Monday, February 17, 2003
Selling the war.
Paul Krugman takes on the media, particularly cable news:
What would someone watching cable news have seen? On Saturday, news anchors on Fox described the demonstrators in New York as "the usual protesters" or "serial protesters." CNN wasn't quite so dismissive, but on Sunday morning the headline on the network's Web site read "Antiwar rallies delight Iraq," and the accompanying picture showed marchers in Baghdad, not London or New York.
Krugman's assertion is that the networks who see the war as inevitable are selling it as their patriotic duty. Let me add my cynical voice in agreement, but also add that it's also about ratings. CNN's glory days harken back to the forst Gulf War and they would love to see those numbers again. As for Fox...they'd show America's Funniest Lynchings if they thought they could get a 24 share.
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