Fog thick on ground in Ukraine




The incident was broadcast around the world: A Russian armoured vehicle on the streets of Kyiv “maliciously” crushing a car from which the driver “miraculously” emerged alive.

The tabloid descriptors went into overdrive, readily accepted by an audience already appalled by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It was a graphic illustration of the savagery of Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighbour and a metaphor for the unequal battle being fought.

Then the Russian Embassy in Canada posted a screen grab of CBC News’ report of the incident but claimed it was a Ukrainian Armed Forces vehicle that had inflicted the damage “while hiding in civilian quarters in Kiev”. Both countries do, in fact, operate the Strela-10 short-range mobile anti-aircraft system.

This was followed by reports that it was a Ukrainian Strela-10 that had been seized by Russian soldiers who, dressed in Ukrainian uniforms, were carrying out a ‘false-flag’ sabotage mission.

Finally came an ‘analysis’ that, irrespective of the nationality, it was a tragic accident caused when the driver of the Strela-10 lost control on a corner of the road and went into a skid before hitting the oncoming car.

Such is the fog of war. Continue reading “Fog thick on ground in Ukraine” →

Media report keeps red flags flying

The government should thank its consultants for producing a report on whether media need support. Then it should file it away somewhere where it will quietly gather dust.

The conclusions drawn by Sapere Research’s report “The implications of competition and market trends for media plurality in New Zealand” pay scant regard to the fact that it raises more red flags than a Communist rally. Continue reading “Media report keeps red flags flying” →

Copycat media abuse from ragtag bag of protesters

It is common practice for journalists to share contact details and locations in hostile environments such as war zones. Something is very wrong when news organisations in New Zealand share those details about their staff covering a story in downtown Wellington.

Stuff’s Head of News, Mark Stevens, disclosed last Friday that “competing media have shared contacts of journalists in the field to provide a safety network if things get dangerous”.

It followed incidents during the ‘Convoy 2022’ protest in the grounds of Parliament when journalists were abused, spat on, and assaulted. A Stuff reporter was pushed and shoved and a protester abused a Newshub news crew member and threatened to destroy his video camera. Protesters told reporters to “watch your backs on the street tonight” and that they would be “executed” for their reporting. Placards read “Media is the Virus”, “Fake News”, and accused journalists of treason. One placard parodied a Covid-19 health message: “UNITE AGAINST MEDIA 22”. Continue reading “Copycat media abuse from ragtag bag of protesters” →

Unanswered questions in MIQ victim stories

Recently I have been writing about victims, real victims. They are the dead and injured from the Christchurch mosque attacks and the hundreds whose lives were directly affected by those hideous acts of terrorism.

It has made me more than usually sensitive to the ways victims are portrayed by media and, the more I have thought about it, the more I have seen how much news organisations have invested in suffering. They are heavily subscribed.

Much of it is unquestionably legitimate: The creation of victims is one of the consequences of war, crime, natural disaster, illegitimate exercise of power, and human nature. In highlighting the plight of such victims, media help to validate measures that help to prevent the acts that create the causes. And it attracts media audiences.

This attraction is the problem, because I fear that journalists approach some ‘victims’ wearing blinkers that blind them to anything that might detract from a picture of suffering, misery, oppression and injury.

The Covid pandemic has produced a heartrending number of genuine victims but, to that devastating total, media have added a few whose ‘victim’ label is just a little askew. Continue reading “Unanswered questions in MIQ victim stories” →