This
study by Swiss Propaganda Research was first published in 2016, it is
presented by
off-guardian.org
in English for the first time. Translated by Terje Maloy.
It
is one of the most important aspects of our media system – and yet
hardly known to the public: most of the international news coverage
in Western media is provided by only three global news agencies based
in New York, London and Paris.
The
key role played by these agencies means that Western media often
report on the same topics, even using the same wording. In addition,
governments, military and intelligence services use these global news
agencies as multipliers to spread their messages around the world.
A
study of the Syria war coverage by nine leading European newspapers
clearly illustrates these issues: 78% of all articles were based in
whole or in part on agency reports, yet
0% on investigative research.
Moreover, 82% of all opinion pieces and interviews were in favor of
the US and NATO intervention, while propaganda was attributed
exclusively to the opposite side.
Part
5 - “What the agency does not report, does not take place”
The
central role of news agencies also explains why, in geopolitical
conflicts, most media use the same original sources. In the Syrian
war, for example, the “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” – a
dubious one-man organization based in London – featured
prominently. The media rarely inquired directly at this
“Observatory”, as its operator was in fact difficult to reach,
even for journalists.
Rather,
the “Observatory” delivered its stories to global agencies, which
then forwarded them to thousands of media outlets, which in turn
“informed” hundreds of millions of readers and viewers worldwide.
The reason why the agencies, of all places, referred to this strange
“Observatory” in their reporting – and who really financed it –
is a question that was rarely asked.
The
former chief editor of the German news agency DPA, Manfred Steffens,
therefore states in his book The Business of News:
"A
news story does not become more correct simply because one is able to
provide a source for it. It is indeed rather questionable to trust a
news story more just because a source is cited. () Behind the
protective shield such a ’source‘ means for a news story, some
people are quite inclined to spread rather adventurous things, even
if they themselves have legitimate doubts about their correctness;
the responsibility, at least morally, can always be attributed to the
cited source.”
Dependence
on global agencies is also a major reason why media coverage of
geopolitical conflicts is often superficial and erratic, while
historic relationships and background are fragmented or altogether
absent. As put by Steffens:
"News
agencies receive their impulses almost exclusively from current
events and are therefore by their very nature ahistoric. They are
reluctant to add any more context than is strictly required.”
Finally,
the dominance of global agencies explains why certain geopolitical
issues and events – which often do not fit very well into the
US/NATO narrative or are too “unimportant” – are not mentioned
in our media at all: if the agencies do not report on something, then
most Western media will not be aware of it. As pointed out on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the German DPA:
"What
the agency does not report, does not take place.”
Further
info, references, sources:
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