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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Nationalistic Pride

Just a quick note. I just asked a Parisian who is currently in France about the atmosphere following the whole story with DSK. Her answer was: "What??? You think it's true??" and she explained that in France everyone believed in a "coup monte", that the story was a lie and that it was all a way to destroy a potential candidate. I personally doubt it. DSK was a very serious candidate but eliminating him does not eliminate all of the concurrence for anyone. The French party system and election system is way too complicated to make the elimination of one candidate sufficient to ensure the victory of anyone. However, what did interest me is the way the media treat a topic differently based on how concerned they feel to the topic, how close it is to them. And it made me realize that the media really have the power to create a whole atmosphere and to sell a story that is going to be accepted as the truth. I wonder how much of my opinion would have been shaped by the general opinion if I had been in France right now, and how much the American newspapers and the fact that I am in New York and not in Paris allows me to remain objective. I also wonder if it is possible at all for the media to not express their nationalistic pride at all, to not try to defend their country, or their politicians, and to not sell to the public some sort of consolation rather than a knife to make the injury bigger.

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