That's what Columbia Journalism Review says is going on in coverage of battles between Pakistan's army and tribal insurgents in that wild, wild west of northwestern Pakistan.
...we are flooded with news but get no information. When all that's on hand are official sources, and when those sources are notoriously unreliable, it's hard to know what to believe. It doesn't mean these things didn't happen, just that we can't be sure they happened the way the government describes it, writes Joshua Foust, a defense consultant and a blogger on Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Don't believe everything you read if the only sources are "senior government officials," he cautions. What's needed in balanced reporting by journalists independently confirming casualty reports without becoming casualties themselves. In such a violent part of the world, verifiable stories are hard to come by.
Columbia Journalism Review, established at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1961, considers itself "both a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms" with the mission "to encourage and stimulate excellence in journalism in the service of a free society."
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4 comments:
Don't believe everything you read if the only sources are "senior government officials, not anything you read you can believe if so people will write anything weather its true or not and people will believe.
purIsnt it the case that in the past war coverage hasnt exactly been the most objective? So, it's possible to say that even if Pakistan isnt officially in a state of war however its a very troubled country and it may be, as the writer said, quite difficult to find out the truth regarding a lot of the events which happen over there. Whether it was the "senior government officials" who are blocking the information or people who fear for their own safety to disclose of certain information.
This remained me on Miss Jan Class .. when she suddenly said during class .. “Don’t trust everything you read only if the writer convince you with strong support evidence.
When all that's on hand are official sources, and when those sources are notoriously unreliable, it's hard to know what to believe. It doesn't mean these things didn't happen, just that we can't be sure they happened the way the government describes it, writes Joshua Foust,
I Totally AGREE
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