Tuesday 13 May 2008

Language as Camouflage


Truth is the first casualty of war, as we know. It can also be a casualty of journalism, as this report from MediaLens claims. It refers to the BBC's coverage of an attack on Somali militants, which it says obscures US involvement in the clashes between Ethiopia and Somalia. The reports, they say, manage to obscure the role of the US in this African region simply by using the passive form (which is also often associated with the journalistic mantra of "objectivity" and "balance"). This is an example of why "reading against the grain" should be a media literacy skill.
(Picture : BBC website)

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