a917: Re: a907: Haiti and the IPI report - clarification of a distortion (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

In his eagerness to spread negative news about the current situation in
Haiti, Robert Benodin seizes upon the lead story in the BBC Monitoring Unit's
translation of  "Highlights of Signal FM Radio news 1230 gmt 22 Feb 02". He
thus heads his forwarded email to the Corbett list: "Haiti is portrayed as a
country where freedom and human rights are violated the most."

This is indeed the opening line of the BBC Monitoring Units's transcription
of the Signal FM broadcast. As I do not have the French version of the Signal
FM text, I cannot tell whether this line is the result of the Monitoring
Unit's appalling translation from the French original, or Signal FM's witting
or unwitting spin on the original source of this item.

However, as the author of the International Press Institute's (IPI) World
Press Freedom Review of Haiti in 2001, I am in a position to follow the way
that this awful, but perhaps not unusual, distortion of the news has
developed.

It seems to have occured by progressing through the following stages:

1) I wrote 'Haiti: 2001 World Press Freedom Review' for the IPI which has
reports on 176 countries in the world. Nowhere in this text, which can be
viewed at

http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/haiti.htm

did I mention anything about Haiti relative to other countries - I was not
asked to do so.

2) In an introduction to the IPI's annual report, the Institute's Michael
Kudlaw writes an 'Overview of The Americas: 2001 - A Climate of
Intimidation'. This text can be viewed at

http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/intro_ameri.htm

He opens with the following lines:
"In a year that was overshadowed by the tragic events of 11 September, the
Americas was again the most dangerous region in the world to practice
journalism. Eleven journalists were killed in Colombia, two in Mexico, two in
the United States, and one each in Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Haiti and Paraguay. Scores of others received death threats or were harassed
or physically attacked by corrupt officials, left or right-wing extremists,
drug traffickers and other criminal elements seeking to prevent the media
from exposing their activities."

3) On 21 February, the Haitian news agency, Alterpresse, which can be viewed
at

http://www.medialternatif.org/alterpresse/

picked up on the IPI report, and, for some reason, ran a French-language
piece with the following headline: "Haïti, l'un des pays les plus dangereux
en ce qui concerne la pratique du journalisme (Haiti:one of the most
dangerous countries concerning the practice of journalism)."

The actual text of the AlterPresse report is faithful to the IPI original,
and concludes with "Le document indique en outre que le continent américain
représente la région la plus dangereuse du monde en ce qui concerne la
pratique du journalisme. 21 journalistes ont été tués dans 9 pays de la
région, dont 11 en Colombie." (The document indicates that the American
continent is the most dangerous in the world in respect of the practice of
journalism. 21 journalists were killed in 9 countries, 11 of them in Colombia)

4) The fourth stage is the Signal FM broadcast, based it seems on the
Alterpresse headline but not on the actual text of the Alterpresse release.

5) The fifth stage is the BBC Monitoring Unit's translation of the Signal FM
broadcast.

6) The final (so far) stage is Robert Benodin's item # a907 on the Corbett
list

In just six or so steps, "the Americas was again the most dangerous region in
the world to practice journalism" has become "Haiti is portrayed as a country
where freedom and human rights are violated the most."


Don't believe everything (or is that anything?) you read in the papers.

Charles Arthur