NEWSPAPER REPORTS ON AAPN

[Guest guest]

*Dear colleagues,*

* I note with some amount of intrigue seve**ral recent posts

on AAPN questioning the veracity of several newspaper reports concerning

animal welfare in Asia**. This is entirely relevant, warranted and welcome

for AAPN does heavily depend on media reports for discussion and debate. *

* There have been two notable examples, the 'man eating tiger' one reported

in the Nepali press and another in a reputed newspaper of India

impugning **negligence

on behalf of an animal welfare organisation in Kolkata. Having examined both

the reports, I can say that they were written with vested interests behind

them in an effort to malign the targets.*

* I hereby share with you an extract from the writings of the British

mathematician and philosopher Lord Bertrand Russell that gives valuable

guidance on critical analysis of newspaper reports. It applies as much to

reports concerning animal welfare/rights as to any other activity for

efforts to manipulate, spin and plant stories in the press are quite **rampant

and I note with some concern that some remarkable efforts to this end have

taken place in Kolkata of late. I ha**ve had occasion to discuss this with

two editors of two major newspapers in Delhi(both originally from

Kolkata and **one of them happens to be **my former supervisor and my

current professional referee)and they comprehend and share my views on the

immoral nature of manipulating the press for personal agendas.*

* This is an important issue to be addressed by all who believe in ethical

behaviour whilst conducting any campaigns for** animal welfare initiatives

in Asia(Or any kind of work for that matter).*

*Thank you for your attention.*

* Best regards,*

**

*

“In Peking, China in 1921 while I was on a lecture tour I suddenly

contracted double pneumonia, but in addi**tion to that I had heart disease,

kidney disease, dysentery and phlebitis. My illness provided me with the

pleasure of reading my obituary notices, which I had always desired without

expecting my wishes to be fulfilled. One missionary paper, I remember, had

an obituary notice of one sentence : ‘Missionaries may be pardoned for

heaving a sigh of relief at the news of Mr Bertrand Russ**ell’s death.’ I

fear they must have heaved a sigh of a different sort when they found that I

was not dead after all.*

* I was told that the Chinese said that they would bury me by the Western

Lake and build a shrine to my memory. I have some slight regret that this

did not happen, as I might have become a God, which would have been very

chic for an atheist.*

* The newspapers said that I was dead, but after carefully examining the

evidence I came to the conclusion that the statement was false. When the

statement comes first and the evidence afterwards, there is a process called

‘verification’ which involves confrontation of the statement with the

evidence.”*

**

* Bertrand Russell, 'Bertr**and Russell's Best', Silhouettes in Satire,

Selected and Introduced by Robert E. Egner, Unw**in Hy**man Limited, 1959,

London, page 59.*