Case Study in Media Uselessness

Check out this story at the Washington Post - via the AP, of course. Now, I know virtually nothing about Ecuador. I still knew virtually nothing after reading the AP story on the Post.

In contrast, go look up this article posted at ZNet (originally from "Green Left Weekly").

If you followed the link to the Green Left Weekly (which I have never heard of prior to tonight), you may think, "Jeez, this looks amateurish. And overtly political. How can I trust anything from this site? Maybe I should go to the credible news sources like the Washington Post..."

But it doesn't work that way, does it? The AP story sucks. It tells you nothing. You will learn nothing from it other than that in other parts of the world, some President's getting removed from power. Who are the groups involved? What are the major sources of conflict? What's the history of the conflict? You won't get a freakin' clue. But you head over to the "Green Left Weekly" of all places and read a really detailed, seemingly balanced, account of what's happening. Is it perfect? I don't know - I already said I don't know anything about Ecuador. But even if it's got some flaws, at least I have a clue about what I may end up being wrong about. I don't even get that from the AP article.

This is the state of our media today. Pathetic.