--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the problems with the media…" description: "\"One of the problems with the media covering this place is that there are stereotypes of news, one of which is \"war rages\" and the other is \"peace dawns..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/patrick-cockburn-28053_covering_one-of-the-problems-with-the-media-cover_3129785.jpg" --- # One of the problems with the media covering this place is… ![“One of the problems with the media covering this place is that there are stereotypes of news, one of which is "war rages" and the other is "peace dawns." And there isn't much in between. When I talk to foreign journalists, often they are gritting their teeth because they've been asked for a piece…” quote by Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/patrick-cockburn-28053_covering_one-of-the-problems-with-the-media-cover_3129785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/patrick-cockburn-28053_covering_one-of-the-problems-with-the-media-cover_3129785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fb/patrick-cockburn-28053_covering_one-of-the-problems-with-the-media-cover_3129785.jpg) > “One of the problems with the media covering this place is that there are stereotypes of news, one of which is "war rages" and the other is "peace dawns." And there isn't much in between. When I talk to foreign journalists, often they are gritting their teeth because they've been asked for a piece about how shops are reopening and restaurants are reopening and so forth - happy pieces. And it just ain't so.” [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Media often reduces complex conflicts to binary narratives of war or peace, ignoring everyday realities. **In simple terms:** Media simplifies conflict to war or peace. Key Takeaway Seek nuanced reporting. Themes media conflict stereotypes journalism Mood critical reflective Type analytical journalistic When to use this quote - war zones - peace negotiations - humanitarian reporting - local business - public perception Key Concepts binary narrative human experience truth complexity Questions to Reflect On - How can journalists balance urgency with nuance? - What stories are left untold? A Different Perspective Oversimplification can mislead audiences and policy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dawn/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Stereotype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stereotype/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Foreign journalists have to have an approved interpreter assigned them, which they have to pay for, who also acts as guide. As an Iranian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hooman-majd/foreign-journalists-have-to-have-an-approved-interpreter-assigned/) [Hooman Majd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hooman-majd/) > [Trump has his own audience, which is in many cases as big as or bigger than the media covering him. He doesn't need the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-has-his-own-audience-which-is-in-many-cases-as-big-as-or-bigger/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [There's no way of preventing the media from covering attacks as huge events and until the media stops doing that, they will be huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/there-s-no-way-of-preventing-the-media-from-covering-attacks-as-huge/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [The coverage of Central America in recent months points up one of the ugly truths about the American press: the better the news, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-barnes/the-coverage-of-central-america-in-recent-months-points-up-one-of-the/) [Fred Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-barnes/) > [I don't need the news. If they have a war, I figure someone will tell me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bum-phillips/i-don-t-need-the-news-if-they-have-a-war-i-figure-someone-will-tell-me/) [Bum Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bum-phillips/) > [One of the greatest problems for international journalists covering the Middle East is that people who serve as guides for journalists are often affiliated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-glick/one-of-the-greatest-problems-for-international-journalists-covering/) [Caroline Glick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-glick/) > [A woman with cut hair is a filthy spectacle, and much like a monsterit being natural and comely to women to nourish their hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/a-woman-with-cut-hair-is-a-filthy-spectacle-and-much-like-a-monsterit/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes—a justifier of the most appalling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-assert-most-unhesitatingly-that-the-religion-of-the-south-is-a-mere-2/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I was born to love - but none of you wanted to believe it, and that misunderstanding was crucial in forming my character. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/i-was-born-to-love-but-none-of-you-wanted-to-believe-it-and-that/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [Our covering ministry is Challenge for Christ ministries, and Travel the Road was solely our mission arm, designed to expose people to what missions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/our-covering-ministry-is-challenge-for-christ-ministries-and-travel/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [I got my first job when I moved to Los Angeles. I worked at a coffee shop for five years and it was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-leclerc/i-got-my-first-job-when-i-moved-to-los-angeles-i-worked-at-a-coffee/) [Katie Leclerc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-leclerc/) > [Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find that earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/life-is-so-full-of-meaning-and-of-purpose-so-full-of-beauty-beneath/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) > [It's often frustrating when you're a war reporter and you're covering these places that far away. You're frustrated by making stories that people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-rowley/it-s-often-frustrating-when-you-re-a-war-reporter-and-you-re-covering/) [Rick Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-rowley/) > [Women covering their heads is traditional, but now we're seeing more and more women covering themselves from head to toe. This is said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/women-covering-their-heads-is-traditional-but-now-we-re-seeing-more/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) ## More by Patrick Cockburn > [There are some things that could hold it together, notably oil revenues. But at the moment, the much vaunted surge has had a measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/there-are-some-things-that-could-hold-it-together-notably-oil/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Mosul stands rally at a sort of juncture of sectarian and ethnic differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/mosul-stands-rally-at-a-sort-of-juncture-of-sectarian-and-ethnic/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [I don't think the whole of Iraq would be under al-Sadr, but I think he would be the predominant force on the Shia side.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/i-don-t-think-the-whole-of-iraq-would-be-under-al-sadr-but-i-think-he/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Young Shia who have been brought up with nothing, who are pretty anarchic, pretty dangerous. In 2004 when they came close to killing me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/young-shia-who-have-been-brought-up-with-nothing-who-are-pretty/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Muqtada leads the only real mass movement in Iraq. It's a mass movement of the Shia, who are 60 percent of the population, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/muqtada-leads-the-only-real-mass-movement-in-iraq-it-s-a-mass/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [But from the moment George Bush decided to overthrow Saddam, the people who were going to benefit here were the Shia, who are 60…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/but-from-the-moment-george-bush-decided-to-overthrow-saddam-the/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Muqtada is radical in the sense that he wants the U.S. occupation to end and has always said so from the beginning. Secondly, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/muqtada-is-radical-in-the-sense-that-he-wants-the-u-s-occupation-to/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Despite the fact that there's billions of dollars sitting in the Iraqi government reserves, somehow they are incapable of getting it out to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/despite-the-fact-that-there-s-billions-of-dollars-sitting-in-the/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [You know, if you want to meet a lot of Iraqi leaders, the best places are the hotels in Amman or in London. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/you-know-if-you-want-to-meet-a-lot-of-iraqi-leaders-the-best-places/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [There's a lot of expectation in the Middle East that post-Obama there will be a sort of tougher U.S. line on Assad, there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/there-s-a-lot-of-expectation-in-the-middle-east-that-post-obama-there/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [ Muqtada belongs to the most famous religious family in Iraq, which is the al-Sadr family. He's really the third in line. \[Muqtada's father\] drew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/muqtada-belongs-to-the-most-famous-religious-family-in-iraq-which-is/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Turkey is saying that it wants to preserve Sunni dominance in Mosul. Obviously, there, the Kurds, the Shia, the Iraqi government have their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/turkey-is-saying-that-it-wants-to-preserve-sunni-dominance-in-mosul/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [It's always sort of amazing, sitting in Baghdad, to watch visiting dignitaries being received in the Green Zone by politicians who have usually very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/it-s-always-sort-of-amazing-sitting-in-baghdad-to-watch-visiting/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [Everything that happens in Iraq affects countries outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/everything-that-happens-in-iraq-affects-countries-outside/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) > [A defeat for ISIS in Iraq will be defeat for ISIS in Syria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cockburn/a-defeat-for-isis-in-iraq-will-be-defeat-for-isis-in-syria/) [Patrick Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) [Explore all 20 Patrick Cockburn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cockburn/) ## More Covering quotes > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Women covering their heads is traditional, but now we're seeing more and more women covering themselves from head to toe. This is said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/women-covering-their-heads-is-traditional-but-now-we-re-seeing-more/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [It's often frustrating when you're a war reporter and you're covering these places that far away. You're frustrated by making stories that people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-rowley/it-s-often-frustrating-when-you-re-a-war-reporter-and-you-re-covering/) [Rick Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-rowley/) > [Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find that earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/life-is-so-full-of-meaning-and-of-purpose-so-full-of-beauty-beneath/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) > [I got my first job when I moved to Los Angeles. I worked at a coffee shop for five years and it was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-leclerc/i-got-my-first-job-when-i-moved-to-los-angeles-i-worked-at-a-coffee/) [Katie Leclerc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-leclerc/) > [Our covering ministry is Challenge for Christ ministries, and Travel the Road was solely our mission arm, designed to expose people to what missions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/our-covering-ministry-is-challenge-for-christ-ministries-and-travel/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [I was born to love - but none of you wanted to believe it, and that misunderstanding was crucial in forming my character. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/i-was-born-to-love-but-none-of-you-wanted-to-believe-it-and-that/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes—a justifier of the most appalling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-assert-most-unhesitatingly-that-the-religion-of-the-south-is-a-mere-2/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [A woman with cut hair is a filthy spectacle, and much like a monsterit being natural and comely to women to nourish their hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/a-woman-with-cut-hair-is-a-filthy-spectacle-and-much-like-a-monsterit/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [One of the greatest problems for international journalists covering the Middle East is that people who serve as guides for journalists are often affiliated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-glick/one-of-the-greatest-problems-for-international-journalists-covering/) [Caroline Glick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-glick/) > [ I think everybody is covering their \[posteriors\] with the Enron scandal and it was very convenient that Sept. 11 came along to deflect the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/i-think-everybody-is-covering-their-posteriors-with-the-enron-scandal/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) > [News is the backbone of our network; the main commodity and the main successes of Al Jazeera came out of our involvement in covering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/news-is-the-backbone-of-our-network-the-main-commodity-and-the-main/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [I gravitate towards places where humans have been and are no more, to the edge of man's influence, where the elements are taking over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/i-gravitate-towards-places-where-humans-have-been-and-are-no-more-to/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [Newspapers are not free and they never have been. They can appear to be so, but someone, somewhere is covering the costs whether that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/newspapers-are-not-free-and-they-never-have-been-they-can-appear-to/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [“Real MEN don't need a woman covering for him because a Real MAN IS a woman's covering!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/real-men-don-t-need-a-woman-covering-for-him-because-a-real-man-is-a/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) Browse all 439 Covering quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the problems with the media covering this place is that there are stereotypes of news, one of which is \"war rages\" and the other is \"peace dawns.\" And there isn't much in between. 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