ZGram - 9/20/2004 - "How to demonize your enemy"

[zgrams at zgrams.zundelsite.org]

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny:  Now more than ever!

September 20, 2004

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

Systematic demonization of an enemy, Absurdistan-style:

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NEWSPAPERS ACCUSED OF MISUSING WORD 'TERRORIST'
http://www.cbc.ca/news
WebPosted Fri Sep 17 10:42:43 2004

Ottawa---Canada's largest newspaper chain, CanWest Global, is being
criticized over its use of the word "terrorist" in stories about the
Middle East.

The owner of the National Post and dozens of other papers across Canada
is being accused of inappropriately inserting the word into newswire
copy dealing with the Middle East, thereby changing the meaning of
those stories.

One of the world's leading news agencies, Reuters, said CanWest
newspapers has been altering words and phrases in its stories dealing
with the war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reuters told
CBC News it would complain to CanWest about the issue.

The global managing editor for Reuters, David Schlesinger, called such
changes unacceptable. He said CanWest had crossed a line from editing for
style to editing the substance and slant of news from the Middle East.

"If they want to put their own judgment into it, they're free to do that,
but then they shouldn't say that it's by a Reuters reporter," said
Schlesinger.

As an example, Schlesinger cited a recent Reuters story, in which the
original copy read: " - the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which has been
involved in a four-year-old revolt against Israeli occupation in Gaza and
the West Bank."

In the National Post version of the story, printed Tuesday, it became:
" - the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terrorist group that has been
involved in a four-year-old campaign of violence against Israel."

Neither the National Post nor CanWest returned calls.

But the Ottawa Citizen, another CanWest paper, has admitted to making
erroneous changes in a story about Iraq from another leading news agency.

Last week, the Citizen inserted the word "terrorist" seven times into an
Associated Press story on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, where Iraqi
insurgents have been battling U.S.-led occupation forces.

In an interview, Ottawa Citizen editor Scott Anderson conceded fighters
in Fallujah were not terrorists but said CanWest has a policy of renaming
some groups as terrorists.

He added the paper had applied that term primarily to Arab groups, and
that mistakes had been made occasionally.

However, Anderson said he did not believe the paper had a duty to inform
its readers when it changed words.

"We're editing for style…," he said. "We're editing so that we have
clear consistent language to describe what's going on in the world. And
if we've made a mistake, we should correct that. And we will."

In response to a letter published Friday about the Fallujah article, the
Citizen wrote: "The changes to the Associated Press story do not reflect
Citizen policy, which is to use the term 'terrorist' to describe someone
who deliberately targets civilians. As such, the changes to the
Associated Press story were made in error."

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