The Washington Post had a fascinating piece yesterday on how the rest of the world was covering events in Ferguson, MIssouri -- one British paper sent its Afghanistan correspondent there (and he was arrested!). Generally, its seen as a kind of war zone, with criticism varying depending in part on that countrys relations with the U.S. Anyway, well worth a read! Tom In many ways, the chaotic situation in Ferguson, Mo., seems like something that shouldnt happen in America. As WorldViews has noted, many of the hallmarks of the conflict are reminiscent of scenes from the Arab Spring and the Ukraine crisis – our former colleague Max Fisher has even wondered how American journalists would cover Ferguson, if only it werent happening here. There are plenty of foreign journalists reporting on Ferguson, however, and for them, Ferguson is international news. Their coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown and the subsequent unrest can offer a refreshing viewpoint on Americas many problems. They can also reveal a lot about how such disturbances are viewed at home. For most Americans, the most familiar foreign news outlets covering Ferguson will probably be the British ones: Not only is there a shared language, but some British outlets, most obviously the Guardian but also the BBC and the Daily Mail, have made big pushes into the U.S. news market. Notably, some publications are treating the conflict as they might a war zone — the Telegraph has sent its Afghanistan correspondent, Rob Crilly, to cover the protests, for example (he was arrested while reporting this weekend). British coverage of Ferguson has emphasized the racial drama that lies behind the riots and the scale of the police response. And while Britain has had its own problems with race and riots (most notably the 2011 events in London and elsewhere, also caused by a police shooting involving a young black man), some journalists are struck more by the differences than the similarities. While the [London riots] were at their worst, people were calling for rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to be used against the rioters, Abigail Chandler of the free newspaper the Metro writes. Ferguson is a living example of why we should be immensely grateful that those tactics were never used during the U.K. riots. washingtonpost/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/08/18/how-the-rest-of-the-world-sees-ferguson/
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 16:15:01 +0000
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