The Daily Whim
All The News That Fits My Whim
Tue. Mar 01, 2005
Democracy on the March
I don’t normally watch network TV news, but tonight I just happened to catch about two minutes of Peter Jennings on ABC. And it fully reinforced why I don’t bother with network TV news anymore.
It was about nine minutes into the broadcast, and Jennings was doing a story about the aftermath of the horrible bombing in Hillah on Monday. They showed some of the funerals, talked about the difficulty with identifying some of the remains, and the fact they’d had to cancel a mass funeral procession for fear of another suicide attack. And that was it. Nothing more worth reporting.
If you relied on Mr. Jennings for your worldly info, you would have no idea that thousands of Iraqis braved the risk of another attack to loudly protest the animals who perpetrated this attack:
Thousands of mostly black-clad Iraqis protested Tuesday outside a medical clinic where a suicide car bomber killed 125 people a day earlier, braving the threat of another attack as they waved clenched fists, condemned foreign fighters and chanted “No to terrorism!”
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s terror group, which has repeatedly seized foreigners and attacked Americans, purportedly claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in Hillah. It was not possible to independently verify the claim, which was posted on the Internet.
The group said it targeted recruits for the Iraqi security services, whom it referred to as “apostates,” but did not mention those killed in a nearby market.
But anxieties over another attack did not prevent more than 2,000 people from gathering outside the clinic Tuesday, shouting “No to terrorism!” and “No to Baathism and Wahhabism!” and demanding the resignation of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
Wahhabism was a clear reference to foreign fighters who are supporters of al-Qaida and adherents of the strict Wahhabi form of Islam, which is the version practiced in Saudi Arabia.
AP: Thousands Protest at Iraqi Bombing Site
I find it appalling that ABC would leave this important aspect out of the story, as it says much more than the cancelled funeral procession they found time to mention. And it makes me want to do what I’d thought would be redundant. Obvious. Like writing about the blue sky.
You’ve heard that democracy is on the march in the Middle East in ways it never has been before … haven’t you? Not Democracy as we know it here, in the well developed form we take so much for granted. Democracy with a little “d” ... street democracy. The place it begins, as it did here hundreds of years ago.
You remember the “Arab Street,” don’t you? It was that vague, nebulous, and often angry thing that was supposed to drown the US, from Afghanistan on. Yet today in Iraq, thousands risked death in the “Arab Street” to shout down terrorism and Wahhabism with as much defiance as any New Yorker after 9/11. Tens of thousands have marched in the streets in Lebanon for weeks … and on Monday the Syrian dominated government tucked tail and left power.
Christopher Hitchens has a timely piece on the “Arab Street,” and here’s the opening and closing paragraphs:
The return of politics to Iraq has had many blissful secondary consequences, one of them apparently minor but nonetheless, I think, important. When was the last time you heard some glib pundit employing the phrase “The Arab Street”? I haven’t actually done a Nexis search on this, but my strong impression is that the term has been, without any formal interment, laid to rest. And not a minute too soon, either.
Here again, the most persuasive evidence is the evidence that looks us in the face. In Iraq, Muslim militants place bombs in the mosques of those Muslims they regard as heretics. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, too, the Salafi and Wahhabi extremists commit murder against Muslims they deem unclean or unorthodox. And in the West, there are non-Muslims who excuse such atrocities as “resistance.” These are often the same as those who hailed what they thought of as the “street.” I don’t think they should be indicted for hate crimes, but they should be made to understand that what they say is hateful and criminal, as well as sectarian. The battle for clarity of language is a part of this larger contest, and it is time for the opponents of terror and bigotry to become very much less apologetic and defensive on this score.
Christopher Hitchens: The Arab Street – A vanquished cliche
The point being that this has always been a religious war, just not in the way Bin Laden hoped to frame it. He desperately wants to convince us all that it’s Christians versus Muslims, the New Crusades. But it ought to be obvious by the death toll alone, this religious war is Muslims versus Muslims. You see it when Iraqis shout down Wahhabism after a bombing, as well as in Zarqawi’s goal of a sparking sectarian war between the Shiites and Sunnis.
But the worm is turning.
The Palestinians hold elections, and when the next suicide bombing occurs … there’s actual condemnation instead of the usual celebrations. The usual suspects who race to take credit for such a calamity have been busy pointing their fingers at others. It’s like they suddenly feel they have … an investment in the process. Sheesh, even Hosni Mubarak is making noises about opening up presidential elections to a wider range of candidates (though that remains to be seen). He may not be wholly sincere, but he can see which way the wind’s blowing.
And I just assumed everyone could. But after my exposure to the way stories are “parsed” on network TV news, I realize there are people who don’t see the wall beginning to crumble. I assumed most everyone has seen this quote already, but it bears repeating. From Walid Jumblatt: “It’s strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it.”
They can see it. Can you?
And I see this as another crack: “Osama bin Laden is enlisting his top operative in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to plan potential attacks on the United States, U.S. intelligence indicates [...] Bin Laden was in contact with al-Zarqawi within the past two months in an effort to enlist him in attacks, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity. The move may reflect the al-Qaida leadership’s desire to involve al-Zarqawi in activities outside Iraq, the official said.”
Now, network TV news would parse this for the fear factor: “the man responsible for killing hundreds in Iraq, including in Hillah on Monday, is now targeting America.” But I see another crack, a veritable admission of failure in Iraq: “Stop wasting your efforts in Iraq, it’s now too late, the Iraqis have turned against you … swing for the fences and attack the US.” (Later: Ralph Peters agrees)
Even Bin Laden must see that the next step in escalation against the insurgency won’t come from US forces. If they keep killing Shiites, you’ll see thousands reformed into militias, and they’ll deal with the insurgency in ways US forces never would. Now that most Sunnis have rejected Zarqawi as well, I doubt we’d see the civil war so many think would follow in that circumstance, indeed, one of Zarqawi’s goals. It seems clear that he has overplayed his hand, and will probably be lucky to get out of Iraq alive.
Yet Bin Laden wants him to go after the US. With a country full of loose weapons and willing recruits, the largest attacks Zarqawi has been able to mount in Iraq have been car bombings. Deadly, to be sure. Terrorizing, indeed. But you’re going to have to bring a whole lot more to the party, Sparky, if you want to take on The Great Satan.
In a way, we are now what you made us. After 9/11, we’ll merely shrug off a few car bombings and ask … “after nearly four years, is that all you’ve got?”
Look around the world, and the Middle East in particular. Who is on the run? Who is the Arab Street speaking out against … now? Thousands protest, and a compromised government resigns. Another opens the doors to wider elections. And thousands more speak out against terrorism and the fundamentalist faith that fuels them, while their terrorist leader suggests “maybe you should move on to another target.”
As I’ve said, it seems plain as day to me. One month ago, the people of the Middle East watched eight million Iraqis risk death to cast a ballot, as well as their joy at being able to do so. And they did it not long after Palestinians did the same. Now all of these people see what the Arab Street can really do. They used to be told, you can use it to shout down the Jews and The Great Satan, but don’t cross this line.
But they’ve watched. And learned. And now we see them marching across that line. If you don’t see it, well, you need to look harder. And stop watching Peter Jennings.
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Excellent piece.
Thank you for posting that.
I turned into network news Monday just to catch some images of the “Cedar Revolution” protest in Lebanon. I flipped repeatedly through all three channels. Nothing, at least not in the first ten minutes of the broadcast.
I guess they didn’t find it that important.
McNeil/Lehr did cover Monday though. I think that says a lot.
I came here as part of the Instalanche hordes, and as always, I walk away refreshed that a person who isn’t a MSM journalist, has the kind of straightforward lucidity sometimes woefully lacking in the 4th Estate.
I’m not sure that old cliché, “can’t see the forest for the trees” is wholly applicable, since at times, on the increasingly rare occasions I too tune into network news TV, it seems they are not even aware there is a forest before them.
I realise the situation in the US is no where nearly as bad as say in my country, the UK (with BBC/Grauniad ruling supreme), which is a paradise compared to other countries obviously, but I have the impression I am in some parallel news sphere, where events get reported as if by cabalistic consensus, rather than good old honest reporting—which means that there is subtext whenever possible, even if it’s not always favourable to your point-de-vue.
So why can you, and not Peter Jennings?
If “the 30 minute medium” is the answer, then we need to change the medium—but we already suspect that’s not the reason.
Cheers,
Victoria
You’d think that Lehrer, insulated from Market forces, would put out a much more agenda-driven product than the Big Three … but they don’t. It’s actually pretty good a lot of the time.
Three words: Right on brother!
Give Peter Jennings a break—he’s doing quite well for a high-school drop-out.
Wow—was that inspiring. I’ve read it three times now. Thank you!
I arrived here via the Instalanche- and you have touched a nerve that has been numbed – by the “MSM”. (I do not wish for their demise, just their reform).
Now, I am more than pissed. Again.
I did not see the broadcast you refer to. But I have seen “it” – many times over.
Please do not underestimate the effect YOU have – I assume this is already something you are more than aware of…
But you watched a network broadcast for a few minutes…..
Now I ask you Reid, – what do we do with the next few minutes that can fix what Peter will continue to do?
“Now I ask you Reid, – what do we do with the next few minutes that can fix what Peter will continue to do?”
I don’t know, what can anyone do in a few minutes? Have a beer?
This is a long term ongoing self-selecting process. The ratings for network TV news have been in relatively sharp decline for a decade or more, largely due to the variety of other news options, first on cable TV and then on the web. But more and more, I think it is also due to the Big Personality nature of the Big Three. Those personalities were once selling points for the program, but they’ve become hindrances. Perhaps a case of familiarity breeds contempt. But Brokaw is gone, and Rather is the best known Short Timer on the planet. Jennings could be around a while longer, but I think that whole genre of news is on the verge of big change.
Heck, the very fact I refer to it as a genre of news is a big change. A mere 20 years ago, they were news. But what about 20 years from now, or even ten? That’s the question, rather than what we do in the next few minutes. We keep doing what we’ve been doing … getting our news from a variety of sources. It’s only then that holes like this become glaring. And hopefully, pointed out.
Oh, and Prof. Instapundit has a perverse sense of humor. Earlier today, I wrote “I’ve never been a ‘A-List’ blogger. In fact, it’s been nearly a year since one has even linked something I wrote.”
About eight hours later, Glenn made me a liar.
So, ABC is faulted for failing to show all the Iraqis demonstrating against the recent bombing? What about the Bush administration manufacturing the demonstration in the square when Hussein’s statue was torn down? It was later clearly shown that no such huge crowd of supporters existed. What about that discrepancy?
Goodness, Vic. You want to rehash 2.5 year old stuff in the name of slamming Bush, as a response to my criticism of Peter Jennings?
Did I mention George Bush one single time in this article? No. Yet your knee jerked.
I have no other response for you. Except maybe you should unclench a bit. Look around the rest of this site and see how much “Bush support” you find (hint: I didn’t vote for him). Then think about whether you should automatically go to your Partisan Talking Points in response to everything you read.
Vic—
You are off-topic, and pathetically so. Run along now; the Three Stooges are on television.
In answer to the question what can we do? (I’m not going to limit it to the next three minutes.) I would answer that you are probably doing it already.
What I mean is becoming informed about what is going on in the world and passing it on to your more data challenged peers. Where I work, a couple of us read the blogs, probably more than we should. When the lunchtime conversations start we usually have something interesting to contribute.
I vaguely remember an advertising campaign for one of the TV news networks back in the Paleozoic of the pre-internet. The gist of it was that men who listened to the XYZ news program were looked up to by their fellows and, as I recall the ad, even looked at admiringly by the pretty secretary the next day at work. Very corny obviously, but it had a kernel of truth to it.
Pass the good stuff along and tell people where it came from. The next time they have a free minute at their computer, they are likely to check things out and another refugee from MSM propaganda will likely have been recruited.
Something that many have overlook about the new “Arab street”. (http://www.mandelinople.com/2005/03/whats-missing-here.html )What Missing Here?:
Typically, in the Arab world, this means burning American and Israeli flags. This means support of some terrorist organization fighting the infidel and the zionist.
...
What’s missing in the Arab street is that “the street”, the much heralded chimera of lore, is really the repressed simply yearning to be free. And it’s no different than their brethern in Gdansk, Budpest, Prague, Kiev, or Tiannmen.
Could the protests for democracy be the new “street”?
Whim? Whim hell, that was a rant, dude. And a good one!
When will Jennings go the way of Rather? The least the networks can do is provide new people to read the say tired old scripts.
Right on, Vic. I saw the same evening “news” program and I share your disappointment. The reason Jennings didn’t have time to explore this very important event more fully was that he had a three minute item scheduled just a little later in the broadcast which purported to report some news event but was really a thinly veiled promo for an ABC program coming up later in the evening. Stooping to do a prime time feature on flying saucers that same week was a new low, but including promos of later “entertainment” programs in the evening newscast—something all the nets are now doing routinely—is both a waste of time and a dumbing-down of the evening news. Jennings is as caught up in this as the other big anchors. Evening news has lost its news value. Lehrer is essentially all that’s left. What to do? Stop watching. F
I gave up TV news after 9/11 because I could see it was so manipulated – but until I discovered the blogsphere even I – a life long student of the media – didn’t realize just how extreme the manipulation was and is. I think it was the Iraqu blogs that finished the MSM for me. People who depend on the media are not informed – they are living in a jerry built la la land. At a friend’s house yesterday here in Australia I heard a British guest on the ABC (equivalent of the British BBC) talk about the ‘compliant US media that does the Bush administration’s bidding’. It was taken seriously by everyone in the room -’cept me of course. I said nothing – I have learned people need to believe this sort of thing. On a trip to the US in 04 (I’m a Yank, but live in Oz) I found that many ordinary people had wised up to the media and that was heartening indeed. The cat is out of the bag, but not yet fully amongst the pigeons – and by pigeons I mean those who still think they are watching the news on TV. When the pigeons wise up – it will be all over for the MSM in its present form. Really good post – thanks.
Excellent post! BTW, I tried to post a comment on the ABC web site, to express my disgust and dissatisfaction over Peter Jennings’ blatant Schadenfreude over the bad news. Lo and behold, the ABC site doesn’t have a “contact us” or “comments” section. (At least, not that I could see.) Typical arrogance and insularity from the MSM. Also, did you notice how Jennings opened up the broadcast? He indicated that the people at ABC News (presumably that means, for the most part, himself) “debated” whether to open the newscast with the “good news” (the non-stop round the world flight) or the “bad news” (the Iraqi bombing). Jennings then said it was a “short” discussion, and launched into his “all-bad-news-all-the-time” mantra. Like you, I kept waiting for the balanced portion of the news, showing the brave Iraqis who gathered together to say “enough!” to the terrorists (protestors? What protestors? Nothing to see here; move along now!) I guess Jennings wanted to make sure he could give more face time to that smug Tery Moran (or is that Moron?)
Thanks..I also seldom watch the network news. Not good for my blood pressure so I mostly get my news from Cable TV, Internet access and selected reading of the local “fish-wrapper”. When I do see the “news” as they offer it, I follow up by sending letters to them complaining about the poor & biased coverages they offer. Have never gotten any answers and that in itself reflects bias on the part of the MSN. The direction and topics of the letters they do publish show just how heavily biased the world media really is.
I’m new to reading blogs, but I love it. Many thanks to all of you for writing the real stories. I am SO TIRED of reading that ‘the work has not really begun’ or ‘now comes the hard part’ that the regular outlets produce.
Thanks to you and to all bloggers. Keep up the good work!
Viewers are not running from the MSM because they are fickle, chasing other options. It is because the MSM insults their viewership by peddling biased crap and arrogantly claiming it to be neutral reportage. They slime our airwaves.
Yet the MSM is not all bad. The world’s presence at the rallies of the downtrodden minimizes bloodshed and empowers such movements. Were it not for the lenses of the MSM, the marches towards democracy would never happen due to the “radicals” fear of ending up in shallow mass graves.
What I find most interesting and that has been missing from coverage universally is that O Been is shifting his front line man Zar from Iraq to commence operations here in the states. So what ever happened to those sleeper cells? It appears terrorism is a lost cause in Iraqi’s growing democracy.
Defense of democracy here in the homeland, if it comes to that, will be even more stunning.
When I returned from Vietnam to the states in 1969, I saw the lies being told about us, and about the war, on TV and in the newspapers and magazines.
I turned all the media off, and I haven’t looked back. Seven years later, I turned on the Christian radio station, and I’m still listening.