Reply #157: One thing that bothered me

[pulledpork]

When the initial reports came out by the Japanese government after the first reactor explosion stating that was all was well, it was just the walls that exploded, etc., I noticed some friends of mine saying, "Unlike the American media/government, I am sure the Japanese media/government is telling the truth, blah blah, I wish we were as honest as other countries, etc. blah! Corporatist media!". They said the same thing after Gabrielle Giffords was shot. The British press had reported she died, but the American press had her still alive. Friends were saying the same thing as with Japan: "I would trust the BBC before our media! etc. etc.! Giffords is dead and they aren't telling us!" Hey, how did that turn out?

I realize the American media/government constantly sells us bad bills of goods, such as the Iraq invasion of 2003, or the current fiasco in Afghanistan, not to mention countless other contemporary examples. But this fact does not magically absolve other countries from their journalistic/governmental wrongdoings, nor does it confer honesty and objectivity upon them by virtue of those countries not being the U.S.

I understand the disillusionment and skepticism with the U.S. media. Believe me, I am Chomskyesque in my criticism. But some leftists need to let go of their knee-jerk impulse to convert all American failures in their media coverage into quality, virtuous coverage everywhere else.

Japan's government and media can lie with the best of them, including the U.S. My simple advice, whether reading the usual wire reports, watching MSNBC, or Al-Jazeera is: Be Skeptical.

Be Skeptical.