This morning on Morning Edition NPR's radio listeners heard John Kerry's line on Iraq, but not his entire line on Iraq. You had to have a web connection to do that. On the NPR web page NPR : Kerry Calls for New Approach in Iraq you have a choice of two interviews. The first is the "Morning Edition Audio" which reproduces the part of the program radio listeners heard. The second is the "Web Extra: Hear the Extended Interview" which is obviously much more of the interview than was broadcast.
What's the difference between the two? Mainly that Senator Kerry's remarks on the present situation in Iraq are edited out of the broadcast interview. What radio listeners did not hear, among other things, was the following comment:
"They shut a newspaper [belonging to al-Sadr, the cleric whose militias are currently killing Americans] that belongs to a legitimate voice in Iraq."The Web was not slow to pick up on this damaging statement today, but NPR was even quicker it seems when preparing what its much larger radio audience would hear.
[Short pause]
"Well, let me ... change the term 'legitimate.' It belongs to a voice — because he has clearly taken on a far more radical tone in recent days and aligned himself with both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is a sort of terrorist alignment."
Curious NPR editing, isn't it?
Then again, maybe not so curious at all. Perhaps "typical" is a more accurate word.
Posted by Vanderleun at April 7, 2004 2:59 PM | TrackBack