HUH?:

US press ignores Australia's pain (October 15 2002, The Age)

The British press has dubbed the Bali bombings Australia's own September 11.

But in the US, Australia is hardly rating a mention.

One report in the Washington Post about the twin night club blasts at Kuta Beach states: "Many of the victims were from Australia, south of Indonesia".

But readers of the Miami Herald online would be in the dark about Australia's death toll now believed to be the majority of the 183 confirmed dead.

The online paper refers to two Americans killed and three injured in the blast.

As for the rest: "Most of the dead are foreigners," the article stated.

Australia is mentioned only in a reference to the packed night club where most of the victims were killed.

"The Sari Club ... was a popular nightspot for the 20-something sun, sand and surf set, especially from nearby Australia," the report said.

Well, our local paper still has the attacks above the fold on the front page in its Tuesday edition. It picked up the story from the LA Times: Al Qaeda Blamed for Bali Bombing: Indonesia's defense minister says Bin Laden's group worked with local terrorists to blow up clubs popular with Westerners. (Richard C. Paddock,October 15 2002, LA Times). It does not mention the nationality of any victims until the twelfth paragraph when it does start by mentioning the Americans but moves on quickly to the Aussies:

Nearly 500 people were injured in the Bali explosion. At least two Americans were killed and three wounded. Most of the dead were foreigners, with the largest number from Australia. Officials in Australia expect the death toll of Australians to be the highest in any incident since World War II.

What else does The Age want? Posted by Orrin Judd at October 16, 2002 12:25 AM