Balanced reporting needed

THE EDITOR: The recent furore over comments made by the US Ambassador only goes to show how lacking we are in standards. The Ambassador’s main pique is that the local media refused to give another view to what the local media admits is its the anti-American stance. My understand of fair and balanced reporting is that one gives ample opportunity for all the major points of view to be heard.

It is little wonder then that the local media is perceived as lacking in integrity and journalistic standards. One would have hoped that with access to cable news, local media practitioners would have learnt from American news networks like FOX news which tries at all times to have persons of opposing views on air when discussing serious issues. I guess however, the world holds anything American, to different values. The recent scandal involving mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners is a case in point. While Islamic extremists do much worse and in far greater numbers to their own Muslim “brethren” the Americans are expected to behave differently.

It is well known that certain Islamic states fund and support extremists who have recently bombed and slaughtered fellow muslims in Saudi Arabia. It is a fact that more local Iraqis than coalition forces are being slaughtered by terrorists in the current unrest there. Where is the world outcry against this? It is a credit to the standards that the United States holds itself to, that it has moved swiftly and harshly to deal with the perpetrators of the recently uncovered mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

RONALD SAMMY
Palmiste