Spinning the news..
I always find it very interesting how news stories get covered and the different perspectives or slants can be given to the same story by different journalists (I guess I should be very familar with this, being a lawyer and all).
I caught a story on the BBC world news on Thursday about the fact that PM Lee was in the UK and that he had met Tony Blair. It didn’t seem to be anything significant, especially to the British public, and was kind of mentioned in passing (it doesn't seem to have made it on the BBC news website even). The more important news of the day was of course the turmoil in recent days resulting from the letter sent to Tony Blair about his labour colleagues losing confidence in him and his leadership and requesting that he either step aside now or set a definite date for doing so. Yesterday he was expected to make his response.
I am kind of a Blair supporter – I do think that he’s made a significant contribution to the development of the country (although I still think that UK sucks!) and I also admire his ability to carry himself amidst difficult situations with poise and dignity. I’ll be a little sad to see him go.
But what I found interesting about the news yesterday was not how Blair handled himself, but rather how different new rooms or newspapers deal with the same piece of news. In the Singapore newspapers (well the online editions anyways – considering that that’s what I read – so I don’t know whether this applies to the print version) the report sounds like the meeting between PM Lee and PM Blair was rather significant. It was the marked the start of PM Lee’s London visit, which is scheduled to last for 3 days. Apparently they discuss a whole range of issues such as terrorism, security issues, and the situation in the Middle East. Watching the video clip of the report in Channel New Asia and the interview of PM Lee, he seemed to have a lot to say about the meeting and the issues discussed – such that you would have thought that it lasted the entire day.
However, what I found interesting is that it did not last the entire day. In fact, it didn’t even last one hour!
Yes.. It isn’t a typo..
In fact, according to the BBC report, it lasted a mere 15 minutes! By about lunchtime, Tony Blair had visited a primary school in London and issued his statement about his impending departure.
So how they did discuss so many things within all those 15 mins? When did the 15 mins begin? The video clip contains footage of them shaking hands outside Downing Street, walking in, walking through e corridors, a few more photo sessions.. How did they manage to get through all those issues (which are very big issues indeed)?
Hmmm..
Btw, if you would like to see the article and video clip for yourself: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/229055/1/.html
I always find it very interesting how news stories get covered and the different perspectives or slants can be given to the same story by different journalists (I guess I should be very familar with this, being a lawyer and all).
I caught a story on the BBC world news on Thursday about the fact that PM Lee was in the UK and that he had met Tony Blair. It didn’t seem to be anything significant, especially to the British public, and was kind of mentioned in passing (it doesn't seem to have made it on the BBC news website even). The more important news of the day was of course the turmoil in recent days resulting from the letter sent to Tony Blair about his labour colleagues losing confidence in him and his leadership and requesting that he either step aside now or set a definite date for doing so. Yesterday he was expected to make his response.
I am kind of a Blair supporter – I do think that he’s made a significant contribution to the development of the country (although I still think that UK sucks!) and I also admire his ability to carry himself amidst difficult situations with poise and dignity. I’ll be a little sad to see him go.
But what I found interesting about the news yesterday was not how Blair handled himself, but rather how different new rooms or newspapers deal with the same piece of news. In the Singapore newspapers (well the online editions anyways – considering that that’s what I read – so I don’t know whether this applies to the print version) the report sounds like the meeting between PM Lee and PM Blair was rather significant. It was the marked the start of PM Lee’s London visit, which is scheduled to last for 3 days. Apparently they discuss a whole range of issues such as terrorism, security issues, and the situation in the Middle East. Watching the video clip of the report in Channel New Asia and the interview of PM Lee, he seemed to have a lot to say about the meeting and the issues discussed – such that you would have thought that it lasted the entire day.
However, what I found interesting is that it did not last the entire day. In fact, it didn’t even last one hour!
Yes.. It isn’t a typo..
In fact, according to the BBC report, it lasted a mere 15 minutes! By about lunchtime, Tony Blair had visited a primary school in London and issued his statement about his impending departure.
So how they did discuss so many things within all those 15 mins? When did the 15 mins begin? The video clip contains footage of them shaking hands outside Downing Street, walking in, walking through e corridors, a few more photo sessions.. How did they manage to get through all those issues (which are very big issues indeed)?
Hmmm..
Btw, if you would like to see the article and video clip for yourself: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/229055/1/.html
posted by Clem | 11:38 PM
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