Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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It is all propaganda and you just choose what you believe
When one is closely involved in a story, the first thing you realise is that often media coverage is particularly slanted. It is pretty much the same as contestants in reality shows, who will always tell you that the editing of the show produces a distortion of what happened in real life. It is only when you are involved in a story, or know more about it, that you realise how true that is. The Road Accident Fund would be a perfect example, with the campaign to bring in the 2008 laws based around how much one foreigner was getting from the Road Accident Fund and how much lawyers were taking. In convincing people that lawyers were earning too much and a foreigner could bankrupt the system, a lot of people were only too happy to see changes to the system, and it is only when later they have a claim and have little or no compensation to look forward to, that they now understand there is an entirely different angle to the story. Incidentally, the foreigner was covered by an insurance policy that the Road Accident Fund had, so they did not pay out the large sum themselves in any event.
When I was a student at Wits University, I took part in protests against the apartheid government, in particular for the release of detainees without trial and for my efforts had the security police visit our house. Whenever protests at Wits were filmed or shown on TV, it gave the sense that the whole campus was up in arms, and that it was really a very politically orientated University. I was one of those students, and there were only about 150 at any given time involved in most of the activities or protests, out of some 20 000 students, but it does not make sense to record thousands of other students just sitting in lectures, or watching, or doing nothing, because that does not make “news”. It is always so important to realise that before you watch the next documentary on TV, about whatever it may be about, and get the impression that either an entire city is up in arm and at war with each other or whatever point the producer is trying to sell you, that although it may well be true and indeed many cities do have ongoing civil wars, it is not necessarily always a reflection of the true reality of life in that city or whatever it is the programme is about.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 18-Feb-13
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Comments
Lorette said:
on Friday 22-Feb-13 11:02 AM
It is actually scary to think that things can be blown up in such a way just for publicity. But then again that is how they get their money to keep the people interrested. True that you can actually not believe everything you read.
Yolandi Potgieter said:
on Monday 18-Feb-13 10:58 AM
This is very accurate. There is no objective truth in life but it is rather subjected to the predispositions that people have observed and taken as their own. Propaganda contributes to these predispositions and can be manipulated to create conformity or disunity. This has been proven throughout history and the influences of such uses of the media has more often than not resulted in bloodshed, revolution and great changes in the world.
Benita said:
on Monday 18-Feb-13 10:38 AM
Like everything else the media is also a business and they also like their money, as it is human nature so in order for them to make more money they have to sensationalise stories. The public reading these stories need to bear that in mind and know to take it up with a pinch of salt and not just believe everything they read and hear.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
