Torture: Most Reporters Avoid The Word While Editorials Embrace It

Editor and Publisher:

As the protests surrounding revelations that the CIA had destroyed tapes that showed brutal interrogations by its agents, most new outlets refused to brand what the tapes likely showed as "torture."

One Associated Press article referred simply to "interrogation" on the tapes, at one point putting "enhanced interrogation" in quotes. Another AP article called it "harsh interrogation."

Read the whole story: Editor and Publisher

Comments

[StillAmused]

11:08 PM on 12/09/2007

Most news outlets have a soft spot for the meaningless term, "war", too.

[Tharsis]

10:12 PM on 12/09/2007

They have a hard time with the word "occupation" as well.

[Kane]

09:23 PM on 12/09/2007

Soon, the word torture will be referred to as "The T-word".

[starrianna]

05:09 PM on 12/09/2007

The CIA should tape over the tapes with
AN ENDLESS LOOP of

"Oprah's Favorite Things"

That is far more depressing, and painful.

[MikeDu]

05:00 PM on 12/09/2007

I cringe every time a reporter uses the ususal euphamisms for torture. "Coersive techniques", "rough handling", "foreceful interrogation" etc. Had to sit thru that nonsense during an NPR news report today. A new twist is whenever these 'methods' are brought up 'waterboarding' has to be mentioned. Hello, we're talking about raping sodomizing prisoners, burying people alive, beating them til they get brain damage, prisoners dying from abuse, female prisoners impregnated while being raped in custody. And all you clown can ask about is the 'waterboarding' red herring?

[realitytrumpsbull]

04:08 PM on 12/09/2007

Yeah, but is anyone REALLY going to see jail
time for it, get fired for it? Um, 'no'.
Remember, the Deciderer decides what's
constitutional or not...unless the People
decide to impeacherer...

http://www.impeachbush.org

[minnesotablue]

03:53 PM on 12/09/2007

Fox is not a legitimate news source! No self respecting Democrat should ever appear on that channel

[Ginzaman]

02:00 PM on 12/09/2007

You know why they won't say torture? Because telling the truth is unpatriotic, will get you labeled as an "enemy combatant" and TORTURED as well! And we can't have that for network news superstars, now can we?

[Maxbyte]

01:52 PM on 12/09/2007

After Nixon's plumbers broke into Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel, the media was all over Nixon and his merry band of bad guys like stink on the ugly.

What has happened since then that has caused the media to close its collective eyes to the horrors inflicted by George Bush??

Perhaps blogging is part of the answer; but the ubiquitous blog is not yet a substitute for good journalism. The as*hole in the White House should have been figuratively tied to two teams of Clydesdales going opposite directions long ago... by MSM. It just hasn't happened.

As generals in Iraq recent told CNN ?, the war is not going as well as it's being portrayed in America. So the fuc*er in chief is still fuc*ing America and he must be called on it.

BTW, is Mukasey still in Washington? Is he dead or alive? We need to hear from him to decide if he's the second coming of Gonzales.

[ProfessorDuh]

01:06 PM on 12/09/2007

Torture — lie — murder — occupation — subjugation — secret police — death squad. There are a lot of terms reporters should start using to more accurately describe the Bush administration.

[JessWonderin]

12:50 PM on 12/09/2007

Consisitant response . . . whenever this Administration staggers over the line and rights or people die because of greed and inept decisions, our Press stops short of losing their "invation" to the Press Corp Dinner . . .

Besides, "Obstruction Of Justice" charges are a cake walk over Treason or War Crimes . . .