Last week I read an article in one of my favourite newspapers, The New York Times, about the different ways the media in Europe and the United States view the conflict in Iraq.
The article, which was titled The Great Divide, and written by Paul Krugman was interesting, yet did not quite explain why such a gap now exists between the Old World and the New.
I found myself with a different view and wrote an article about it , and sent it to The NY Times. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email a couple of days later that they had decided to print my contribution.
Read it below.
To the Editor:
Paul Krugman (”Behind the Great Divide,” column, Feb. 18) asks whether the divide between the United States and Europe is the result of ”pervasive anti-American bias” in European media. I am almost sure that this is not the case. The reason is much simpler: Americans have no access to foreign media, nor do our national media cover a lot of foreign affairs.
Americans therefore are unable to form a nuanced opinion. In ”old” Europe, where newspapers from around the world are widely available and everyone has access to television stations from at least three or four other countries, people have a more balanced view of the world than Americans do.
The ”great divide” between Europe and the United States is not as large as many believe. Cultural diversity is what built the United States, and American media should start showing this diversity to their audience. If they don’t, they risk becoming weapons of mass division.
STEFAN DE VRIES
Paris, Feb. 19, 2003
