Media obfuscation
On the night following the death of Osama bin Laden, a well-known television news anchor seemed to confuse everybody by apparently denying that any operation in Abbottabad ever took place.
He said the interior of the house where bin Laden was living was not very posh; that there were no signs of collateral damage and he asked why the Americans came in just two helicopters.
A female caller who said she was from Karachi, later asked these very questions in another programme on another television channel. There, the anchor, who is more rational and sensible, responded by saying that the structure of the house was akin to that of a fortress and that the design was mandated by reasons of security not décor. He also responded that there would be no sign of any collateral damage because the house was not hit by cruise missiles but rather it was attacked by a team of US commandos. As for the two helicopters, this anchor said they were enough for the number of commandos that are believed to have taken part in the operation. (Some reports, however, have suggested that four helicopters were involved.)
This is just an example of how some news anchors are trying to skew the information that is disseminated to audiences and were it not for the other anchor, on the other channel, we would have yet another example of the blind leading the blind.
Waseem Altaf
Source: The Express Tribune
Date:5/4/2011
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