Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “What's Out Of Place In This Picture?”

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April 22, 2006

What's Out Of Place In This Picture?

Hatched by Dafydd

Iraqi National Assembly meets, everyone more or less agrees on a unity government. This is really good news, though I'm still a bit suspicious about soon-to-be-prime-minister-elect Jawad al-Maliki. The other top slots are filled, nearly all by acclamation.

There is a government now in Iraq. This is deeper than the antique media want to admit; this is what we've been waiting for these last four months. Did we mention Ibrahim al-Jaafari is out?

But what about that mainstream media? Take a look at the first few paragraphs of the AP story. See if you can spot the incongruity, the Thing That Doesn't Belong. I hope I'm not giving too big a hint:

After months of political deadlock, Iraq's parliament convened Saturday to select top leadership posts, launching the process of putting together a new government aimed at pulling the country out of its sectarian strife.

Before the session, Shiite lawmaker Ridha Jawad Taqi said all sides were agreed on a package deal for the top spots: Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, would remain as president for a second term, with Sunni Arab Tariq al-Hashimi and Shiite Adil Abdul-Mahdi holding the two vice-president spots.

Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, would become parliament speaker with two deputies - Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd.

Suspected insurgents, meanwhile, set off two bombs in a public market in northern Iraq, killing at least two Iraqis and wounding 17. The second blast was timed to hit emergency crews arriving at the scene.

On Friday, the Shiite alliance nominated a tough-talking Shiite politician, Jawad al-Maliki, as prime minister in a move that broke the long impasse over forming a new government.

Sunni Arab and Kurdish politicians signaled they would accept al-Maliki, clearing the way for parliament to elect top leadership positions, including the president.

Did you spot it?

All right then, riddle me this. The headline of the story is Iraqi Lawmakers Meet to Choose New Leaders. It's 27 grafs long.

Nine of the first ten paragraphs are, in fact, about the Iraqi politicians meeting and electing people to various positions. One paragraph is about a couple of Iraqis being killed in "northern Iraq" -- that is, 60 miles from Baghdad, where the parliament is meeting.

What does that paragraph have to do with the story? It's like saying Mandy, who lives in Colorado Springs, had a trigonometry test today; she had studied well, and she earned an A-, which was her best grade all semester. She told all her girlfriends about how well she did. A man was murdered in Tampa, Florida. Mandy's parents were so proud of her score on the trig test that they celebrated by going out to dinner.

Just as an experiment, I ploughed through this boring story about early voting in the city elections in New Orleans. Can you guess what I didn't find? Right you are: I didn't find a single word about the guy in Los Angeles who shot himself yesterday after a high-speed pursuit. Oddly enough, not a word about that in the New Orleans vote story.

Is it just me?

About halfway through the Iraqi parliament story, Qassim Abdul-Zahra (the writer) plunges into a dizzying fugue that attempts to catalog every single death that occurred in Iraq on the same day the National Assembly met. The only purpose I can imagine for this is to reassure AP's natural audience that they needn't worry -- no matter how much progress was made forming a unity government, it was still a wretched, horrible day in Iraq. Thank goodness!

Then the story abruptly lurches back onto the rails, discussing the actual subject for the remaining nine grafs.

This is the execrable tactic of the antique media: no matter how good the news from Iraq is, it must be leavened with layers of awfulness, regardless how incongruous they may be to the subject at hand. Like Mr. Dick in David Copperfield, the newsies may set out to write a straight news story; but sooner or later, poor King Charles's head must creep into it... leaving them puzzled and a little sheepish, since they don't even remember how they ever thought they were going to tie together parliament meeting in Baghdad with a firefighter killed in Muqdadiyah.

What seems to be misplaced is the lost journalists' ethic of simply conveying the relevant facts -- rather than trying to force a certain reader reaction (of despair, in this case), no matter how inappropriate it may be.

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, April 22, 2006, at the time of 7:07 AM

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Comments

The following hissed in response by: rightonq

You just figured this out?! Just kidding, but I swear EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE that I read about Iraq throws this in there whether or not it makes any sense.

A story about Iraqi politics adds in a bit about a bomb. A story about some reconstruction, sprinkled with how many have died thus far. A story about Saddams trial, a dab of secrtarian violence.

I'd like to see if anyone can find a story about Iraq from the AP or Reuters that does NOT mention something decidedly negative when the topic is generally positive. I know for sure I never see positive news sprinkled in the 90% of articles about Iraq where are intended to be negative.

The above hissed in response by: rightonq at April 22, 2006 7:16 AM

The following hissed in response by: Shawn Beilfuss

Yeah, I noticed the non-sequitor right away as well. So lame, and obvious.

The above hissed in response by: Shawn Beilfuss at April 22, 2006 7:27 AM

The following hissed in response by: BigLeeH

I usually gripe more about Reuters than AP and the Reuters version of the story is quite similar:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament elected incumbent President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, for a second term on Saturday as politicians began putting together a national unity government after four months of political deadlock.

Talabani, who has spent most of his life fighting for the cause of the Kurds in northern Iraq, is the first non-Arab president of an Arab country.

"This is the new Iraq. The new Iraq is an Iraq for all," Talabani told the parliament in a brief acceptance speech.

"Iraqi unity is sacred for all, so we should all work to reinforce this national unity."

Parliament, elected in December elections, convened on Saturday for a session that is expected to eventually put in place a government of national unity, bringing together Shi'ite, Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

Shi'ite-Sunni bloodshed has soared since the bombing of an important Shi'ite shrine in February.

The violence has killed hundreds, driven more than 65,000 from their homes and stoked fears the country could slide into an all-out sectarian civil war.

It appears to have taken Reuters an additional paragraph to get around to the bad news -- but, on the other hand, they managed to end their story with the magic words "sectarian civil war" which tends to even the score a bit.

Still, I am disappointed that my guys didn't get around to the bad news faster. Because usually they are faster. In reporting the results of the last election they buried the lede altogether. Their story then was entitled "Car Bomb Kills Nine as Poll Results Released.." See teleoscope: Huge, Lily-Scented Worm Found as Reuters Burys Lede

The above hissed in response by: BigLeeH at April 22, 2006 8:33 AM

The following hissed in response by: Dafydd ab Hugh

Rightonq:

You just figured this out?!

No... I just finally got irked enough to write about it!

Dafydd

The above hissed in response by: Dafydd ab Hugh at April 22, 2006 1:47 PM

The following hissed in response by: Nate

You will not see the FNORDS.

The above hissed in response by: Nate at April 22, 2006 3:52 PM

The following hissed in response by: RBMN

I think it's on the forms. On the official AP Iraq War news-story-template, bomb death count is probably one of the "required" fields, along with writer(s) and location. Leave it out, and you get an error message.

The above hissed in response by: RBMN at April 22, 2006 5:01 PM

The following hissed in response by: Don

Let's see. The story was about Iraqi's voting. Maybe the 'journalist' thinks that bombs are a form of voting?

The above hissed in response by: Don at April 22, 2006 6:52 PM

The following hissed in response by: justphishing

Here is more evidence that the left can't handle Iraq successes.

The above hissed in response by: justphishing at April 22, 2006 7:05 PM

The following hissed in response by: ShoreMark

"I think it's on the forms."

RBMN, I wish I could argue against that, but it's so obviously likely.

The above hissed in response by: ShoreMark at April 22, 2006 8:33 PM

The following hissed in response by: XB234C

The yahoo story ran the bits about the new government forming, accompanied by a photo of a wounded Iraqi bleeding on a stretcher. Talk about slanted and biased!

The above hissed in response by: XB234C at April 22, 2006 9:47 PM

The following hissed in response by: Davod

The MSM and naysayers can be held reponsible for a lot of the violence in Iraq. They give hope and confort to the enemy, especially the Kerryesque - lets all sit down and have a meeting types.

Imagine what might happen if the naysayers and MSM shut up for three months.

The above hissed in response by: Davod at April 23, 2006 12:58 AM

The following hissed in response by: Davod

Slightly off topic:

Kerry gave a speech yesterday in celebration of the 35th anniversary of his 70s "killing babies" speech to Congress.

The above hissed in response by: Davod at April 23, 2006 1:06 AM

The following hissed in response by: Davod

Slightly off topic:

Kerry gave a speech yesterday in celebration of the 35th anniversary of his 70s "killing babies" speech to Congress.

The above hissed in response by: Davod at April 23, 2006 1:06 AM

The following hissed in response by: XB234C

Even more off topic. Kerry excused the leaker to the Washington Post about the secret prisons. Sayeth the Poodle: Well if she's telling the truth.

The above hissed in response by: XB234C at April 23, 2006 11:06 AM

The following hissed in response by: BigLeeH

Like I said, my boys at Reuters were having an off day. They are back in top form today. Consider this intro from Wave of bombs hits Baghdad as Saddam on trial

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A wave of car bombs hit Baghdad on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding nearly 80 as the trial ofSaddam Hussein heard his signature was on documents linking him to the killings of 148 people.

The bloodshed comes while Prime Minister-designate Jawad al-Maliki works on choosing a cabinet, which will share power among Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds in a bid to end the sectarian violence that threatens to drag Iraq into a civil war.

Two car bombs near Baghdad's Mustansiriya University, killed at least five people and wounded 25 others. Another bomb near the health ministry in the city center killed three and wounded 25, police said. Four more bombs across the city wounded at least another 27 people.

Maliki has four weeks to choose a new cabinet and form a government of national unity, widely seen as the only way to halt sectarian violence.

The cabinet and Maliki's own appointment, made by President Jalal Talabani on Saturday, must be ratified by parliament.

A key test of his ability to lead and to unite will be his choice of interior minister, perhaps the most sensitive post given the brutal past many Iraqis endured under Saddam's rule and a present wracked by relentless instability and violence.

"We want nothing but security and a safe community in which we can live and raise our children safely," said Wael Khamis, a 44-year-old businessman.

It's a bit like Tourette's Syndrome. Any time Reuters is doing a story about Iraq is it punctuated with images of insurgent attacks.

The weather in southern Iraq [CAR BOMB!] has been unusually warm and dry the spring [SEVERED LIMBS] prompting fears [QUAGMIRE] that the summer will bring a repeat [HEADLESS BODIES] of the dust storms of 2003.

The above hissed in response by: BigLeeH at April 24, 2006 6:00 AM