British Expatriate Network

How aware are you of different interpretations of the same newsworthy event? And do you care if there is a different interpretation of it? For example, is it really obvious to you each time that (for example) Fox News, the AP, NYT or The Guardian state different perceptions of the same event? An example is the following one -

http//www.abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2788642
"Bush Cheered at Fort Benning FORT BENNING, Ga.--President Bush, surrounded on Thursday by cheering soldiers in camouflage, defended his decision to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq and cautioned that the buildup will not produce quick results. 'It's going to take awhile,' he said."

and

http//www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/us/12prexy.html?ex=157680000&en=2d94eb639b0ae539&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

"Bush Speaks and Base Is Subdued FORT BENNING, Ga., Jan. 11--President Bush came to this Georgia military base looking for a friendly audience to sell his new Iraq strategy. But his lunchtime talk received a restrained response from soldiers who clapped politely but showed little of the wild enthusiasm that they ordinarily shower on the commander in chief."

So same event, completely opposite record of it. I don't care about bias - I used to. Having a bias doesn't make your point any less relevant. But for me as long as an ideological slant or bias is openly stated or known, and the facts are honest and as true as they can be, the interpretation of them is valid and fair. As for the above, who knows which version is true. And from my feelings on each source, I still have no idea. One of them isn't quite being honest.

Then there's just bad news. I don't like Fox because it's just not good journalism. Same goes for so many things I read in The Guardian. An example being a story comparing US federal education spending to UK government spending - that's just a poor understanding of how education is funded in the US.

CNN said that the reception for Bush "was polite".

I do think sometimes people are not at the same event or arrive late lol.


What fox reporter was shown to have lied during the afgan conflict, claimed to be reporting from the front with army when infact he was in some hotel 200 miles away.

Interpretation is hard sometimes. I bet we have all had conversations regarding something and then someone tells you what you said and meant by it and its completely different. Especially when you start to put in management speak lol.

NPR reported that the event was tightly managed and that the media were forbiden from speaking with the troops.
Later in the day the Base Commander produced two hand picked squaddies to say how much they were looking forward to visiting sunny Iraq ete etc.