One War, Different Media Lenses

'Sure, the U.S. and the British have all but won the war to oust Saddam Hussein. But it will take a lot more than a decisive military victory to convince a largely hostile world that the U.S. has accomplished anything even remotely positive in Iraq.

Nowhere is that more clear than in the overseas press coverage of the war. The conservative Spanish daily El Mundo, which helped bring pro-war Prime Minister José María Aznar to power, sums up prevailing world opinion: In recent weeks, the paper has veered against the war, even publishing a cartoon on Apr. 7 that depicts Aznar, President Bush, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with vultures perched on their shoulders.

Whether in Europe, the Arab world, or in heavily Muslim Southeast Asia, media outlets are showing a vastly different war than the one Americans are viewing on Fox, CNN, or the three networks. While much of the U.S. press is heralding the coalition's swift show of force -- and accepts the Administration's argument that it aims to bring about a free, more democratic Iraq -- much media around the world is far more skeptical about the invasion's goals, and far more focused on the tragedy of civilian casualties. And just as those differences have shaped perceptions of the war as it has unfolded, they promise to complicate the Administration's task as it moves into the postwar phase of rebuilding.'
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2003/nf20030411_4208_db039.htm

...the American consciousness, even if only by way of history books. Bush will be forever known for the puny, evil sh*t he is. History will NOT treat him kindly.

It's no small irony that the unprecedented level of access granted to media of all stripes has helped intensify reactions around the globe.

These sniveling bastards just had to sneak this useless little statement in. And this is how the myth of our open society and free press is perpetuated. Repeat the lie often enough, and it'll stick.

And the other gem in the same paragraph:

Yet a quick military victory is hardly going to change those reactions. Indeed, it may even reinforce the anti-American vitriol by demonstrating that the U.S. government can do what it wants in the world, public opinion be damned.

Oh yeah, that's 'cuz them yellow foreigners envy us so!

Seemingly minor details, irrelevant to the overall gist of the article. And yet, Business Week readers will no doubt internalize the slant, coloring their perception of the state of this country and its position in the world.

bm