Debate arises over Iraqi shoe thrower's future
This story is one of the many follow-ups on 28-year-old Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi correspondent who threw two shoes at the now-former President Bush. The story covers what will happen to him in the coming months. There is a conflict between a Swiss lawyer, Mauro Poggia, and al-Zaidi’s brother and legal team. The Swiss lawyer claims al-Zaidi is seeking asylum in Switzerland while the Iraqi legal team reports that al-Zaidi has not expressed a wish to leave the country. Al-Zaidi was scheduled to go to trial in December on a charge of assaulting a foreign leader. This date was postponed as his legal team seeks to reduce the charge from a 15 year felony to the charge of insulting Bush.
I think this article exhibits bad news judgment. It has some novelty as the original shoe-throwing was pretty funny. This story, however, is more about al-Zaidi’s current situation which isn’t very novel at all. Conflict also comes up as there is a dispute between the Swiss lawyer and the defendant’s family, with al-Zaidi’s brother saying he will sue the lawyer. The story also reports on shoe-throwing protests outside the White House led by American groups who support al-Zaidi.
Although there is some novelty and conflict in the story, it lacks other news values. The story has a large degree of impact in Iraq but little in America, where a select few protesters seem to be the only ones worried about it. The story doesn’t have much timeliness either as the actual event occurred December 14, over a month ago. This ties in to the lack of currency. Al-Zaidi was big news in pop culture when he threw the shoes, but has since faded out of the limelight.
Overall I’d say this story did not display good news judgment. It seems to be milking a humorous event that happened a month ago for what amounts to a weak story. The abundance of other stories also giving minor updates detracts from my desire to actually read it. Had there been a ruling or some other action in al-Zaidi’s case, there may have been a better story to report.
Similar stories are focusing more on al-Zaidi's treatment in jail and his status as a national hero. Some speculation about his future does occur but it isn't the primary focus.
Brian D.
Wow! You're taking on the Associated Press! That's a tough task, Brian.
ReplyDeleteYou backed up your argument effectively by naming the news values. However, like many stories this story had two legs. The first was the casual story about an angry Iraqi throwing a shoe at an unpopular American president. The second was much deeper, and the story in your second link talks about it.
This guy is largely being treated like a hero in his country, despite being prosecuted. That's where the author of the story you cited is coming from. Apply the news values to the second leg of the story, and you may come up with a different conclusion.