- The US media has begun to turn against President George
Bush's hard line on military action against Iraq.
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- A majority of the country's top newspapers now oppose
any attack on Iraq by US and British forces without the full support if
the international community.
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- Influenced by the massive anti-war demonstrations staged
around the world last weekend and the growing rift between the US and the
less hawkish countries led by France and Germany, American press coverage
has seen a substantial shift away from backing an immediate war regardless
of international opinion.
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- A survey of 37 leading US papers publishing editorials
between February 15 and 19 found that almost two thirds now called for
a "world coalition" to be formed before any military action in
the Middle East.
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- 15 newspapers across the US were categorised as "hawkish"
in editorial stance, nine as "doves" and 13 as internationalist
in positioning by a survey carried out by Editor & Publisher, a weekly
magazine covering the north American newspaper industry.
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- The current press majority against unilateral action
is in marked contrast to the findings of a similar survey carried out on
February 7, immediately after Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation
of evidence of Iraq's activities involving weapons of mass destruction.
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- At this stage, those calling for international unity
were a distinct minority.
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- According to the research, the call for UN backing has
now become an established theme in most major newspapers, in marked contrast
to right leaning TV networks and papers such as Fox news and the New York
Post, both owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
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- Papers such as the Detroit Free Press, the Dallas Morning
News, Minneapolis-based the Star Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and Orange
County Register represented the prevailing opinion. "If war becomes
necessary, it will be better waged by the world than by even a broad 'coalition
of the willing. The world remains safer if the peace-seeking United Nations
remains intact," thundered the Detroit Free Press.
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- Several papers such as the Fort Worth (Texas) and the
Oregonian in Portland, advised the President to recognise the importance
of the weekend's protests. "Heed the voices - peace demonstrations
have a point: Bush hasn't made a strong enough case for war now,"
said the Newsday in Melville, New York on February 18.
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- However, larger papers with international reach such
as the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post were staunchly pro-war.
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- "The weekend's protests across Europe and elsewhere,
impressive as they were in terms of sheer numbers, only provide yet another,
if secondary, reason for prompt action," said the Journal this week.
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- Despite growing calls for international unity, "French
bashing" amongst the US press has become a popular theme. Top of the
Francophobes were the New York Daily News, and Murdoch owned New York Post,
but others joined in:
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- "Now who's the cowboy?" the Detroit News asked.
"French prime minister Jacques Chirac pitched a raging tantrum after
several Eastern European countries defied attempts to bully them beneath
France's skirts."
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- The changing views of the US press reflect a recent survey
of TV coverage, which found that the British broadcast media is taking
a hard line on the US administration with 33% of news stories classed as
negative.
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- MediaGuardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,900500,00.html
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