Tear gas and smoke wafts around the site of a protest of the death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on Aug. 17, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. (Getty Images)
By Adam Taylor and Rick Noack
August 18th, 2014
In many ways, the chaotic situation in Ferguson, Mo., seems like something that shouldn’t happen in America. As WorldViews has noted, many of the hallmarks of the conflict are reminiscent of scenes from the Arab Spring and the Ukraine crisis – our former colleague Max Fisher has even wondered how American journalists would cover Ferguson, if only it weren’t happening “here.”
There are plenty of foreign journalists reporting on Ferguson, however, and for them, Ferguson is international news. Their coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown and the subsequent unrest can offer a refreshing viewpoint on America’s many problems. They can also reveal a lot about how such disturbances are viewed at home.
For most Americans, the most familiar foreign news outlets covering Ferguson will probably be the British ones: Not only is there a shared language, but some British outlets, most obviously the Guardian but also the BBC and the Daily Mail, have made big pushes into the U.S. news market. Notably, some publications are treating the conflict as they might a war zone — the Telegraph has sent its Afghanistan correspondent, Rob Crilly, to cover the protests, for example (he was arrested while reporting this weekend).
Read more at The Washington Post »
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Related:
National Guard Enters Ferguson Streets as Protests Turn Tense (LA Times)
Autopsy Shows Michael Brown Was Struck at Least 6 Times (NYT)
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