Monday, January 22, 2007
The Media - Should we trust the AP?
From the Daily Princetonian, more commentary on the veracity of AP sources in Iraq...
Barry Caro discusses the implications of the lack of criticism of the Associated Press:
"So why have traditional media sources not reported this controversy? Because it is not in their interests to undermine the AP. This summer's 'fauxtography' scandal at Reuters, in which photographers were found to have photoshopped evidence of Israeli atrocities during the Hezbollah war, did not hit at the underlying narrative. The storyline stayed the same with different details. If the AP has to issue a correction for all 61 stories in which Hussein was quoted, it will call into question fundamental perceptions about what is happening in Iraq. If Hussein isn't real, it suggests that there are other as yet undiscovered fakes..
If our media is reporting as fact attacks that never occurred substantiated by witnesses who don't exist, then we have a problem. Public opinion about distant events is necessarily based on what is reported in the press. Therefore, we need to be confident that what we read is real. If we have to look at every source with suspicion and fight over every figure, our country cannot make necessary decisions about this war."
