[extropy-chat] FWD (PvT) Accuracy noted in al-Reuters articles: Reuters complains

[Terry W. Colvin]

< http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/09/17/canwesterrorist040917.html
>

Newspapers accused of misusing word 'terrorist'
Last Updated Fri, 17 Sep 2004 23:09:40 EDT

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 have been altering words and phrases in 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 reader's 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."

Riad Saloojee, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations 
Canada, says the organization wants Canadian press watchdogs to 
investigate CanWest.

"We're going to be asking the Ontario Press Council to investigate 
exactly the extent of this policy across the country in other CanWest 
publications," said Saloojee.


Written by CBC News Online staff

Copyright ©2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved


-- 
"Only a zit on the wart on the heinie of progress." Copyright 1992, Frank Rice


Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1 at mindspring.com >
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