Saturday, January 08, 2005

A press that will use every journalistic exaggeration, trick, and sleight of hand to blacken an alleged adversary's name

The International Herald Tribune has an article about the many British tabloids that love to hate the European Union. As reported by Graham Bowley:
Recently published articles have reported, among many other things, that the EU could ban homemade cakes from church functions; that it was insisting that Europeans sing a new Euro-hymn in which they pledge allegiance to a Stalinist-sounding "motherland"; and that it was ordering the British government to change the names of Waterloo Station and Trafalgar Square because these insulted the French.

These stories have emerged from a British press that appears to revile most aspects of the grand European project, and will use every journalistic exaggeration, trick and sleight of hand to blacken the EU's name. Occasionally the stories contain truth, but often they are plain wrong.

…Most of the stories tend to portray the commission as menacing, out of touch, or quite literally crazy.

This is all fine. Problem is (and American newspapers such as the IHT's mother newspaper just don't understand this) that this is what Europeans periodicals (not just the tabloids) tend to do do day in and day out, year after year, regarding Uncle Sam!

See if the following makes sense or not…

the many [periodicals] that love to hate the [United States]

These stories have emerged from a … press that appears to revile most aspects of the [American way of life], and will use every journalistic exaggeration, trick and sleight of hand to blacken [Uncle Sam's] name. Occasionally the stories contain truth, but often they are plain wrong

And now, think of George W Bush for a moment, will ya?
Most of the stories tend to portray the [alleged adversary] as menacing, out of touch, or quite literally crazy

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