Nato Troops in Afghanistan have begun a major assault against Taliban-held areas in Afghanistan. Here’s how this story is being presented Saturday night by various media outlets.
ABC News
Bombs Slow Big Afghanistan Advance
CNN
Coalition troops find ‘minimal interference’ in assault on Taliban
Drudge
NATO LAUNCHES LARGE AFGHANISTAN OFFENSIVE…
MSNBC
Marines’ taste of Afghan war
LATimes
Marines take key positions in Taliban stronghold of Marja
Associated Press/CBS News
Bombs, booby-traps slow US advance in Afghan town
BBC News
Nato hails major Afghan operation
Fox News
Afghan Push Hits Roadblocks
NY Times
Afghan Offensive Is New War Model
Huffington Post
‘Mowing The Grass’: Marine Slams Insurgents Clearing Strategy
(Note: The Huffpo headline links to the NY Times story above)
(Thanks to Pepe for the tip on this one.)
E’cat, this headline is from Reuters:
U.S. wants peaceful solution to Iran nuclear dispute Feb 14, 2010
While not about Afghanistan, it struck me– We’d never see that headline on HP. Never!
(click on word ‘headline’)
I can write Huffy headlines too:
Maddow Calls out GOP Congressman for Stimulus Funds that Obama Forced on Everybody
Joe Biden Tears into Cheney; Obama Issues Apology to Cheney
Hannah Kearney Wins USA’s First GOLD Despite Obama Tripping Her
Valentine’s Day Ruined By Obama the Heartbreaker
White House Releases Full Details Of Health Care Summit With GOP Leaders –In Disappearing Ink
Record Snow in Northeast Due to Obama’s EPA
NATO Strike Misses Target, Kills 12 Afghan Civilians while Michelle Obama Dines on Valentine’s Day
Woman Charged With Stabbing Man Through The Eye With Obama’s Stiletto Heel
China Warns US: Cancel Meeting With Dalai Lama; Obama Obeys
See, it’s easy! Just add the name “Obama” to any negative news.
😆 I think you’re on to something here, Cher! Maybe we need a new category here at PPOV: Elite Socialist Media Headlines.
You know what’d be cool, Boomer? An Obama negative news generator. We provide a list of negative verbs for a politician– like hides, cowers, overturns, etc. Then a list of current events: Afghanistan, economy, jobs, Senate, etc. And then make up mix and match sentences that are always Obama-negative.
The MSM version of Seek-and-Find; see how many negative references to President Obama were written, posted, or spoken today. Many selections to choose from: Up, Down, Reverse, Left to Right, Right to Left or make up your own (which is what most of them do in the first place).
Rachel Maddow knows her stuff — a trait lacking for anyone else in MSM. Her education puts the rest to shame:
From http://www.Maddowfans.com
She is also gracious and determined at the same time. I think she’s head and shoulders above everyone else in that field.
I grew up nearby in the Diablo Valley, and lived over the hill from Castro Valley in San Ramon
Love the disappearing ink, classic. I can see Boner and Cantor just staring trying to figure it out, then they say, is that our budget? what happened to the pretty blue binder
e’cat this is always one of my favorite posts on PPOV.
This time, it’s particularly interesting, because it’s clear the different outlets don’t agree on what the story really is.
Is it that NATO is pushing forward? Is it that there are land mines in the area? Is it that the strategy is being deterred? What’s the lede?
This is a fascinating Rashomon. Thank you. I feel like I need to look into this story more deeply.
Thanks, Nellie. It really does seem like there are four or five different stories in this one. One pattern I’m starting to notice is how AP dominates the dissemination of information in this country.
AP does dominate — it always has. It’s our major wire service. Reuters and McClatchy are the other main ones, but AP has always been the major source of headlines for smaller papers and news services in the country — ones that can’t afford staff.
So it’s a concern when AP starts printing biased stories — that affects news across the country. A lot of people were really upset to learn that a Karl Rove protege had been hired as the AP Washington Bureau Chief — and for a while the stores really showed it. I’m wondering if he’s been fired. The service seems to have regained its objectivity lately.
Another thing about this Afghanistan story is that it’s changing by the minute. I can’t even find links for some of the headlines — they’ve already been updated.
Thanks for posting this — I haven’t been looking at the news today, and this is a really important story that I would have missed.
I think I should start including McClatchy and Reuters. I looked at UPI but they didn’t seem to be covering the serious stories…couldn’t find anything about Afghanistan.
To me UPI is very uneven. Sometimes they’re ahead of the pack, sometimes they miss a big story — like this one. And sometimes they just seem to have an ax to grind.
Does Huffpoop write anything anymore or is just a link provider? Would love to know if the ones in charge of the headlines over there ever read the actual story and if they ever worked for a tabloid paper.
Hi BDM. They mostly just “aggregate” (a new word for stealing).
Usually I just make fun of the HP headlines, but I was actually, genuinely outraged at that one. It was patently false and they had to have known it.
Yes, they write their own headlines. Their headline bore no resemblance whatsoever to the headline on the NYT story.