THE notion of ’spinning’ is often used to describe reports in the mainstream media, The Star, RTM, the NST and so on, in an attempt to alter or reverse the effect that reported events may have on the reader. Spinning suggests or connotes an attempt to turn a positive thing negative, or vice-versa. Synonyms of ’spin’ would be ’slant’ and ‘twist’. This notion is not always right. Consider the following case, running on the latest sodomy allegation against Anwar Ibrahim, the political opposition leader.
In The Star, with a headline posted Sunday June 29, 2008 MYT 8:21:03
Anwar receives death threats, in hiding (Update 3)
Two concepts are pertinent: (a) death threats, and (b) in hiding.
- The report beneath the headline does talk of “death threat” and this talk is attributed, without quotation, to Wan Azizah, Anwar’s wife and president of the PKR (Justice) party. Nothing else. Exactly what did Wan Azizah say? Bernama: “Friends told us to take care of him and that his life was in danger.”
Malaysiakini’s headline in contrast: ‘PKR fears Anwar an assassination target’.
- On the concept of “in hiding”.
Again Bernama quoting Azmin Ali, the party’s vice-president: “The decision to shelter Datuk Seri Anwar at a safe place was made at a meeting attended by PKR leaders.”
On both matters, death threat and in hiding, Anwar has issued two statements right from the start, that is before the headline. They are plainly stated on both counts, his whereabouts and why. He openly said he had taken refuge at the Turkish embassy because of the possibility of what certain forces might do to him, that is, kill him. To be ‘in hiding’ is to suggest secrecy, disappearance, going underground. Yet in plain statements it is none of the three elements.
Death threat suggests a direct contact made, an intention announced, to kill a certain person with an explicit instruction coming. It comes in particular from the person intending to carry out the threat, or a representative thereof. Instead, Anwar and the Justice party were tipped off into a possible action - he might be killed. It is a tip-off, an alert, in contrast to a threat directly or indirectly issued by the person or persons wanting to kill so that assassination is the correct word.
Now for the question: Were the editors at The Star spinning out of bad English and editorial incompetency? Spinning infers you have to be good in your language and vocabulary. But it can’t be bad English that they wrote the headline because many of the facts to the contrary are everywhere and Anwar had issued written statements. If they were good in language or of passable standard, then were they spinning? The conclusion has to be this: no. If The Star editors were not spinning, then were they trying to lie or to paint over the truth of unfolding events? Lying or attempting to do so is not spinning.
Moral of this brief note: watch the language, the lying is starting.
This conclusion raises another question. What’s the effect of saying Anwar has a death threat and he is in hiding? The sense of the headline is that it is an individual matter. He has enemies of an individual, private nature so that hiding reinforces that perception. But the cruz of Anwar’s statements and those by his associates say the opposite, which is that a conspiracy (including the police report of sodomy made against him) is unfolding, culminating possibly with his killing or assassination.
This fear of a conspiracy is not without basis. Accused of sodomy ten years ago, he was arrested and then beaten nearly unconscious - in a police station, by a policeman. Such is Malaysia where people, otherwise healthy young people, die in the custody of the police, without explanation, without investigation. They just die.
After the police and the judiciary, the media must be laundered clean one day.
