Addendum
Great response to this article, which I posted on Open Salon. aaronrury commented:
I think there are major problems with both sides of this argument. First, you are very right to challenge the MSM's ability and willingness to cover what is happening in Iran. But considering that those protesting comprise a very small percentage of the Iranian, even those that voted, there is a question that is begged. Is this really newsworthy? More than that, if protests of BOTH national conventions prior to this past national election in the US are not newsworthy, why are Iranian protests? Because more things are on fire?
It seems like there is a portion of the city of Tehran that is very upset with the results. Unfortunately for them, the rest of Iran is much more conservatives than they are and make a significantly larger proportion of the populace that took part in the vote. Given all of that, maybe there really isn't a story behind these protests other than people being wholeheartedly disappointed in the outcome.
As far as reports from Iran go, there are also problems. Because those who would be for the 'reformist' candidate are also well-educated and well-funded, they are more likely to have access to things like the internet and the several types of software that people use on the internet. I can tell you right now that if an Iranian came on OS and started blogging what was happening it would be front cover material. But there is an inherent bias in such an approach to getting our information. Because only those would be opposed to the incumbent based on socio-economic status have access to the internet, it seems like all the reports of from people who have had their vote 'stolen'. But those who are much poorer and more likely to vote for the incumbent are under-reported because they can't get on Twitter or what have you. You don't get the whole story from Iranian twitters or tweets or whatever the hell they're called.
This is a very interesting exercise in what to expect in the coming decades as more and more people have access to more and more people via the internet and its mesmerizing software. I think you're right in general that having as many eyes on the situation is a better solution and the MSM's eyes weren't that good to begin with. The more eyes the herd has the better it is to see a predator. But sometimes filter are a good thing. It's hard for me to figure out what purpose, good or bad, such a filter serves here.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
