NEWS IN GENERAL

I want to share something with members. I have watched the news here in France, in England and even in Russia over the years. When I was in Russia it was back when people were not allowed to talk about things, and although I didn't speak enough of the language to understand it all, the pictures shown told me that the news as given to Russian people then was different to the news given to me as a European. I even see differences in British news and French news. Recently, I took a trip to the other end of France by train. On the way back, there were some youths dressed in arab (don't know if that it politically correct but its not meant badly) clothes, and carrying musical instruments. Not only did I feel afraid, but I could see from the looks of other passengers that they did too.

On the train, I felt ashamed of myself, and thought about how news stories all over all the different stationsthat I get tell different stories, and how I allowed myself to be affected by them. It was frightening to look at the history of news over the years and all the inaccuracies that we are fed, and when you think of who is behind the news and what stories they want us to believe, there has to come a time when we question what the truth is and find a place where we are comfortable with what we hear.

I have never in my life been prejudiced against any nation. I am a christian, believe in equality, and see evil and good in countries all over the globe, and truly think that the news we see is biased. I believe that the only way forward for me these days is to believe what I see to be the truth from my own life's experience. It upset me that I felt so threatened and why, and I wondered if other members felt like that. We have talked about Hussein, and I don't believe in the death penalty for anyone but that's my life, my choice. We have talked about many things. I wondered how members see the news affecting them ?

I use the news as a tool to keep up todate with the world affairs but I try to look at things objectively. I see things through my own eyes and come to my own opinions on things using right from wrong. But each to their own

But that is just what I am saying. People are being misinformed and are basing their views upon disinformation.

I dont know about misinformation, arent there laws in place to prevent that ?

What world do you live in. Do you honestly believe everything you hear in the news and not think that political pressure is brought to bear on what the public are told ?

Id like to think the British media is one of the best in the world in that what we are told in main is the truth. Im much more cynical about what the government tells us. The media reports a lot what they are told by others.

Thats a bit of a contradiction really if you look at it. The media tell us what the government want us to believe.

What I meant was the government and others make statements and the media report it. Its up to the individual what they want to believe. I dont think the media make up stuff.

Okay so the media don't distort what they are told ? I think if you play a game of chinese whispers, what happens is that distortion occurs. It may not be intentional, but it happens. The government make statements, the royal family make statements, but neither are going to implicate themselves in scandal if they can do otherwise. They make a statement, the press reports on that statement and distorts the way that people look at different situations. It works in life, so why would it not work like that in the media. I look at my childhood for example in a very different manner to my sisters, but both are truths. Which is the more accurate is difficult to say because we both believe we are right. The media, i.e. newspapers and television take a story, and intepret it in a manner which is acceptable to their bosses, so what you get at the end of the day is AN INTERPRETATION, rather than fact. Fact is difficult for anyone to find in the maze of different versions given to the general public.

WormThatTurned wrote:

Id like to think the British media is one of the best in the world in that what we are told in main is the truth.

we are told the truth.....you are joking right.

Years ago I was involved in various political scenes ANL and a lot of "illegal" groups...Hunt sabs...protest groups (anyone remember the Battle of the Beanfield or the Third Battle of Newbury) I can tell you that the way "undesirable" news is reported is a farce, even our own filming of these events was regularly siezed and destroyed so it couldnt me made public.

If ever these events made the TV there was EXTREME bias to show protestors as a violent and anti social bunch of trouble makers and footage of other more violent events was often spliced into the film footage to serve this end. What you never got to see was the police smashing up peoples homes (vans and trucks) beating the crap out of demonstrators and the like.

If domestic events are rigged by the media to show the government line imagine what they do to foreign policy related footage.

The BBC is not bad, but its not perfect.

The Tabloids in this country are world renowned for their bias though!

When Lincoln declared you can't fool all the people all the time he did not foresee the emergence of television.

I cringe when I hear news reports that are so blatantly full of bias and spin..