It was interesting watching CCTV-9 last night as it broadcast a US press conference in Iraq. The general was reporting remarkable things about the so-far triumphal though ongoing capture of Baghdad and some of the horrors that coalition soldiers discovered. One reporter asked about civilian deaths and if there would be more, and he intelligently and carefully described the measures taken to minimize civilian casualties, but added, appropriately, that the situation was still dangerous and there might be a risk of civilian casualties if fighting in the city continues. Okay, he said the magic words, and within seconds the man behind the curtain activated a CNN-style tickertape running across the bottom of the screen: US Military: More Iraqi civilians may be killed. Nothing about the extraordinary victories or what had been found. Just that one phrase, which then ran continuously, alternating with one other sentence about how traditional Chinese medicine may cure SARS.
Throughout the news conference, just to top off the farce, the word “LIVE” appeared in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. On the lower right-hand corner just below, it said “RECORDED.” There really is no place like China.
1
By nathen
that was cool
November 13, 2004 @ 3:31 pm | Comment