Prejudice in the North American media (muslim)

[Djamila]

For a long time, my friends and I used to joke that one day we were going to find the brown field with that single, poor Muslim women that North American media networks filmed to accompany every story about Bosnia and Herzegovina.

None of us had ever seen this brown, desert-like field or met this old, toothless Muslim woman - but we imagined she must be very important to be the very face of Bosnia and Herzegovina in North America media coverage.

That prejudice gets so annoying, at times. Even now, more than a decade after the war, you still hear stories that refer to "war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina" and other such nonsense. Even when the war was going on, North Americans were giving such a twisted view of what sort of country Bosnia and Herzegovina was at the time.

People in concentration camps were sending text messages to European diplomats. It wasn't a brown field, with a single, toothless Muslim woman.

Anyhow, here's a perfect example of what I mean. They've gotten somewhat better, even complimenting Sarajevo a little - but still, where do they find these people that they interview? There are 500,000 people in Sarajevo - you don't need to search for the poorest, ugliest woman to interview...

Wheelchairs for Bosnia - FOX News, San Francisco


http://youtube.com/watch?v=IFW2nLut0m0

[Lindsey-Loo]

There's predjudice in every media, not just the North American media. They twist things to say what they want, and find certain kinds of people to interview, depending on what they want the public reaction to be.

[Djamila]

Originally Posted by smoky*mountain*starlight

There's predjudice in every media, not just the North American media. They twist things to say what they want, and find certain kinds of people to interview, depending on what they want the public reaction to be.

True, but no one else does it to us. lol

[evearael]

They do this with Americans, too. They find the most outlandish or stereotypical person they can in an area or from a group and use them for their story. It's really obnoxious, but it continues because it makes them money. Normal people just don't sell as well.

[ChristineES]

Unfortunately, the media pushes things that they think will sell, not what is necessarily the complete truth. They are not in it to tell the truth at all, but to sell a product. I have always believed the media was our enemy and not our friend.

[GeneCosta]

I can't speak on the behalf of Canadian or Mexican media, but ours is a bright yellow coral reef.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by evearael

They do this with Americans, too. They find the most outlandish or stereotypical person they can in an area or from a group and use them for their story. It's really obnoxious, but it continues because it makes them money. Normal people just don't sell as well.

So true, evearael. The usual media is not especially kind to Southerners here in the U.S. either.

[Gentoo]

Or us pagans, in general...

It's sad really, that what will make the most money is what's shown, rather than what's true.

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by smoky*mountain*starlight

There's predjudice in every media, not just the North American media. They twist things to say what they want, and find certain kinds of people to interview, depending on what they want the public reaction to be.

That's very true.

All i know is that when i went to Florida for a holiday i was surprised with the differences in news coverage, but that was ten years ago.
More recently i worked with a Texan who moved over here after finishing his naval service. He said our news, on TV anyway, was very eye opening. Newspapers are a different story...

[charles brough]

Originally Posted by evearael

They do this with Americans, too. They find the most outlandish or stereotypical person they can in an area or from a group and use them for their story. It's really obnoxious, but it continues because it makes them money. Normal people just don't sell as well.

Exactly!!

But I do hasten to add, once being a journalist myself, that the press is very austute as to what the public wants, and the public wants to be scared. It wants to see the weather channel to be scared and to hear all about the "severe" weather that is coming. They want to know how many died in Iraq today so they can worry about our troops, about a lack of victory and hence more terrorism.

So, the press gives us what we want! Ites called "freedom of the press." When the public wants accuracy and balance, it will get it. In the mean time, it just wants to be scared. . . (look at my website and you will really be scared!)