Massive protests, UNSC split spur U.S. media shift on war

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.prwatch.org/spin/
(excerpt)

Protests Move the Media
A new survey by Editor & Publisher magazine shows that "the growing rift at
the United Nations and massive antiwar demonstrations around the globe
appear to have had an impact. E&P now finds that a majority of top papers
oppose any attack on Iraq without broad international support." Previous
surveys in January also opposed President Bush's desire for a quick
invasion, but pro-war editorials surged immediately following Colin Powell's
presentation to the U.N. in early February. Following the protests, however,
newspapers have taken a more cautious position: "Of the 37 papers publishing
editorials on Iraq between Feb 15. and Feb. 19, the hawks numbered 15 and
doves 9, while the cautious camp became solidly internationalist. Some that
once reluctantly accepted a quick war for different reasons are now calling
for any invasion to be backed by a stronger world coalition or with the full
support of the United Nations Security Council -- a noteworthy condition at
a time when the U.N. appears deeply fractured. Thirteen papers now occupy
this middle ground, meaning that almost two-third's of the total sample
oppose any war for the time being." Source: Editor & Publisher, February 20,
2003





~~~~~~~
PLEASE clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.