War as entertainment?

War as entertainment?

From Republika

The program aired by Lativi on March 26, 2003 was interesting
to see. They raised a current and wicked issue to discuss:
American invasion against Iraq. Adolf Posmah, as the host,
presented British Ambassador to Indonesia, military analyst,
Hasnan Habib and Nangogoy as resource persons.

Through this letter I would like to call into question the
careless "conclusion" made by the host at the end of the program.
He said that the American invasion against Iraq on TV had turned
into a sort of entertainment eagerly awaited each day by
Indonesian viewers. Although he used "quote-unquote" for the word
entertainment twice, the guests quickly corrected his remarks,
affirming that war was not a type of entertainment.

Looking awkward, the host finally admitted that it was not his
intention to refer to the war being waged in Iraq as
entertainment but as perhaps, "infotainment", a term which is
also considered improper.

In my opinion, any TV coverage related with the American
invasion should not be categorized into entertainment or
comparable with "infotainment" by celebrities. War has widespread
affects which are not at all entertaining.

THAMRIN SONATA

Pemalang, Central Java