Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics... and U.S. Africa Command

Turse, Nick
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176156/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_lies%2C_damned_lies%2C_and_statistics..._and_u.s._africa_command
Date Written:  2016-06-23
Publisher:  TomDispatch.com
Year Published:  2016
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX19581

One of the strangest news developments of our time is the way the media now focus for days, if not weeks, 24/7, on a single event and its ramifications. Omar Mateen's slaughter of 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando is only the latest example of this. If no other calamitous or eye-catching event comes along (“‘Unimaginable’: Toddler’s body recovered by divers after alligator attack at Disney resort"), it could, top the news, in all its micro-ramifications and repetitions, for three or four weeks. Such stories -- especially mass killings, especially those with an aura of terrorism about them -- are particularly easy for strapped, often downsizing news outfits to cover. They are, in a sense, pre-packaged.

Subject Headings

Insert T_CxShareButtonsHorizontal.html here