Iran, Gaza og medierne

At medierne i den vestlige verden følger begivenhederne i Iran er en virkelig god ting. Det er også en god ting, at der er alternative medier som twitter, når den normale informationsstrøm bliver undertrykt (selv om man skal være skeptisk over for informationen fra twitter).

Men hvorfor har der så ikke været et lignende engagement fra vestlige mediers side, da Israel smadrede Gaza fornylig?

Er der ikke en mærkværdig skævhed i mediedækningen af forskellige begivenheder?

Margaret Kimberley fra "Black Agenda Report" har nogle tankevækkende betragtninger:

The scenes of Iranians protesting in the hundreds of thousands speak to the hearts of people all over the world. Anyone who fights for democracy has to applaud when people in any nation band together to make demands on their political system.

Yet Americans must always be cognizant of the outright lies and manipulations that may cause them to act in error, even if they do so with good intentions. The potential pitfalls in reacting to Iran’s current political crisis are many and demand close attention.

The corporate media behave in a fashion that requires us to question everything they present to us as fact. People who work for peace and justice must show skepticism when the media tell them who deserves their attention and advocacy efforts. They are quite selective when they decide who deserves our sympathy.

In December 2008 Israel began what can only be described as a massacre in Gaza. More than 1,400 Gazans were killed so that Israel might inflict collective punishment on a civilian population, a direct violation of the Geneva Conventions. They were not even allowed to flee and save their lives, instead even hospitals and ambulances were targets in Israel’s efforts to kill as many Gazans as possible...

... Just as they prevented civilians from fleeing, the Israeli government did not permit the world’s news organizations to enter Gaza. The American media conducted incomplete coverage of the crisis without even pointing out that the Israeli government prevented them from doing their jobs. They didn’t exhort their readers and viewers to remind Israel that “the world is watching” them. There was no campaign to use Twitter as a tool to protest the killings and defend the Gazans right to live.

Hendes betragtninger er omhyggeligt afbalancerede synes jeg. Det handler om mediernes prioritering - hun siger ikke, at det der foregår i Iran er ligegyldigt.

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kilde: "Freedom Rider: Selective Sympathy for Iran"