Playing Telphone
The Lara Logan story continues…
In recent days, some major media figures who might have some inside perspective have now been cautioning that ‘sustained sexual assault” may not include rape after all. Good for Ms. Logan. I hope it did not. But bad for communication, as if this turns out to be true, CBS’ statement on her behalf is even more problematic.
And today, NPR’s ombudman offered this group of comments that had been removed from the NPR comment boards in reference to the Logan story:
Here’s a taste of the anonymous comments that were taken down:
“I’ve always wondered why networks seem so determined to send women into these situations. It’s like they’re trying to prove how politically correct they are. This time it came to bite them in the butt.”
“My comments are in no way meant to be prejudiced but there are times and places where women, especially a young blonde woman, should not be placed. CBS (and I’m sure many others) are tempting fate.”
“Those dirty Muslims. Now I know why their women wear burkas. It’s because the men can’t control themselves.”
“Arab men are generally some of the (most) misogynistic people on earth. Disgusting culture, disgusting people, disgusting religion, disgusting nation.”
“They’re Arabs, what do you expect? They’re nasty people from the dirtiest place on earth.”
Well, certainly unpleasant and engaging in offensive stereotypes. But not nearly as harsh as I assumed they were.
There seem to be two kinds of banned comments. 1. Women shouldn’t be doing men’s jobs, and 2. Egyptians/Arabs/Muslims are a scummy breed.
I disagree with both, on principle. But is this kind of discourse, which also permeates the rest of the conversation in subtle, more indirect ways, really in need of banning?
I would get, “Blond whore got what was coming to her,” being pulled down. That’s a specific personal attack. But “women shouldn’t be covering mobs” may be a bad argument, but does it cross the same line?
Shouldn’t we be strong enough to engage the first thing we know comes to many people’s minds… should she have been there? I am on the “should have been there” side, but if I can’t defend it and I’m not even willing to engage those who think it reflexively, perhaps my argument isn’t strong enough.
Also, even in the NPR piece, the Ombudsman offers, “Western journalists might not have dug into this topic had it not been for Logan’s forthrightness.”
The topic is sexual harassment in the Middle East. So journalists who cover the issue responsibly are to be commended, but some commenter whose take on it is raw and excessive gets silenced? Where’s that line?
For me, this was like a one-two punch. So CBS suggests she was raped… and the degree to which her assault was sexual is now being questioned, gently, by people like Barbara Walters, who knows virtually everyone in the network news world. NPR says Logan is being attacked again, in comments, and removes some… and it turns out that the attacks were unextraordinary examples sexism and xenophobia. I don’t question the motives of either organization, but I do question the methods used and how they seem to have misled many people.
Nothing makes the attack on Lara Logan okay… or even “more okay.” But my concern in this entry is not about her and her story, but about two of the biggest and most trusted media outlets in the world and whether they did right by their listeners/watchers/readers.
Sexual assault has a few definitions, and since Logan likely okayed CBS reporting her attack, I don’t know what you’re nitpicking about. CBS also reported Iraq had WMD’s which we now know was the biggest lie of all. And no media mea culpa.
I find it endlessly amusing that our “National Public Radio” is a major proponent of whitewashing and quashing of the free-speech that they disagree with. This is one small reason of many why NPR is a joke, always will be, and should be defunded as soon as politically possible.
I bet you loved NPR when they pimped the WMD lie too and attacked the 2003 protesters. Anyway, the GOP has an epic fail on their hands in Wisconsin. That’s what happens when you confuse FOX and a wacked Tea Party with reality.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-22-poll-public-unions-wisconsin_N.htm
Christian, so do you get pissed when people/press outlets do something right then turn left, or is just a right and wrong thing with you? I ask because you seem to be pissed at folks that have even come close trending right ever in their history and we all should have supported those 2003 protesters. God damn V for Vendetta shit messing my mind up.
“and since Logan likely okayed CBS reporting her attack”
Christian… you’re still doing it. We’re all still doing it, really.
Wouldn’t it be better for you or I or anyone not to have to guess at what happened or what “sustained sexual assault” means or what qualifies someone to be erased from a NPR message board?
But what good could come out of the comments? Would NPR listen and change their reporting policy? Would comments on NPR cause CBS to change their reporting policy? I’m not sure what anyone would expect from reading the comments under that article. Just to take a neanderthal census?
Not to say I haven’t skipped over my share of posts but I think you may be spoiled as to how good things naturally run over here. So what if someone has a quick trigger pulling comments off a site. Maybe if those comments were the worst of the bunch it shows how the site normally tends to police things and less bs shows up from the gitgo.
It’s hard to read comments on any site on any sort of general news because the vast majority are people with pitchforks looking to blame someone. I know people roll their eyes when they read a sports reference from me but holy freckin’ cow I go over to ESPN.COM and it’s like an upside-down Mars voyager looking for intelligent life over there some times.
I remember a site from years ago. I think I heard about it after some female El Salvadorian journalists were killed and Hollywood came a’callin’ but then they wanted to cast all the characters as Caucasians. There’s been more than one story about it. And obviously more than one murdered journalist in Central America. Maybe there’s a way for someone to feel a little more empowered than writing a note on a message board that’s going to be forgotten in a couple of days. Although I do not know their work or am really endorsing them, I just know of the site. http://www.cpj.org/killed/