An Example of Slant

Precious little news from Venezuela makes its way up here, and that that does is shockingly one-sided in an Orwellian way, except that the arm of big brother is not swung by governments but by corporations and bigwigs with agendas far out of public view and subject to no sunshine laws.

Oh, spare us! What is this leftist hogwash: corporate bigwigs and hidden agendas? Honestly. You rant!

I do. But not senselessly. Here is an example of what I mean, this one drawn from the opening of a Christian Science Monitor article that seems even to begrudgingly acknowledge grass-roots support behind Chávez:

It used to be an elegant shopping boulevard before President Hugo Chávez took power and allowed street vendors to set up camp. Now the Sabana Grande is a crowded marketplace, filled with cheap imports and expert pickpockets. ["Grass-roots support for Chávez"]

What would you say if I described a new shopping complex thusly?

It used to be a forest before the real-estate developers moved in and allowed big-box chain-stores to set up camp. Now it is a sprawling strip mall complex, filled with corporate storefronts that sell cheap imports and drive local merchants out of business.

You would ignore what I say as meaningless ranting devoid of information.

Because of course, one cannot compare mere street vendors to engines of the economy. The key to survival is growth, you'd explain. The key to growth is development, you'd say. The key to development is commerce, you'd say. The key to commerce is profits, you'd say -- big profits that attract big corporations into the country, that bring more profits for more corporations. So the reasoning goes. For the sake of growth (which is for the sake of good), we must make way for the corporations. All must be subservient to that end. All.

And that is the state of media coverage of Venezuela today.

10:37:13 AM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []  

Reporting from Venezuela

narconews:

And this is why I think you are a simulator and no longer a journalist: You know, or should know, the effect that your distortions have on people in foreign lands who may not be following the situation as closely as those of us who know the score. And you still chose to distort instead of report. [Al Giordano]

12:49:15 AM   permalink: []   feedback:   comments: []