http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/rosemary_bechler_opendemocracy_net/media_coverage_the_way_it_sometimes_works Comments for "Media coverage - the way it sometimes works, " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/rosemary_bechler_opendemocracy_net/media_coverage_the_way_it_sometimes_works <p>An UNPFA-backed workshop in Bucharest the day before yesterday,<a href="http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=699" target="_blank" title="UNPFA workshop"> called for</a> gender-awareness to be retained and incorporated into military and political thinking so that recent lessons from many war-ravaged communities were not lost. This was picked up by Lesley Abdela at Shevolution – but received no major coverage.<br /> <br /> On the other hand, a report by Sarah Martin and the Washington-based advocacy group, Refugees International to the effect that sexual abuse persists in being committed by UN peacekeepers or ‘blue helmets’ where a ‘hyper-masculine culture’ has created ‘tolerance of extreme behaviour’ was covered the next day in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/international/19nations.html?pagewanted=print" target="_blank" title="NY Time coverage">New York Times</a>, the Los Angeles Times, and the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/wall-of-silence-blocks-un-curb-of-sex-abuse-report/2005/10/19/1129401316655.html" target="_blank" title="Sydney Morning Herald coverage">Sydney Morning Herald</a> – see our Daily Links today for the report and some coverage.<br /> <br /> The timing on the peacekeeper abuse report is intriguing and it will be interesting to see how the story runs over the next few days as a powerful disincentive for anyone to look to the UN on matters of Women, Peace and Security. Of course it is important that this abuse gets coverage, but one good example of how such a story can be misused may be found on a website which I came across as a result of a 20-second google. This was the website of Aim – to quote their mission statement:<br /> <br /> ‘Accuracy In Media is a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage.’<br /> <br /> The <a href="http://www.aim.org/aim_column/4052_0_3_0_C/" target="_blank" title="Cliff Kincaid's article">article</a> in question was by Cliff Kincaid – editor of something called the AiM Report. <br /> <br /> If you have any doubts about his article’s accuracy, you probably will not be reassured by some aspects of Kincaid’s biography on the website’s front page – freedom of information is a wonderful thing...<br /> <br /> Kincaid, we are told: </p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/rosemary_bechler_opendemocracy_net/media_coverage_the_way_it_sometimes_works" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/rosemary_bechler_opendemocracy_net/media_coverage_the_way_it_sometimes_works">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/blog/rosemary_bechler_opendemocracy_net/media_coverage_the_way_it_sometimes_works#comment Women Making a Difference 5050 Thu, 20 Oct 2005 16:23:08 +0100 Rosemary Bechler 18201 at http://www.opendemocracy.net