How Good is our Information?
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By Dr. Guy Rosenschein
If President Bush did not get the proper information before invading
Iraq, how good is the information we get? About 25 years ago, during my surgical residency, I had my first encounter with the media and was a firsthand witness to the quality of reporting ... or the lack thereof. While glancing through the morning paper, I read a car wreck report. Under the picture of the wrecked car, the article stated that the driver, who happened to be a nurse I knew, was between life and death in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital.
I jumped in my car and drove the few miles to visit her, if she was still alive. She greeted me with a smile when I walked into the room where she was having breakfast sitting on the side of her bed. She told me her condition was never serious and she was admitted "to be safe".
I showed her the newspaper and she enjoyed the article, which had been completely fabricated without any real information. That experience unfortunately is no exception; it is the media. They want you to buy and they have an agenda to push, but they have no regard for quality and certainly not for accuracy or fairness.
The only current conflict I claim expertise about is in the Middle East; it is my reference to qualify the reporting agencies. From what I read about this conflict, I refuse to make an opinion about Cashmere or Chechnya where I know nothing. They lie. Did I say lie? Yes, they know the truth and do not report it.
When I read in a headline that an Israeli bus blew up (Reuters) I expected to have in the same headline the identity of the murderer. They are murderers and they are Palestinians! Not all Palestinians are guilty, but all the staff of Reuters is. When one kills a 7-year old, he is not a freedom fighter, except to the media. When an Israeli tank kills three Palestinians, if they are not qualified as innocent bystanders, you may safely guess that these three Palestinians were murderers, but the media will never say that because they are Palestinians.
Unfortunately, I do not know how to decipher the lies when I read reports about other conflicts. When I know the agenda of the reporting agency and who is paying, I may make an educated guess. CNN must have plenty of Arab money according to the quality of their reports. I cannot wait for their report on the judiciary system of Saudi Arabia.
Of course, justice is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to our "friends," and democracy has no translation in Arabic ... or meaning in the news. I hope President Bush does not get lied to as much as we do. Should I apologize to Reuters and CNN? When they start reporting and stop lying I will. Why can't we get real information? Why can't they just do their job? Why is it so bad to be in love with freedom and democracy