Western media

The Jakarta Post of April 13, 1996, published D. Chandramouli's letter Blissful ignorance which was so realistic, outspoken and fascinating that it should be voted "best letter of the year 1996". The letter represented the truth, nothing but the naked truth. In particular, I refer to his most pragmatic statement: "People generally form opinions by what they read or what they see and hear on TV. The global information bazaar is at present owned, influenced and controlled by Western nations."

The West dominates most of the contemporary media houses so much that its culture, philosophy and ideologies are visible in most parts of the globe. In fact, Western media propaganda is so strong today that it can determine people's mental direction. Through their powerful media, Westerners can dictate what is good or bad to the people of the world at the expense of reality but in favor of their political or economic interests. For example, anything good is from Washington, London, Paris or Canberra; anything bad is from the developing world, particularly Asia and Africa, the two main victims of Western media propaganda.

As far as Africa is concerned, Western media propaganda is so persuasive that people have been generally programmed to believe there is nothing in Africa but chaos -- in Somalia, Liberia or Rwanda. False scientific research worth millions of dollars is often conducted and the result is that the deadly AIDS was first discovered in East Africa. Ebola virus (if true) existed in only a small part of Zaire but the media made it look as if it were from all 53 African countries. Some African nations, like Nigeria and South Africa, are resourceful and economically secure, yet the Western media portray the whole continent as poverty stricken. If this is true I wonder why Westerners are the major investors in Africa.

Asian countries also suffer from Western media bias, usually in the name of human rights, child labor, child prostitution and corruption. American movies have a strong influence on the minds of Indonesian youths.

Chandramouli seems to suggest that he's one of the few Asians who truly understands the biased tendencies of Western media, even though he didn't provide a solution to the problem. I think Western media should be fair in presenting facts by making balanced reports of both the good and the bad sides of every issue.

BUHARI ABDU

Jakarta