'McNews': cautionary tale

[Vympel]

This really makes me wonder about the quality of the information I would get about a country if I were to look at a mainstream media website:

McNews Comes Gunning for Greece
Notes on ABC's Strange Offensive
by Christopher Deliso
July 7, 2003

For the media critic, there is nothing quite so reprehensible – or so commonplace – as the "dumbing down" of the news. Generalizations easily lead to falsehoods, and from there to force-fit precedents implying some prior assumed common knowledge. And, since Americans are undoubtedly the people who need things dumbed down the most, last week's subtle attack on Greece (by the famous ABC News network) was sad, though not very surprising.

Statements of Fact: a Slippery Slope

First of all, the short but loaded article is riddled with errors, something which is quite remarkable, considering the international stature of the country and its influential American diaspora. About the only things ABC got right were that Greece has around 11 million inhabitants and is the southernmost country on the Balkan Peninsula.

However, it is arguable whether or not Greece is "largely a dry and rocky country," as they say. Perhaps the author has not been to the many provinces filled with lush verdure, blooming fields, forested mountains and whatnot.

Geography is again the focus of ABC's next charge – that Greece has:

"…narrowly avoided being drawn into the region's recent wars. Greece has quarreled sharply with Macedonia, along its northern border, claiming the country's name is inherently Greek and should not be used by a foreign country. The United Nations has attempted to mediate the dispute."

While there is indeed an ongoing quarrel with Macedonia, it is low-grade, restricted entirely to political rhetoric, and could under no circumstances lead to war. Although a minority of Greeks are paranoid and believe that name recognition will surely lead to an invasion from the north, the likelihood of Macedonia sending in the tanks is considerably lower than of this writer becoming a millionare – and not just in Turkish Lira.

Give Us Bad News – or No News at All!

The real goal here seems to be to connect Greece in some way with the Balkans and its troubles. Although geographically a part of the peninsula, EU-member Greece is light years ahead of its neighbors. The ABC article – which makes it seem as if the country may any day now get swept into some Balkan black hole – comes off as sounding just malicious.

The main purpose of the article, it seems, is to slander the host of next year's Olympic Games, for purposes unknown but easily guessed. The media thrives on the production of bad news, and since there is nothing particularly bad going on in Greece now (or ever), the obligatory pre-Olympic story has to exaggerate minor problems, blowing out of all proportions things like the November 17th terrorist gang (now eradicated) and the occasional spats with Turkey. As for the latter, the article avers that relations are tense – apparently ignoring the fact that erstwhile EU-president Greece has been leading the call for Turkey's entrance into the Union. Perhaps that is what is annoying the Americans so. After all, business is bad – both for the media and the intervention-minded state – wherever foreign countries have good relations.

The End Is Near for the Hellenes

In fact, it definitely seems that there is something nefarious going on here. The ABC article implies some sort of impending doom for the country. Greece is said to be "struggling" because of "…a sagging economy, ongoing ethnic tensions in the neighboring Balkan region, further integration with Europe, and left-wing terrorist violence." Yet all of these charges are utterly spurious.

First of all, the average Greek does not suffer Balkan-level poverty, and many are quite well-off. And homelessness is hardly a problem. Further, in what country are people not constantly bitching about the economy? ABC fails to realize that, in keeping with the measured pace of the Mediterranean lifestyle, occasional strikes and shutdowns are the norm, and entirely healthy.

As for the neighboring ethnic tensions, it is highly unlikely that they will be allowed to spread (unless the Americans want it to happen, which they probably don't). The "European integration" doubts are mystifying, and the final charge – that "Greece has also been long saddled with the reputation of being a haven for terrorists" – is just plain absurd.

Athens – the Terrorist Capital of the World!

Of course, uniting the devious passive voice with a verb more often used with horses is a good formula for producing bullsh*t – which is exactly what the terrorism charge amounts to. To build such a "reputation" on one isolated group that has selectively murdered only a handful of people in the past three decades is ludicrous. ABC forgets that in America, one disgruntled postal worker or disaffected high school student can (and do) take out more people in thirty minutes than November 17th has in thirty years.

In fact, the prime example of "terrorism" in Greece given is the murder of CIA station chief Richard Welch – 28 years ago. In that period of time, how many terrorist attacks have been carried out in Spain, Britain and France, to name but a few?

The Real Issue at Hand

This, however, is merely a point of entry to the article's real purpose – exposing the "considerable anti-American sentiment" existing in Greece today. The examples given of this "sentiment" are: one, the above murder by an isolated Leftist group; and two, the street protests that greeted President Clinton on his visit in 2000, in the aftermath of the Kosovo bombardment. For ABC, it seems, two unrelated incidents a "sentiment" make.

Besides the flimsiness of the evidence, the author of this piece apparently did not consider that there might be a difference between opposition to the American government, and opposition to the American people. If we go by ABC's apparent conflation of the two, then certainly Spain and Britain – where many more people marched in anti-war rallies than did in Greece – deserve the charge of "anti-Americanism" more than the Greeks do. Yet they are American allies, and as such above censure. Hell, by this muddled definition, more "anti-American" scoundrels inhabit America than the total number of Greeks in Greece.

As many polls showed, millions of people throughout the world opposed the US attack on Iraq – regardless of their government's stance on the issue. As a matter of fact, the average Greek harbors no ill-will towards Americans. They are intelligent enough to discern (unlike the self-righteous "freedom fry" brigade) a difference between a country's population and its leaders. If Greeks do indeed have anything against Americans, it would merely be the tourists' penchant for a certain tackiness in their choice of summer apparel. And that is an issue more fit for comedy than reproach. In any case, the sharp-dressed Greeks have much more concern for enjoying life than they do for politics – partly because in their more democratic country, a constant watch doesn't have to be kept on the government's heisting of civil liberties.

Of course, the reader may always disagree, but in my opinion this would be rather perilous skating. I have been dealing with Greeks for years, visit the country regularly, and even interviewed many diverse people on the street over precisely this issue, before and during the Iraq war. In no cases were any Greeks opposed to the American people – only to the American government's foreign policy. Actually, Americans are far safer in Greece than in their own country. However, xenophobic paranoia – so conducive to the government's need for the citizens to identify with it more than with themselves – is being nurtured by a willing media. Will the Greeks someday suffer the same fate as the French, Belgians, Turks and whoever comes next?

A Curious Omission

Oddly enough, the one thing for which they could have criticized Greece – that is, non-recognition of ethnic minorities – is not mentioned. Of the country's 11 million inhabitants, avers ABC, "nearly all are ethnic Greeks." This ignores the existence of Turks, Bulgarian Pomaks, Macedonians and Albanians in northern Greece. It also overlooks the growing Pakistani and North African communities in Athens, besides leaving out all those sub-Saharan dudes hawking pirated CD's in the vicinity of Thessaloniki's cafés. In this case it seems the curious omission was made because of a reliance on official country statistics, supplied either by the Greek Government or (more likely) the CIA World Factbook.

However, the mere mention of "ethnic" in front of the word "Greeks" is a subtle provocation. It implies that they are living on someone else's land. This sneaking side jab has also been seen with the "ethnic Albanians" in Macedonia, the "ethnic Serbs" in Kosovo and, come to think of it, the "ethnic Macedonians" in Macedonia.

Manipulating Ignorance

They say that American newspapers cater to a 6th grade reading level. As ABC is in fact a television network, it's not hard to see how they can get away with appealing to a kindergarten level audience with this story.

This piece just goes to show that, as usual, the "major media" in America is a depressingly mediocre outfit, corrupted by useless hacks and vulnerable to external PR and lobby groups. In the old days, one would have suspected the Turkish lobby as being behind such an underhanded media attack. However, now that Turkey has become persona non grata in Washington, and also friendlier with Greece, it seems more likely that the real antagonists lurk with those in the capital who are morbidly afraid of an expanding European Union.

The apparent American rejection of Turkey and Greece has two larger ramifications. First, that Thanksgiving will have to be called off, and second, that a worrying media precedent is being set in advance of next summer's Olympic Games (after all, the article refers to old criticisms of Athenian un-preparedness). It's clear that there are some who would like to spoil the party, which promises to be a big boost to the economies of both countries.

In the bigger picture, this article should serve as a reminder of the implicit connection between the mass media and the government. Making insipid commentaries – whether about Greece, WMD's, terrorism or whatnot – enables crafty politicians to make equally insipid accusations, which are then regurgitated by the media, in an endless and symbiotic cycle of lies and deception. It is articles like this that allow the government to spread its malignant bile – the kind that supports and sustains constant foreign wars and domestic paranoia of the outside world. The safety of the American people comes not from fearing the rest of the world, as the government would like, but in embracing and understanding the reality of people who, save for color, creed and language, are not so different from them – especially when it comes to opposing war.

[Crown]

Reads the ABC article

LOL!

This guy did a better job than I did, I just would have spat at them.

[Crown]

Greece has also been long saddled with the reputation of being a haven for terrorists.

And a few lines down on the same article;

In the months that followed, Greek authorities promptly set about dismantling the group, winning the respect of many counterterrorism officials around the world.

Look at the consistancy!

LOL

With its economy slumping in recent years, the nation receives considerable financial assistance from the European Union.

Utter bullshit, the Greek economy has grown on an average of 3-4% per year since the mid 90's and it's inflation slashed from double figures down to 5%. The bulk of EU money goes to farming subsidies (and in total it's only $3.7 billion source) which correct me if I am wrong but isn't that less than Israel gets from the US? Regardless, Greece is expected to be a net contributor to the EU by 2007. This is just really pointless to continue.

[phongn]

This is why I do not watch or read ABC News very often.

[Xenophobe3691]

Ah, the joys of American Journalism, where real news takes a backseat to contrived excitement