The kidnappers of four Christian Peacemakers released a videotape of their captives yesterday, and the U.S. media has responded with a virtual news blackout on the event -- at least so far. (see UPDATE, below)
This stands in stark contrast to their response whenever videos have been released of kidnapped truck drivers, or other presumably "non-political" abductees.
But then, the low-key response to this tape is consistent with the pattern the media's followed since these Peacemakers were first abducted (see Christ Kidnapped In Iraq).
Why the difference between the coverage of this kidnapping and so many others? Presumably because this story threatens two cherished media narratives. The first media narrative is that conscience dictates support for this war and for this President, whatever evidence may be provided to the contrary. The second is that "Christians" or religious people in general -- a group that's been stereotyped by the media -- are inherently conservative: pro-war and pro-Republican.
That's also why this apology for the war in Iraq, issued to the world by U.S. Christian leaders, got far less coverage that Pat Robertson's latest fulminations.
The teary interviews with friends and family that the media so cherishes wouldn't provide nearly as good a "human interest" angle in the Peacemaker story. There would be too much talk of conscience, morality, and war; too much challenging of cherished assumptions; too much that would make reporters and their employers uncomfortable.
Tom Fox, the one American among the four kidnapped, was not shown on the tape. This has raised concerned about his well-being. Didn't know that? How could you? As of this writing, the story does not appear anywhere on the following websites:
What does appear? "Court to Paris Hilton: Stay away from man."
Tom Fox is a profound, complex, and brave man. He and his fellow captives are about to pass their 100th day of captivity, beneath the layers of darkness that hide them.
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UPDATE: To those commenters trying to negate the point of this post by linking to Fox News or the New York Times, or whatever - as of 8:15 pm EST this story is STILL not visible anywhere on either website. The fact that both "news" organizations have carried the AP story on a hidden webpage - only available if you know what you're looking for - emphasizes rather than invalidates my point.
I'm not sure what you were hoping to accomplish, exactly, but that ain't it ... And to be clear, finding a passing mention here or there does not refute the point of this post, which is that this story has been virtually ignored while other kidnappings got glaring, front-page headlines. It doesn't matter how emphatically you state your case. The reality of the situation is straightforward and obvious enough.