be the best to judge), but to conclude from that that you're also fighting world media (strangely enough, most examples of anti-americanism came from US newspapers) was imo both too simplified and more than slightly disturbing.

2.Cognitive dissonance; perhaps this is just a product of my euro-liberal view (although I don't really subscribe to the rabid anti-americanism that seems to be so chic over here right now), but I don't think it's just the uncommonness of the thing that makes us more enraged at prisoner abuses. In both cases it was human cruelty at its worst, but only in one it did not fit our expectations. Which, if I recall, is the definition (albeit very rough) of cognitive dissonance. Perhaps it's also worth noting that the level of empathy you feel for one of your fellow Americans might be a bit higher than that of the rest of the world (and apparently, a part of the USA as well) and consequently your reaction will be stronger.

3.Think 'commies', a few decades ago. (perhaps not the best example for me to give, since I have no first-hand experience of the era, but I hope you understand what I meant to say)

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