What's happening in the middle east?
 

This is a question my husband asked me last night after I gave him a bit of a run down on current events.

I was a bit surprised to have to say to him that I didn't really know because everyone's so worried about the World Financial Crisis (WFO) that no one seems to care much about the middle east atm.

So, is the fact that everyone's losing money more important than people being killed in far off foreign countries?

In the US, yes.

Well obviously in Australia too. I can't remember the last news report on the middle east or 'the war on terror' on TV or in the first few pages of the paper.

Probably because the going well and that would be a political plus for the Reps and the media is too busy promoting Obama.

Just a thought.

I think there are a combination of reasons, but obviously the financial crisis is heading up every news broadcast. The US election usually takes second place even here in Australia, then it's what Australia's government is doing about the financial crisis, then it's usually something about teen crime on the Gold Coast.

It's not a liberal bias. It's a bias towards reporting the news. If there is no news coming out of the mid-east because there are no attacks, then they won't do a report on the mid-east. They will report on something else, like the stock market losing a lot again yesterday.

They don't read a list of all the places in the world where everything is just fine and there's no violence or strife, they focus on the places where there are problems. You know, news.

News from the Middle East is still in our broadsheets, it's just not front page.
For example I know a British soldier has been killed in Afghanistan today.

We probably heard more about Iceland than you did in America because it's part of Europe, and so they are effectively our neighbours. Also because we've given them a £100m loan. Also because in some quarters, Dalring is blamed for the run on the Kaupthing bank and effectively setting off this whole chain of events...

The US election is usually about the third item on the news and that's stayed the same.

But people here are worried about putting food on the table, fuel in their cars and keeping warm this winter. If money can just be wiped out, can just disappear, can you be sure you'll get your wages this week, this month? IS your money in the bank safe? Why is the tax payer having to bail out banks when the banks are where the money is kept?

Every day since I moved, I walk past a little local branch of the Halifax (Building Society). At any time between 09.00 and 09.30. This week there has been a queue of approx 10 people waiting for it to open at 09.30. There wasn't last week. I can only assume they are there to draw money out, as a safeguard.

People are scared, and the news bias reflects that.

There is a clue buried in here about human nature, I just can't put my finger on it.

Sure it is a liberal bias. If there are no plethora of deaths and dying Americans or dying inocent civilians at the hads of Americans which they can use to bash the current administration or tie the events to McCain then it serves no purpose to report on anything. If there was no bias they would report on the positive progress, the change in attitudes, and the increasing responsibility of the elected government in Iraq taking increasing responsibility.

Bullshit. If everything were turned around, and the war belonged to the Democrats, the reporting of the events would not change: it would not all of a sudden become all sweetness and light in order to promote this so-called liberal bias.

"Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when they're down.
We love dirty laundry."

Well, I suppose you'd know about bias. You have a raging case of conservative bias, yourself. Did you ever stop to think that there might be a big huge world out there, full of complexities and issues far beyond whatever you dreamed of in your little parochial philosophies? :rolleyes:

The Washington Post a month or so ago did a big story on the reduction of deaths. It ran a big chart and everything.

Are they supposed to report every day that there are still no new deaths happening in Iraq?

Absolutely! Why not? They, and many others reported daily that death toll, why not report ZERO deaths everyday too? Or the state of things or some pieces about what is going on. The lives of the people in Iraq? Improvements, progress... if any. Whatever is going on there. Then again maybe nothing is happening. I don't know, but I'd like to - and thats my point.

I think even Michael Yon left Iraq because there is nothing going on to report.

This is interesting and seems potentially newsworthy.