I'm gonna quickly throw this amusing one here. It's stories like this that sort of inspired me to start this blog in the first place. Putting it out there as to where, who and what Croatia is, and isn't. Get rid of any misconceptions or untruths. As for this piece, one comes across lots of similar stories on the internet regarding fail geographical maps from American news broadcasts. (I added just a few at the bottom as examples) Even just recently at school, (Before deciding to go to another college) when talking about our backgrounds, one female student sitting beside me asked (I think she was Indian or Pakistani background,)....Croatian? Is that a religion?
That just about sums it up. Like I said, I decided to start this blog after my trip to Croatia in 2009. There was things about Croatia even people of Croatian descent didn't know. And that's how this hobby came into fruition and has reached this point. The number of visitors that read my stuff is nothing to sneeze at, so I must be doing something right. I just keep going with it. It seems I'm filling some kind of niche if people from all over the world find my posts interesting and useful or at least as something new. Even if one person discovers something about Croatia that they didn't know before, then my job is done. I have to inform people that Croatia has electricity, malls and cars, (With even IKEA on the horizon), that we sell bikinis in the department stores, we have nude "Girl of the Day" in newspapers, that we have a long history, language, great food, good beers and wines, beaches, that Petra Ecclestone does NOT support heart disease, and maybe most importantly of all....that Croatians don't or never have worn the pointy/horned toe Serbian opanci.
To paraphrase from that Kevin Costner film 'Field of Dreams'... "If they come, I will build it."I guess.
I can also see on the failed map that the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Slovakia are even out of the picture in this one, as well as some other countries. In regards to the below article and it's mentioning of former U.S. President Bush and Africa. Well, at least I can say with assuredness that former U.S. Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (As well as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper) can point out Croatia on a map at least. Whew!
Overall though, this one is a pretty awful example of knowledge in geography. Can someone working at a major U.S. news broadcaster be this bad at geography? Is someone maybe working at Fox really ticked off at the verdict of former Governor Rod Blagojevich? Does someone at Fox News subliminally want the Serbs to attack Austria and Hungary now as well? Was the person putting the map together high on weed? Bad shrooms? Who knows? These error filled geographical map type news stories won't be going away anytime soon I'm sure. I've even seen failed geography maps concerning U.S. states in the past. (Those "Fail" type website blogs are all over the internet these days and growing daily)
www.jutarnji.hr
World geography has always presented a challenge to some Americans, from the President down. Part of the problem could be the maps supplied by Fox News. Being such a vast country and with less than half of its citizens owning a passport (37% according to the latest figures), it is perhaps not surprising that world geography is not the strongest subject for many Americans. There are numerous instances of American public figures getting confused on the location of distant places, including the President himself. George W. Bush's declaration that Africa was a nation is one of the better known examples (listen to the clip here).
The map of Europe, according to Fox News
Part of the problem for geographical ignorance, however, is perhaps due to media misrepresentation. Leading Croatian daily Jutarnji List ran an article on January 5, 2012, about a map of Europe used by Fox News during its coverage of the recent Iowa caucuses, which portrayed a map of the Balkans that has no bearing to reality whatsoever, with countries such as Croatia omitted entirely. Greater Bulgaria stretched to the Italian border and was portrayed as being within the borders of former Yugoslavia, while the only former Yugoslav republic to make the map (Serbia) had been relocated north to Hungary and Austria. The geography of the Balkans - and former Yugoslavia - is tricky at the best of times, and maps such as the one aired by Fox News only add to the confusion.
Hvar is not in Bulgaria
Island of Hvar on the Adriatic coast.
Fortunately, not all Americans study world geography via Fox News, and U.S. tourists are coming to Croatia in increasing numbers. On Croatia's premier island - Hvar, named by Lonely Planet as its number 5 destination in 2012, for example, American tourists to the main town of the same name are among the most common tourists. According to official statistics, 6,886 American tourists visited Hvar Town in 2011 - which made global headlines as the place where a British prince jumped fully clothed into a nightclub swimming pool, and where Beyonce revealed her baby bump to the world. Only Italian and British tourists visited in greater numbers. To clear up any potential confusion, the territory of former Yugoslavia now comprises:
Slovenia - capital Ljubljana, member of the EU
Croatia - capital Zagreb, set to join the EU in 2013
Bosnia and Herzegovina - capital Sarajevo
Montenegro - capital Podgorica
Serbia - capital Belgrade
Macedonia - capital Skopje
Kosovo - capital Pristina (the latest independent country in the region, Kosovo's independence has not been universally recognised).
Well, at least nobody thought the U.S. should invade Croatia.
Just a few more examples of failed maps used on major U.S. networks.
