news media differences

I don't have a ton of time to blog at the moment so I apologize. But I was reading Al-Jazeera's website about Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who has become a household name in the U.S. ever since his infamous speech at Columbia University.

However, I initially found out about the incident after I read about it in this article while sitting in the lounge of Washington-Dulles Airport, waiting to board the airplane in the Washington Post.

Same event, two completely different perceptions.

Just makes you realize how distorted the media is, and how riddled everything is with agenda.

Recently, I've taken to reading BBC and Al Jazeera and balancing it out with CNN and occasionally Fox News...(Oddly enough, my preference for CNN over Fox News has nothing to do with my political leanings, only my preference for web design and aesthetic.) Also, I feel like an old person now, because I am now a regular NPR listener.

Or I was, before my commute got so short;)

I remember I got steaming mad at CNN a few weeks ago when it failed to provide a timely report of a bombing at a busy market square in Iraq that killed more than 200 people. The BBC of course immediately posted the event as a top story... I was reading it by 8a.m. that morning. CNN didn't get around to posting the story until mid-afternoon! Some silly entertainment news about Britney Spears had pre-empted it. By the time CNN did post it, it was as a tiny article in the Middle East section. You wouldn't know it was there unless you regularly checked Middle East News.

Granted, Britain is 6 hours ahead of the U.S., but CNN never sleeps. It's their job to provide the most up-to-date news.

At the very least, the different perspectives on these various news sources are very revealing of various cultures and their priorities.

Anyway, if you have time, take a look at the articles. The differences are quite telling.