• If journalists use the words ‘harsh interrogation techniques,’ they can be seen as siding with the White House … If journalists use the word “torture,” then they can be accused of siding with those who are particularly and visibly still angry at the previous administration.
• NPR Ombudsman Alicia C. Shepard • Debating the merits of describing the techniques on terrorism suspects in the U.S. as torture, vs. the administration-preferred “harsh interrogation techniques.” It’s a dialogue on how language can be used by those on both sides of a debate – one which Shepard found herself right in the middle of thanks to a column she wrote earlier in the week, which Salon’s Glenn Greenwald roundly criticized. We use both at random intervals, just to screw with people. • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink