ThereIsA
ClubVille
Look.
People with the best of intentions get stuff wrong all the time.
And, it's not just idiot bloggers.
In my mind, however, the real problems arise when folks, especially media folks, don't fess up fully, especially when the mistakes they've made obscure the real story.
Jane Lytvynenko, writing at Canadaland, has a good take on that as it pertains to the Kurdi family's tragic attempts to relocate from civil war-torn Syria:
Yesterday Postmedia's Terry Glavin broke the news that the tragic Alan Kurdi story has a Canadian connection: the drowned child's family had tried and failed to emigrate to Canada, and their case was hand-delivered directly to immigration minister Chris Alexander himself, who did not take urgent action.
While the essence of the story is true, the original report alleging Alan’s father Abdullah was denied refugee status in Canada was false...
{snip}
...As National Post editor Jen Gerson suggests, the blunders in reporting this breaking news story do not change the core substance of it: the drowned boy whose picture made the world suddenly care about the refugee crisis might have found refuge in Canada. His family had tried. Our Immigration Minister was directly approached about this specific case.
The story would have been no less impactful had it been reported accurately, and there is no evidence to suggest that the mistakes were made out of partisan bias or intent to sensationalize or deceive. They were mistakes, which often happen in breaking news stories.
But the lack of media transparency in correcting and explaining the mistakes creates an opening for a counter-narrative of Media Party conspiracy, which is currently percolating, obscuring still the truth about Alan Kurdi and whatever actions we might possibly take to keep others from meeting the same end...
Ms. Lytvynenko's piece, in which she dissects, specifically, what went wrong and what has still not been fixed in the proMedia, is well worth reading in its entirety.
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The International Criminal Court Ruling
3 hours ago
3 comments:
the details don't matter that much. a little boy is dead. it was very real. it was very sad. how it happened is the west did nothing but make war in the area. few countries would take refugees, except actually poor arab countries and they could do much for them. europe was trying to avoid the mess. Canada just didn't want Arabs or muslims, check Harvey O's blog on KEEPING IT REAL.
QATAR WHO SPENT #200 BILLION ON THE WORLD CUP WON'T TAKE REFUGEES OR SPEND MONEY SO POOR COUNTRIES CAN ASSIST. DITTO FOR SAUDI ARABIA. STEVE JUST WANTS TO KEEP ON BOMBING BUT NOT TAKE ANY REFUGEES.
CANADA TOOK HUNGARIAN REFUGEES, UGANDAN REFUGEES, AND VIETNAMESE REFUGEES. ALL ARE DOING PRETTY WELL IN CANADA. WHY CAN'T WE DO IT AGAIN? WELL FOR STARTERS THERE AREN'T ENOUGH PEOPLE LEFT IN THE FEDERAL SERVICE TO PROCESS THEM. REMEMBER WHEN STEVE WAS FIRING ALL THOSE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WORKERS, WELL OUT WENT IMMIGRATION OFFICERS AND FOREIGN AFFAIR OFFICERS. WHO COULD EVEN DO THE WORK NOW. THANKS STEVE, FOR YOU LACK OF CARING. JUST LIKE STEVE'S COMMENT ON THE 1,200 MISSING/MURDERED FIRST NATIONS WOMEN,"NOT ON HIS RADAR". TURNS OUT LITTLE CHILDREN AREN'T ON STEVE OR CHRIS'S RADAR EITHER. IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA IF CHRIS RESIGNED. he has no moral authority to run in this election. after all the rotten things the Cons have done, it may be a small child from syria who is the undoing of the Cons.
eaf--
Regarding the refugee story/situation itself, I agree.
However, from 'what's wrong with the media' point of view I do think this is an important story, particularly with respect to how an original dubious pieces can be wurlitzered into the stratosphere.
.
I don't know. This photo deeply struck people's hearts, regardless of the details.
And people had the same reaction around the world. We have to do more, we have to start caring.
To me what really matters is that Harper is not helping Syrian refugees. It is part of his hateful anti Muslim ideology. And it not the Canada I know or want.
---otr
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