Saudis mobilise thousands of troops to quell growing revolt

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 13 Mar 2011, 00:45

I get exercised about the media constantly repeating the "Official death toll" knowing full well that the real number is thousands higher. If you know a number is wrong why keep repeating it six times per hour. And then you get the latest updates about a plane crash. What latest news? They are all still dead and the inspectors still don't know what went wrong. Report news when it is indeed news and you know what the real story is. If they stuck to that they would have plenty of air time to report all the real stories.

Ludwig · Post by **Ludwig** » 13 Mar 2011, 20:30

vtsnowedin wrote:I get exercised about the media constantly repeating the "Official death toll" knowing full well that the real number is thousands higher.

Don't see anything wrong with this. News is supposed to report known facts, and it would be totally irresponsible of the broadcasters to pluck figures out of the air. In a case like this, estimates could well be an order of magnitude too high or too low - you should just report what you know.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 13 Mar 2011, 23:32

Ludwig wrote:
vtsnowedin wrote:I get exercised about the media constantly repeating the "Official death toll" knowing full well that the real number is thousands higher.
Don't see anything wrong with this. News is supposed to report known facts, and it would be totally irresponsible of the broadcasters to pluck figures out of the air. In a case like this, estimates could well be an order of magnitude too high or too low - you should just report what you know.

I suppose the official death toll is a fact but as the number is preliminary it is known to be low or at least not final. Why repeat it every fifteen minutes? Once a day would be more then enough. No need to pluck some other number out of the air just report new real numbers when they become available and use the saved air time to report other news with real facts that aren't going to change. I agree that they should only report what they know but add that they should only report what they know to be true.

DominicJ · Post by **DominicJ** » 14 Mar 2011, 11:46

biffvernon wrote:
DominicJ wrote:The Prague Spring and The Hungarian Revolution were both crushed by the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union. Remind me, what happened to that?

It fell eventualy.

What exactly has that got to do with One group of Saudis being willing to crack the skulls of another group?

According to the BBC, Libyans are dismembering any of the opposing side they capture alive.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 18 Mar 2011, 08:31

BBC News - 18/03/11

Saudi king to address nation amid regional unrest

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah will address the nation on Friday, amid reports of a possible government reshuffle.

Diplomats said that among measures to be announced are ministerial changes and an anti-corruption drive, according to Associated Press.

Article continues ...

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 02 Apr 2011, 05:55

The Guardian - 01/04/11

The fatwa's meaning is clear: reform measures may proceed, but will be dictated from the royal and clerical heights of power.

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