Monday, September 20, 2004

Reuters is upset by CanWest's rewrite of their stories.

Papers owned by CanWest Publications, Canada's largest newspaper chain, have been altering words and phrases in some newswire copy stories dealing with the war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thereby changing their meaning.

In one Reuters story, the original copy reads: "… the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which has been involved in a four-year-old revolt against Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank."

In the National Post version, printed Tuesday, it became: "… the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terrorist group that has been involved in a four-year-old campaign of violence against Israel."

I guess that means not using the word "terrorist" to describe ah, well, "terrorists" also serves to change the meaning?? The editors at CanWest think it does.

Ownership Notes: CanWest is the only "conservative group"of papers in Canada. It includes the National Post (formerly Hollinger) and a number of smaller papers.
Reuters was winner of the 2003 Dishonest Reporting Award for the most skewed and biased reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by Honestreporting.com

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