May 07, 2004
Murder in Macedonia
I've mentioned before that Macedonia doesn't seem to get much attention in the world news.
That said, I'm still surprised by the lack of coverage of this story.
Short version: in 2002, officials of the Macedonian goverment murdered seven illegal immigrant workers -- six Pakistanis and one Indian -- and then claimed they were "terrorists" who were planning an attack on the American embassy there.
The point of the exercise? To win favor with the US government, apparently.
(Here's another version with some more information.)
Posted by douglas at May 7, 2004 04:13 PMI think it's because the villains in the piece have been caught & what is being reported is the solution, rather than the problem.
If there's one universal and constant bias among journalists, it's a preference for problems over solutions. Problems have narrative. Solutions are dramatically inert.
Not that journalists won't report solutions in the absence of more compelling problems, but in the hierarchy of "hot" stories, solutions are second-page stories, problems make the front page.
If the politician in question had managed to escape the consequences, this would be much more prominent than it currently is. This is the third time I've seen this story, by the way, so it is making the rounds. At least, it is if you follow Rantburg or a similar aggregator site.
Posted by: Mitch H. at May 7, 2004 06:26 PMThanks, Mitch....I'm going to think about that for a while. Problems V. Solutions and Narative Drive......Hummmmmmm
Best Wishes,
Posted by: Traveller at May 8, 2004 07:05 AM