More on the media coverage

I’m not the only one who wrote about the failure of US media to pick up on the upheaval taking place in Iran. Here is NPR’s slam on CNN:

The most recent target of a Twitter-induced moral panic is CNN, which, according to some globally-minded Twitterati, has abdicated its responsibility to report on the protests that are unfolding in the streets of Tehran and has, thus, signed off in its impotence. Make no mistake, moral panic it is: CNN, which passed on the Tehran story to give more coverage to the bankruptcy of Six Flags, the challenges involved in switching from analogue to digital television, and, to top it all, the lifestyle of bikers (who were invited to share their thoughts with Larry King – actually, a re-run) has been chosen to embody everything that is wrong with today’s infotainment-driven television media.

The rest of it is worth reading, too.

I saw CNN last night and I was shocked at how often they got defensive about their coverage. One guest even said (was she prompted to do so?) something to the effect that if it weren’t for CNN’s cutting-edge reporting, the world wouldn’t know about what is going on in Iran. Please. CNN was late to the game. Larry King’s Billy Ray Cyrus interview, and advertisements about his Jonas Brothers interview, ate up the valuable time they should have been giving to Iran.

I can’t commend any US media right now because they were sleeping when it was erupting. Thankfully, some have decided to wake up. Respect to the NYT today, who had front page coverage of the protests.