The Torch has caught the attention of the Aldergrove Star ;
The Torch notes that “it’s easy to forget that the picture Canucks get from our media is of CF operations in Kandahar, not all of Afghanistan. Six provinces in the south — of which Kandahar is the most dangerous — form a part of the overall picture, but not all of it. Afghanistan as a whole is doing much better than one would think from watching news reports focused on the Canadian area of operations.
“Within that narrow view, the scope of reporting tightens even more with what the press chooses to report. Journalists are willing to cover what the military calls ‘kinetic ops’ — what the rest of us call combat — because it makes for exciting stories. And they’re willing to cover the deaths of Canadian soldiers because death is always considered a newsworthy topic – ‘if it bleeds, it leads.’
“What impression does that provide to the Canadian public? That Afghanistan is a much more dangerous place than it really is, and that Canadian soldiers spend their time either killing insurgents or being killed by them. No wonder (Canadian) support for the mission goes up and down like a toilet seat,” observes The Torch.
A blunt assessment to be sure, but it rings true, does it not? Perhaps our Christmas wish lists should include a demand that our major media assign their reporters to venture out of relatively safe military compounds and into the field with the KPRT teams?
And don’t forget Mediaright for other under-reported news from Afghanistan.
No news is Good News?
I remember when the Oka crisis was going on years ago and people from other countries were cancelling trips to Banff, Vancouver, etc. because “Canada was having a civil war” according to the press overseas.
This could be the same thing – always concentrate on the fighting as it is news. People going about their daily business isn’t newsworthy.
That’s ok mrtisaduffer.
Part of my ‘daily business’ is ignoring the MSM.
Calm down folks –
45,000 U.S. domestic airline flights took off and
landed safely yesterday. Not news.
154,338 U.S. military personel on active duty in
Iraq were not killed yesterday. Also not news.
Stephane Dion is a citizen of France.
sonofabitch! BIG NEWS!!!!
Oh yah. the world waits with bated breath.
“Wayno”:
Indeed.
I’m completely in favor of our mission in Afghanistan. Canadian men and women are providing valuable help to the Afghans in the way of reconstruction projects and kicking Taliban ass. I am getting really pissed at the many NATO member countries that refuse to send us some help in that effort. Other NATO members are there with personnel however there are restrictions as to what they can and cannot do. Some can’t leave Kabul. Others are not allowed to fight at night time. Still others are not allowed to confront the Taliban at all. Just what in hell are they doing there?
Taliban Jack Layton is wrong on the reasons why our troups should be pulled out of there. I am benning to believe however, that if we can’t get more NATO countries to join us in the fighting we should consider getting our troups out of there and our country out of NATO. NATO is become as irrelevant and the UN.