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Newspapers in Europe cover death of Vaclav Havel, not Kim Jong-Il

By Dylan Stableford | The Cutline – Mon, Dec 19, 2011

(Newseum.org)

The deaths of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il and Václav Havel, the playwright and former Czechloslovakian president, were both announced on Sunday. But depending on where in the world you woke up this morning, coverage of their passing was split, with most newspapers in Europe producing covers featuring Havel, and most U.S. newspapers covering Kim.

Kim's death was reported on state television in North Korea on Monday--too late for most newspapers in Europe to produce A1 stories. In the United States, Kim's death was reported at about 10 p.m. ET Sunday, giving publishers just enough time to put the supreme leader's demise on the cover of their Monday print editions. Many did, though at least one prominent American newspaper--the Washington Post--did not give Kim top billing. (The Post put Havel's obituary above the fold on its front page, and Kim's death report below.)

Havel, not surprisingly, was featured on the covers of most Czech newspapers. Prague's Lidove Noviny ran a large black-and-white photo with his signature--and a heart--underneath.

On television, however, most of the coverage tilted to Kim.

On North Korean state television, a tearful broadcaster announced Kim had died Saturday from "overwork" while "dedicating his life to the people." In the United States, there were no tears among cable news hosts, who broke into regular programming to report Kim's death shortly after 10 p.m.

As TheWrap.com's Brent Lang noted, Jong-Il's death was an opportunity for CNN to showcase Christiane Amanpour, who announced her return to CNN International earlier this month. But Amanpour was also on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday morning to summarize the news out of North Korea.

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7 comments

Sir Rotten • 5 mths ago
Shocking
Anton Kim • Pleasanton, United States • 5 mths ago
I'm sure there is an interesting psychological twist in this story somewhere between European & the rest of the world!
- PatBig 5 mths ago
  So the world is split between Europe and US "rest of the world"? No kidding. We mourn the death of a guy who helped free his country and ignore that of a dictator who enslaved his. Who's twisted?
HenryR • 5 mths ago
For the same reason, Asian food in Europe is never as good as it is in the states.
michaelB • Houston, United States • 5 mths ago
Duh! Vaclav Havel was a statesman...a leader...a brave man! His death should be on all the front pages everywhere so as to proclaim that there are GOOD and BRAVE leaders in the world! Kim is a looser, made his country a looser and we are better off without him! Put that in the back page!
Chi-townBrown • 5 mths ago
Interesting that left-wing hero Kim and right-wing hero Havel die within hours of each other.
Mark • Beijing, China • 5 mths ago
The headline is total #$%$ It implies that European papers chose between the two and went with Havel. As you explain, the news of Kim's death came too late for European papers to publish. TV doesn't have the same deadlines (obviously). Really strange story. Oh and STOP THE PRESS: Czech newspapers feature Vaclav Havel on front page.
brian • Tampa, United States • 5 mths ago
No mention that Havel helped unshackle the Poles from Communism, while Kim murdered how many in the name of Communism.

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