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Total number of comments: 1 (since 2010-05-10 21:52:00)

Marsha B. Cohen

Dr. Marsha B. Cohen is a foreign policy analyst specializing in Israel and Iran.

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  • 'Terror' smear against IHH springs from a familiar source
    • Marsha B. Cohen June 5, 2010 at 11:37 am

      Your question about TV news reporters with 90 seconds to explain anything at all reminded me of a joke from the early days of the Iraq war. An embedded journalist walks up to an Iraqi civilian with a microphone and recorder and asks through an interpreter, "Could you describe the situation here in Baghdad in ONE WORD?" After mulling the question for a moment, to the chagrin of the reporter, the Iraqi, takes the microphone and says, "Good!" Looking around, the somewhat puzzled journalist gets out his cell phone, dials his news service, and, after a brief conversation says triumphantly, "OK, we've got double the time! Could you please describe the situation here in TWO WORDS?" The interviewee takes back the microphone and says, "Not good!"

      How ironic that in the era of 24 hour television, with hours and hours that must somehow be filled with nonstop chatter about something or other, reporters only have 90 seconds to anything!

      Frankly, I think the best way to counter hasbara or any other message manipulation is with more information, not less. But such information has to reflect diverse points of view, that not only challenge any single narrative but speak from alternative perspectives with their own narratives. I would highly recommend, for example, Link TV's Mosaic World News from the Middle East , available on your tv if you have satellite but also online if you don't. The programs are archived in case you happen to miss one or do some retrospective research.

      IMHO the best anyone can do, in terms of getting at facts, is to get as many sides of any story as possible, and get to the common kernel of credibility. Only then is it possible to assess what the various "spins" reveal about each source, and (less reliably) the facts at hand.

      In 90 seconds, no way!

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