british press

The Story Behind the Obama Assassination Story

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

On the Sunday before the Democratic Convention, four men were arrested in Denver and held on suspicion of attempting to formulate a plot to assassinate Sen. Barack Obama on national television. The story practically slipped by the American media. Although brief accounts dotted blogs at a few outlets like the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and the Huffington Post, the story was generally buried.

Across the Atlantic, however, British news outlets made a different judgment call. Most of the mainstream daily newspapers chose to headline with the Obama “plot.” The Guardian, The Times and The Independent all pegged the story for a front-page feature, focusing on the prevalence of racism in America as a breeding ground for “rednecks with rifles.” British TV stations covered the story, too. National newscasts teased the story throughout the day, including the BBC, and the public were a-buzz with talk of the “Obama assassination plot.”

So, what happened here? Was it underplayed by America, or over-played everywhere else?

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