Traditional Media Coverage of Tunisian Protests Critiqued Via Blogs

Posted on 15/01/2011 | 6 Comments

It’s interesting to read that bloggers are critiquing newspaper and other traditional media coverage of the protests in Tunisia, finding that it falls short.  This I suppose acts as a kind of cyber letter to the editor for newspapers in general.  It’s also noteworthy for this blog that these protests seem to be fueled by social media, the power of which is evident with today’s development that the Tunisian leader has fled.  On the right, a cartoon by Mike Stern, which appeared on the Committee to Protect Journalists website.

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6 responses to “Traditional Media Coverage of Tunisian Protests Critiqued Via Blogs”

  1. Dimitry Léger | 19/01/2011 at 1:09 am | Reply

    Love the cartoon! I wish the people who had a problem with the media coverage of the revolt in Tunisia told us how the coverage fell short to them. The fall of Ben Ali’s government happened so fast. There are, obviously, good follow-up stories to be done. Like I’d love to learn about how and why the US backed such a lousy president and government for so long.

    Dimitry

    • gillianrogers | 19/01/2011 at 1:29 am | Reply

      Thanks for your comment. It seems the main issue with the coverage, according to some bloggers, was that there wasn’t enough of it. They felt somewhat ignored on the world media stage. Of course, the President’s departure has provided another huge news peg to hang more stories on, and now it’s turned into a revolution, which demands the attention of the world’s mainstream media. I think all of this really speaks to the power of social media, and interestingly enough, to Wikileaks, which I’ve read provided information on the presidents’ lavish lifestyle, further enflaming the feelings of the young and unemployed in Tunisia.

  2. Mona Zaki | 19/01/2011 at 2:09 am | Reply

    Beautiful cartoon and very civil. There is not much for those of us living in the oppression of the Middle East but the food fed us by the media to churn whatever bottled up emotions we may have. It is somewhat satisfying to watch and hear of others achieving what most of us feel unable to achieve.
    A double edged sword, the media is, but no one can say that it does not rouse response. A predetermined one or not, may no longer be an issue, this is the age of information it is only natural that some information will result in action.

    • gillianrogers | 19/01/2011 at 5:09 am | Reply

      Thanks for your eloquent comment. I wonder if there will be a domino effect in the Arab world as a result of this taste of voice and power that social media has helped usher in.

  3. Sibel Akin | 19/01/2011 at 10:42 pm | Reply

    The effect is already started, the student who set himself on fire became a symbol in the Arab world, now we see more desperate young people doing unfortunately the same thing in order to make their voices heard…

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