Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!snorkelwacker!apple!agate!agate!jym From: jym@eris.berkeley.edu (& Dyer) Newsgroups: alt.activism Subject: Undercounting (was Anti-invasion protest in Panama City) Message-ID: Date: 17 Jan 90 01:22:26 GMT References: <19900111215856.4.7THSON@GLOWWORM.LispM.SLCS.SLB.COM> Sender: usenet@agate.berkeley.edu (USENET Administrator;;;;ZU44) Organization: Berserkeley Lines: 32 In-reply-to: 7thSon@SLCS.SLB.COM's message of 11 Jan 90 21:58:00 GMT > Have you ever been to an underattended event which got covered > by the evening news, and then later watch the news and see how > they made the 20 people involved look like hundreds? No. Never. Not even remotely. In fact, with one exception, I have never organized for or been at a demonstration that the media *hasn't* underreported by at least 20%. (Consequently, I automatically mentally add 20% when I read such numbers in the media.) Does anybody have any idea what can be done about this problem? I'm pretty sick of it, personally. How best to take the media to task for undermining our efforts? ::::.-----.:::::<_Jym_>::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::/ | \::::.-----.::::::::::::::::: Jym Dyer :::::::::::::::: ::/ | \::/ o o \:::::::::::jym@mica.berkeley.edu ::::::::: ::\ /|\ /::\ \___/ /::::::::: Berserkeley, California :::::::: :::\ / | \ /::::`-----'::::::::::::Dilute! Dilute! O.K.! ::::::::: ::::`-----'::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: P.S.: The "one exception" I alluded to above was a rally of the League for Programming Freedom against Lotus for their "look and feel" lawsuit. The media were paying most attention to Richard Stallman, and when I reported the count in my slurred manner of speech, they heard wrong. I reported something like 113 and they heard 130 (or it was 114 and 140, or 116 and 160, I don't remember exactly). Not that the coverage was particularly good anyhow. The story in the _Boston_Globe_ started off, "The nerds held a rally yester- day . . ."