2 sides to every story - NOT amateur radio

Since going on holiday to Montenegro, I am even more conscious that there are two sides to an argument, Clearly the Russian people are fed a line that the invasion of Ukraine is a "special military operation" and the evil West continues to supply weapons and wants the downfall of Russia. We in the West are told the brave Ukrainian people are the heroes, fighting the invaders.

In Kosovo, NATO is trying to stop the Serbs taking it back by force. I did not realise that Kosovo was once populated mainly by Serbs and in more recent times there is an Albanian majority.

What I am saying is we, and all people,  need to see the whole context in an unbiased way. Of course ethnic cleansing of any kind is totally wrong, and most wars achieve little. Too often people in many nations are fed a line by the media.

Get your information from multiple sources and take what you read and hear with a degree of questioning.

Media and stories - NOT amateur radio

OK, I can only speak of what happens in the UK, but similar probably happens in many countries.

Have you noticed how the media grabs a story and sticks with it for days on end? 

The latest is RAAC concrete in schools. In the UK this lightweight concrete was used as a cheap material in schools and other public buildings. It was used extensively after WW2. It has been found to have a life of 30 years if poorly maintained and buildings can be vulnerable if water seeps into the concrete. Before this, something else was the focus of the media. Things that were once in our focus just drop out of the news.

I am worried that the media sets the agenda. 

Back in the late 1960s we were told that the Vietcong were evil and those defending South Vietnam were heroes defending democracy from evil communists. Now, no-one is perfect, but we were fed a line. With the luxury of history we can now see through to the truth.

What would be good is neutral, unbiased, news. The best I have found is "The Knowledge" which is a free email, daily, newsletter.

The power of the media - NOT amateur radio

It is hard to appreciate just how much the media influences us all. 

In Russia, folks are told that the war in Ukraine is a "special operation" to liberate oppressed people. In the west we are told the Ukrainians are without fault. In the 1970s we were always told the USA was perfect in Vietnam and the Vietcong was evil.

We rarely hear a truly balanced view. All sides want to slant things their way. 

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. The west is not perfect, Russia is not perfect, Ukraine is not perfect, and the Vietcong was not the evil it was portrayed.

In all wars and in peacetime, the media influences us all. My plea is to get your data from multiple sources and make up your own mind. Don't always believe what you are fed.

Trial by media? - NOT amateur radio

Like many, I am bored by media coverage of the sexual proclivities of our politicians. If they are guilty of a crime then the law will mete justice. At the moment we seem to have trials by media, with papers out to gain readership and profits by sharing dirt in public.

Throughout history what goes on behind closed doors is the business of the persons concerned only. The exception is if a crime is committed in which case justice should be left to a court of law.  Mud sticks. Media justice is wrong.