"CLUELESS"

Or, A Totem Pole of Who Knows What

The resemblance between the perception of a news story by those who hear about it and what actually took place varies inversely with the square of the distance to the event times the number of intervening interpreters/editors divided by the competence of the recipient/reader/viewer.

The following is a “pole chart” for the dilution process.

Accurate Knowledge of What Actually Happened at Foreign News Making Events ⇓
(ranked below in descending order from highest to lowest)

Local reporters who were present
Freelance reporters who speak the language, ask questions and were present
Freelance reporters who speak the language, ask questions and visited the area
Experienced CIA field agents
Cabdrivers
Reporters who won’t leave the “green zone” or protected hotel
NSA phone intercept staff
CIA and NSA bureau chiefs
Cleaning ladies
Most editors
Washington based editors
NPR listeners
World Wide Web readers
Newspaper and magazine readers
Congressional aides and interns
Congresswomen
Press secretaries
Most TV viewers
TV anchors
Pundits
Washington Beltway Pundits
Fox News viewers and Dick Cheney
Democrat Congressmen
Republican Congressmen
National Inquirer readers
Homeland Security staff
Homeland Security director
Other Bush appointees
Autistic child
Paris Hilton
Homer Simpson
George W. Bush

Clueless Assumptions and Ignorance about What Actually Happened at such Events ⇑
(ranked above in ascending order from lowest to highest)