US Television News and Tragic Events: What They Say vs. Mean
September 19, 2013 Leave a comment
US Television News and Tragic Events: What They Say vs. Mean
What they say… |
What they hope you think… |
What it really means… |
”Reports are coming in of a shooting/bombing…” |
”This news organization is connected to all major news sources…” |
”An intern happened to be on Twitter…” |
”As yet, there are no indications that this is a terrorist act…” | ”These guys are really being careful not to draw any conclusions…” |
”As yet. But we can hope…” |
”There are reports that this could, we repeat could, be an act of terror…” | ”This is a complex story with potentially deep geo-political implications…” | ”The suspect isn’t white…” |
”The assailant is reported to have links to a possible terrorist cell…” | ”These terrorists are far more organized in the US than we imagined…” | ”The suspect has friends with weird names on Facebook…” |
”We now turn to our Senior Domestic Security Analyst…” | ”Wow! This channel has some knowledgeable people…” | ”Only person in newsroom with degree in Political Science…” |
”It seems possible that this is not, repeat not, an act or terror…” | ”Thank God…” | ”Despite what we suggested, it would appear that not all non-whites are Muslim…” |
“Sources now confirm that they are now not treating this as an act of terror…” | “Good. Now that is confirmed…” | “We can confirm that the suspect is white…” |
”This would appear to be a domestic incident…” | ”So, this is just the work of a deranged nut…” | ”Shit. Now we have to talk about gun control again…” |
“Of course, we can never entirely rule out the possibility of home-grown terror…” | “We must be vigilant when it comes to far-right extremists…” | “Didn’t CNN say something once about a Norwegian Al Qaeda…?” |
”The situation is fluid…” | ”These guys are covering a fast-moving story…” | ”We really don’t have a clue what’s going on…” |
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