[eccr] European and US Media coverage of 'impending war'

European Media harden anti-US stance
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Global TV coverage is increasingly turning against the US,
with attitudes towards the US administration falling to an
all-time low in December, according to research.  Analysis
of TV news around the world shows that the British broadcast
media is taking a hard line on the US, with 33 per cent of
all stories being classed as negative.  The researchers
behind the statistics have warned the coverage will likely
become even more negative following last weekend's peace
marches and an avalanche of opinion-based programmes.  The
figures have been released as the Italian state broadcaster,
RAI, comes under fire from opposition parties in Rome for
not broadcasting live coverage of the anti-war protests.
The march in Rome, which was the largest in Europe and
attended by up to 3 million people, was broadcast live on
rival channels but not on the state channel.  The report
claims that, in the UK, there were five times as many
negative stories compared with positive ones about George
Bush.  The study was performed by German media monitoring
agency Medien Tenor.

Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,898723,00.html -
MediaGuardian.co.uk

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US media seeking neutrality
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In recent months, American magazines, TV news networks and
newspapers have used the term "impending war" when referring
to the US position regarding Iraq.  The phrase's permeation
in news culture raises questions about the media's word
choice and objectivity, said Michael Josephson, president of
the Josephson Institute of Ethics, a non-partisan,
non-profit organisation based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
"Used by politicians, [the phrase] may be part of the
political negotiation that goes on...," Mr Josephson said.
"But when the journalists do it, accepting it as a given, it
creates the impression that, in fact, neutral or objective
people are concluding that war is inevitable."  A database
search of US newspapers and wire services in the last six
months uncovered 725 mentions of "impending war" in
reference to Iraq.  Additional searches also found "imminent
war" (214) and "upcoming war" (84) in frequent use.

Source: 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0302190308feb19.story -
Chicago Tribune

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