Current Commentary
The Media's role in thepost-9/11 world
By Carolyn Ayon Lee,UPI Media Correspondent
ARLINGTON, Va., (UPI) -- Veteran journalistArnaud de Borchgrave on Friday scolded the news media for "theconstant melodrama of constant trivia" -- such as the storieson Monica Lewinsky, O.J. Simpson and Gary Condit -- that "blindedus to the new forces shaping the developing world, particularlythe Muslim world," in the run-up to 9/ll.
"We journalists tend to lose sightof our responsibility to inform, of course, but also to illuminateand dramatize major trends so that our political leaders can musterthe courage to resort to unpopular measures that will later beseen as acts of visionary statesmanship," de Borchgrave said.
Another keynote speaker at the opening sessionof the 19th World Media Conference urged the audience of editorsand reporters from around the globe to undertake more thoughtfulcoverage of religious issues.
"Religious identity, for literallybillions of people around the world, is the basis of identity,and not merely some private, personal preference," said ChungHwan Kwak, chairman of the board of media company News World CommunicationsInc., the parent corporation of the World Media Association, whichhosted the media conference.
News World publishes The Washington Times,Buenos Aires, Argentina-based Tiempos del Mundo and several otherpublications and owns United Press International. Kwak on Thursdaytook the helm of the 95-year-old news service as its chairman,chief executive officer and president. News World was foundedby the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church.
"The media does not need to advocateany one religion, but it can educate, inform and shape attitudesrespectful of the diverse family of religions," Kwak said.He noted, for example, a lack of understanding between the Muslimworld and the non-Muslim world.