It contains no photos of Iraqi voters with ink-dipped fingers. No photos reminding us of Saddam's mass murder and destruction of his enemies. No reminders of the successful surge that Bush backed despite Reid saying the war was lost. No pictures of American troops and diplomats helping millions of Iraqis building roads, schools, power plants, providing medical care, jobs and stability. No pictures of the Sunni Awakening and the defeat of Al-Qaeda in Anbar province. In short - no pictures telling the whole story or providing any real balance.
Just pictures fitting the SPIEGEL ONLINE anti-American far-left narrative: The American military is evil. The war was all bad. The Iraqis only suffered at the hands of the terrible invaders.
With the Iraq war's apparent conclusion, one can only say of SPIEGEL ONLINE that - for a publication and readership that styles itself as so utterly nuanced and intelligent - the coverage has - in fact - been utterly one-sided and hyper-simplified propaganda - with very few exceptions. The magazine's coverage was designed to sell magazines to and please an anti-American audience from beginning to end, and the German readership will never have more than a very narrow and self-satisfying view of the conflict that in no way reflects reality.
Oh - and here's a shocker - the article and gallery are not featured on SPIEGEL ONLINE's English site homepage. Wonder why? Perhaps the English-speaking audience demands at least a fig-leaf of intellectual honesty - apparently the German audience does not...
Dale Hurd put together an outstanding two part report (see text version here) on anti-Americanism in European media that readers can view below. This is must-watch material for anyone interested in anti-Americanism in European media:
Part 1 (above)
Part 2 (above)
Money quote:
"Polls clearly show that Europeans have turned against America in
increasing numbers. You can blame Iraq or George Bush. But it's also
true that Europeans have been fed a steady diet of media distortions
about America for years.
And if you repeat a distortion long enough, it can become reality.
If you got your news about the United States only from the European
media, chances are good you wouldn't like the United States either. There are a lot of reasons for the anti-American coverage in the media
here, but you can start with the journalists themselves. They're mostly
liberal and they're on a mission.
America gets a journalistic thumping just about every day in
Europe. It's a one-way media war that our government has shown little
or no interest in fighting seriously, even though it has severely
damaged America's image and influence."
Perhaps the most striking statement on German media was made by Andrei Markovits, who related that a German journalist openly admitted to him that the editors back home were pushing him to provide negative material - because it sells so well. That is something we have known for years - but his statement is just further evidence. Jeff Gedmin - who possesses his own category on this site - was stellar as always. (Hoya Saxa Jeff!) Karin Quade of the German blog anti-anti-Americanism pointed to the painful reality that it is difficult to avoid negative attitudes towards the US - even in everyday conversation. Richard Miniter, another accomplished blogger I have had the pleasure to meet, discusses his time with The Wall Street Journal in Brussels.
Special thanks to Dale Hurd. Just appearing on a program with interviewees of such high caliber was
a deep honor. I must, however, mention one
complaint about the presentation: In his preliminary comments, Pat
Robertson implied that "most" Europeans believed Americans walked
around with M16s. Very different from my observation that (some)
Germans asked me if all Americans walked around with M16s - (probably
after watching Bowling for Columbine.) The fact that anyone would ask
such a thing is more than enough to make a strong point - and there is
no evidence and no need to claim that "most" Europeans believe it.
Additionally, as someone who considers himself "secular" - I am a
skeptic of Mr. Robertson and the religious right in general. I am,
however, deeply grateful to CBN for taking on this subject in a highly
professional manner. It is also beyond argument that individuals of
faith in the United States have been unfairly vilified and targeted in
European media. To conclude, let's hope that the larger mainstream
media picks up on the subject of anti-Americanism in foreign media as
well. Considering the general political attitude of the American
mainstream media, however, (one of sympathy and empathy for the
America-bashers) it is relatively unlikely that this will happen.
For those interested in the BBC report featuring Davids Medienkritik: It is on the emergence of new media. I was interviewed about blogs last year. It is a good watch.
Endnote: Now to address my decision to use my full name. Although I initially used my full name on this
site for several months in 2003 and 2004, I have used my first name and last initial for quite a while now.
I did this primarily because, as a graduate student, I was looking into
work in the media field and I thought that my work as a blogger might work
against me - though I made
no secret of my blogging at my university or around those I know. Now
that I have my degree (a Masters from the Georgetown School of Foreign
Service) and a job (not in the media field) - and considering the fact
that I have twice appeared on major media in the past year - I see
little point in obscuring my full name.
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