Reply #34: Salwinder - comments on Al Jazeera

[tabatha]

7 hours ago
Wow. I've just seen the latest report on Libya from Emma Hurd for Sky News. This is Sky's perception of what is happening:

1) Rebels are dying in large numbers in the east of the country as battles there rage on.
2) Rebels are fighting battles in the Western Mountains without any NATO support and are making no headway.
3) Misratah remains mired in fighting that has lasted for weeks with no progress worth reporting. Pictures shown in the report are a month old.
4) Libya is locked in stalemate with no prospect of military progress for NATO or the rebels.

This is NOT the situation on the ground as I understand it and is far removed from the reports we are getting from Gerhard and people in Libya directly involved in the conflict. Whilst I understand that reporter's movements are restricted in Libya, it's as if there is an absence of critical thinking or any willingness to pro-actively analyse what is happening in Libya.

One of the key things we have seen in this conflict is the limited extent to which mainstream media can be trusted to provide in-depth insight into what is going on. It's a shame because it is causing many people to presume that there is a stalemate and therefore question the wisdom of any military intervention at all in Libya going forward.

Accurate news is somewhere inbetween these, I think, because Gerhard does not talk to people on the ground fleeing to Tunisia.

(I guess there are no copyright issues wrt comments on Al Jazeera?)