| Bias plays a role in which stories make headlines as does the language the editor speaks. |
The Absentee Ballot
| not lost in translation |
| The Absentee Ballot sifts through breaking international and national news overcoming language barriers through translations to bring a fresh perspective to Americans whose views are too often shaped by news organizations more interested in slanting the news than breaking it. |
| info@theabsenteeballot.com |
| The Absentee Ballot sifts through breaking international and national news overcoming language barriers through translations to bring a fresh perspective to Americans whose views are too often shaped by news organizations more interested in slanting the news than breaking it. American news ranging from republican and democratic primaries, the general election, the war on terror, foreign policy to illegal immigration and its impact on politics, the society and how it is perceived internationally is important in understanding how those stories, in turn, affect America's image. Just as important, are the international stories that go unheard because they aren't being reported on in English. Europe is facing the many of the same struggles politically and socially with an increasing population of immigrants and because of terror cells determined to enact damage on a continent who has remained so tolerant despite threats by Islamofascists. Fox, Cnn, CBS, NBC, and ABC, the Drudge Report, CNBC, Bloomberg, AP and Reuters provide just a fraction of what is happening internationally and the Absentee Ballot will provide the rest. The Absentee Ballot., the book coming later in the year, provided the inspiration to keep reporting the latest news through this alternative medium. |
| News organizations can radically alter foreign stories because of their inability to speak the language. Two recent stories demonstrate how wrong translations can influence the way that the facts are reported. Two examples come to mind and both were reported by the Drudge. One of them was an Italian girl from Turin who, according to the Drudge Report and other media outlets, was ordered to have an abortion by an Italian judge. They cited an Italian newspaper extensively in the report which the Drudge linked to his site. The true story was radically different. Somewhere, someone failed Italian 101. The girl was required by Italian law to obtain both parent's permission to obtain the abortion but only had her mother's signature. Her father refused. Her only alternative was to sue to have the abortion. She did and she won. The judge allowed her with only one parent consenting. That was the story and it was radically different than what was reported. It wasn't the mistake of the Italian news article either-they got it right. News outlets recently reported that Italian television had broadcast the Taliban's beheading of an Afghan who was working with an Italian journalist. That would be similar to ABC opening its nightly newscast with the Daniel Pearl beheading. It would make for a violent and gruesome society. Again the report missed a crucial detail. The video was shown right up to the beheading and the screen went black. All of this creates false and bad impressions of European society, and I'm just including two examples. The same occurs on the European side. Language is a barrier even when all parties think that they have the correct information. The Drudge Report breaks news and has media connections. But when it comes to International news, in a foreign language, it's useful to have people that can get an accurate picture-not one that simply makes headlines. |
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