I thought this was kind of interesting and curious. The China Daily newspaper published an article today on Pacifica entitled “Rebel radio station makes ‘antiwar’ waves on air.”
A little investigation turns up a similar story on the Islam Online website, only rewritten some and titled “Pacifica Makes Comeback As Anti-war Radio.” This version says it’s sourced from the AFP, while the China Daily story just says “Agencies via Xinhua” (whatever Xinhua is).
Indeed, a little more search brings up the Agence France Presse story that seems to be the base source for both articles, with the same title as the Islam Online one.
But the differences are interesting. Take, for example, the opening paragraphs:
AFP – “Pacifica radio makes comeback as anti-war radio”:
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – A generation after Pacifica radio made a mark opposing the Vietnam War, the pacifist broadcaster is making a comeback, offering a dissenting voice as most American media are accused of cheering on the US invasion of Iraq.Islam Online – “Pacifica Makes Comeback As Anti-war Radio”:
SAN FRANCISCO, April 6 (IslamOnline.net & news Agencies) – In a bid to offer a balanced coverage of the U.S.-led war on Iraq different from the main stream media “cheerleaders”, the pacifist Pacifica radio, which gained world popularity opposing the Vietnam War, is making a comeback.China Daily – “Rebel radio station makes ‘antiwar’ waves on air”:
SAN FRANCISCO: A generation after Pacifica radio made a mark opposing the Viet Nam War, the pacifist broadcaster is making a comeback, offering a dissenting voice among ”pro-war” American media.
I have no particular conclusion to draw from the comparison, except to note the differences and that they’re interesting to see. Perhaps now it’s time for me to take an AP article and see how it might be interpreted by the likes of Fox News…
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