Conundrum – Syriza, Democracy And The Death Of A Saudi Tyrant
by Media Lens / February 5th, 2015
Its always a tricky moment for the corporate media when a foreign leader dies. The content and tone need to be appropriate, moulded to whether that leader fell into line with Western policies or not. Thus, when Venezuelas Hugo Chavez died in 2013,
conventional coverage strongly suggested he had been a dangerous, quasi-dictatorial, loony lefty. For instance, the Guardians Rory Carroll, the papers lead reporter on Venezuela from 2006-2012, appeared to let slip his own personal view on Chavez when he
wrote:
To the millions who detested him as a thug and charlatan, it will be occasion to bid, vocally or discreetly, good riddance.
By contrast, the sociologist and independent Venezuela expert Gregory Wilpert
praised Chavezs tremendous legacy and many achievements. These included nationalising large parts of the private oil industry to pay for new social programs to tackle inequality, much-needed land reform, and improved education and public housing.
When the genuinely dangerous, neocon ideologue and Cold War fanatic Ronald Reagan died, his
appalling legacy - not least his blood-soaked support for brutal regimes in Latin America was
burnished to a high sheen, presenting the former US president as a stalwart defender of Western values. For the
Guardians editors: ......
King Abdullah spared BBC blushes by not dying on the very day that the UKs state broadcaster was celebrating transparency and democracy. Imagine the conundrum in juggling all of that with coverage of a strongly Western-aligned tyrant. A close call indeed. As Neil Clark
said on Twitter:
No need to pen long pieces on western elites double standards on democracy & extremism.Just read their glowing tributes 2 #KingAbdullah
Reds Under The Bed!
Further difficulties for ostensibly democracy-loving corporate media soon followed with the stunning victory of Syriza, the radical party of the left, in the Greek general election. Repetition of radical left, and significant mentions of Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras as a former Communist, set the required tone. Namely, watch out Red Scare!
As ever, such a rational view of the real threats to democracy from powerful elites was missing from BBC Democracy Day and its coverage by the rest of the mainstream media. The fact that a brutal, Western-allied Saudi tyrant died around the same time only highlighted the corporate medias central role in propping up undemocratic systems of power, class and privilege.
Full article:
http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/02/conundrum-syriza-democracy-and-the-death-of-a-saudi-tyrant-2/