Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Attytood

The revolution was not televised

News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.

11 comments

The revolution was not televised

POSTED: Sunday, January 16, 2011, 6:32 PM

To a political junkie, the events that have unfolded in Tunisia over the last several days have been irresistible. Everyday people rising up against an autocratic government led to high drama in the streets of Tunis and a politicalsoap opera in the presidential palace. It was a vivid, human illustration of so many of the themes of democracy and freedom that we argue about, usually more in abstract terms, here at Attytood on a daily basis. It was must see TV -- or it would have been, if I got al-Jazeera on my TV set.

Because while I found the events in Tunisia an irresistible story, the producers of our 24/7 cable news infrastructure here in the United States found it easy to resist, indeed, TV coverage of a revolution in the Arabic world, a mjaor global story, was virtually non-existant here.

Tech Crunch had a good post over the weekendhow the only way to follow the developments was on Twitter, while MSNBC was reporting on stories like the plight of Martha Stewart's dog:

Still, the most jarring thing about today’s revolution was the constant commentary about how the amount of Twitter and Facebook buzz didn’t seem to translate over to mainstream Anglophone media. After 4 weeks of protests, Paid Content founder Rafat Ali tells us he had not seen any “traditional” Tunisia coverage until yesterday and then “only [a] bit in NYT.” When asked to clarify his humorous tweet, Pareene said, “MSNBC has just mentioned Tunisia briefly a couple times, no video that I’ve seen.”

Analyst Evgeny Morozov thinks that unlike the Twitter revolutions in Moldova and Iran which got mainstream coverage, the novelty of “Social Media Changes Everything” stories has worn off just in time for Tunisia.

I realize there was a big story out of Tucson this week, and apparently it's impossible for our TV overlords to walk and chew gum at the same time. Still, it's baffling -- you'd think between the dramatic events available on video and the importance that we've placed on that section of the globe in the decade since 9/11, there would have been something for CNN and MSNBC and those other guys to work with.

It's not just a matter of being entertained. American ignorance (sounds like a good name for a Broadway musical, huh?) about international affairs has only grown in recent years, and an uninformed electorate doesn't always make the best choices. This weekend's inadvertent news blackout did not help.

Will Bunch @ 6:32 PM Permalink | 11 comments

11 comments

Comments (11)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 7:42 PM, 01/16/2011

I have to wonder if the U.S. government didn't "suggest" they play it down, since the White House is insisting the WikiLeaks cables about Tunisia had nothing to do with the revolution.

— Susie from Philly

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:00 PM, 01/16/2011

al-Jazeera, BBC News & other free content is available if you get a Roku device which can be found on their website for about $ 60. Connects to your TV if you have wireless internet & the proper inputs.

— gakski

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:14 PM, 01/16/2011

I now know less about Tunisia than I did 30 seconds ago, before I read this vapid piece.

— Mr. Smith

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:08 PM, 01/16/2011

Though I haven't seen much about Tunisia on TV, I don't normally look to TV for info. I use TV for entertainment, such as Fox News because it's funny to watch and then read what all the rightists say online as it's usually just parroted from shows on there. I have read a great deal about Tunisia and Ivory Coast in a variety of online publications. It is sad, because these are the type of things that people who purport to love freedom should follow.

— HandNik

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:11 PM, 01/16/2011

///Fuller said he felt a bullet that hit his knee but didn't know he had also been struck in the back. Fuller, a naval air veteran, drove himself to Northwest Hospital after being shot, according to the Arizona Daily Star. He was later taken to University Medical Center where he was released two days later.

He told The New York Times last week that he had trouble sleeping after he was wounded and repeatedly denounced the "Tea Party crime syndicate" in the interview. He said he PLACED SOME OF THE BLAME FOR THE SHOOTING ON FORMER ALASKA Gov. SARAH PALIN and other Republican leaders for creating a toxic atmosphere. Palin has denounced the attack, which does not appear to have been motivated by politics.///

What's that? Someone placing the blame on Sarah Palin? I thought that didn't exist at all according to TPS.

— General Turgidson

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:13 PM, 01/16/2011

Wow, I can't believe what's going on in Tunisia. I mean, imagine a country where people think justified for citizens to take violent action against the government. Tunisia must be filled with crazy Republicans.

— General Turgidson

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:22 PM, 01/16/2011

TPS exposed as a fraud-

— Keep The Change

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:28 PM, 01/16/2011

Let me post for TPS.

Oh my sides.
Bwaaack
Mommy Mommy

That is it- go back to the basement lonely TPS.

— Keep The Change

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:10 AM, 01/17/2011

you forgot "too funny" we're just having fun with you tps but you really do need some new lines

— rysagr

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:59 PM, 01/16/2011

I did not notice any news blackout since I rely on newspapers for my serious news, TV mostly for the weather and The Daily Show/Colbert Report. Stick to newspapers, Will. Leave TV for sports.

— Archimedes

The day the Obama administration went Nixon on us
Before Obama probed the AP, the right wing tried to destroy it
#BenghaziIn(MoreThan)FourWords
God's messenger comes down to remind us of the true meaning of scandal
UPDATED: Today's scandal scorecard: May 13, 2013
UPDATED: Mother's Day in the United States of Gunmerica
What would Ayn Rand say about Bryz
It was 28 years ago today
If the Gosnell trial was supposed to make you anti-abortion, I guess the Daily News didn't get the memo
UPDATED: Who said it?

About this blog

Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.

PLEASE COMMENT WITH PASSION...

...but not with racial slurs, potentially libelous allegations, obscenities or other juvenile noise. Such comments will, at our discretion, be deleted in their entirety, and repeat offenders will be blocked from commenting. ALSO: Any commenter advocating killing any government official will be immediately banned.

Reach Will at bunchw@phillynews.com.

Will Bunch

Get our top stories