> I'm sorry if you heard the story as somehow demeaning to the
> protestors. It
> was certainly not designed that way -- my intention in fact was to
> portraythe subtleties of many people's beliefs.
>
> As to the people whose soundbytes appeared in the story -- I
> assure you I did not 'twist' the first person's words, I only
paraphrased what I could
> not fit into the story.
--I find that difficult to believe, since you certainly could have chosen quotes that proved that your interviewees didn't believe in the demands of the protest. Instead, you chose quotes that didn't show that and then read into their significance.
>And the second person was not just an average
> protestor -- it was Bob Wing, one of the leaders of United for
> Peace and> Justice, an organizer of the march.
>
--yes, and his quote did nothing to uphold your intention of showing the protestors' demands as simplistic. Wing made it clear that he wanted the US led occupation to end immediately and troops to come home. That is not inconsistent with supporting aid to Iraq if the UN leads the reconstruction.
> Overall, I believe I gave the impression that these protestors, while
> working toward the ideal of pulling troops out of Iraq immediately,
> understand that probably won't happen, and so have more complex
> ideas than> 'end the occupation.'
>
--- It won't happen immediately because of political choices of the US and Britain, not because it's not desirable or 'unrealistic'. Of course it hardly helps that following your presentation, NPR then follows up with an 'analysis' of the occupation from a pro-war analyst like Michael O'Hanlon. It is revealing that critics of the war who are perfectly qualified to do analysis on NPR, like say Michael Klare of The Nation. Instead, it's an endless series of 'analysis' from prowar intellectuals. This is public radio's 'alternative' to commercial radio's selling of the war and occupation?
Stephen Philion
> Thanks for the feedback,
> Andrea Seabrook
>
>
> Andrea Seabrook
> Congressional Reporter,
> National Public Radio
>
>
>