I think the truth is somewhere inbetween, but I'd like to think that the American media is a bit closer to it because it's not essentially owned by the government. On the other hand, having worked for a press dept at a non-profit, I've seen press releases go essentially straight from out offices into newspapers, line for line. Of course, I believed my organization had the facts and was presenting them honestly, so that doesn't bother me in that case, but who knows how much also goes straight in from what I'd consider less trustworthy sources?
Part of the problem with the American news media is that they are, for the most part, corporations. They exist by selling news, and that means printing sexy stories. A billion "uninteresting" but important things are going on every day, but the ones that land on the cover of the paper are often the most entertaining and not the most life-altering. In an organization's press department, your goal is to make your dry story/science/whatever sound exciting and scandalous so you'll get coverage, and sometimes you're just SOL because something else is going on (like the CA recall, 2000 presidential election fiasco, OJ Simpson trial, whatever) that's sexier.
I don't know whether or not soldiers are killing themselves in droves, but I have heard something about many troops geing required to get therapy for depression and whatnot. I know a lot of female troops are being sent home preggers too. Of course, I can't find any of the articles about this right now, and I have to go home, but I'll look more later.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2003-10-08 03:03 pm (UTC)I think the truth is somewhere inbetween, but I'd like to think that the American media is a bit closer to it because it's not essentially owned by the government. On the other hand, having worked for a press dept at a non-profit, I've seen press releases go essentially straight from out offices into newspapers, line for line. Of course, I believed my organization had the facts and was presenting them honestly, so that doesn't bother me in that case, but who knows how much also goes straight in from what I'd consider less trustworthy sources?
Part of the problem with the American news media is that they are, for the most part, corporations. They exist by selling news, and that means printing sexy stories. A billion "uninteresting" but important things are going on every day, but the ones that land on the cover of the paper are often the most entertaining and not the most life-altering. In an organization's press department, your goal is to make your dry story/science/whatever sound exciting and scandalous so you'll get coverage, and sometimes you're just SOL because something else is going on (like the CA recall, 2000 presidential election fiasco, OJ Simpson trial, whatever) that's sexier.
I don't know whether or not soldiers are killing themselves in droves, but I have heard something about many troops geing required to get therapy for depression and whatnot. I know a lot of female troops are being sent home preggers too. Of course, I can't find any of the articles about this right now, and I have to go home, but I'll look more later.