Posted on 05/06/2003 8:40:41 AM PDT by PhiKapMom
Missing the Mark
2003-05-06
The Oklahoman
THE NEXT time U.S. armed forces are engaged in a large-scale conflict, the rest of us would be advised not to put much stock in the day-to-day media coverage. Content analysis of the major television and newspaper coverage of the war in Iraq in a recent edition of Insight magazine shows the big media often missed the big picture and regularly misled the American people.
In the article by J. Michael Waller, the magazine notes that just days into the war the major media were sounding defeatist themes -- using terms like "bogged down" and "quagmire" to describe localized aspects of coalition operations. Less than two weeks into the war, some were comparing Iraq to Vietnam.
"The real news (about war coverage) is about the reporters and commentators who got it wrong through ignorance, avarice, old-think, attempts to fit the war to their personal bias and, in the case of some, political ambition," Waller writes.
Many adopted story angles, Waller writes, that came right out of the playbook of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed, otherwise known as "Baghdad Bob" for the totality of his disinformation campaign.
In fairness, daily journalism is only the first draft of history, as they say. Reporters and editors often were looking at isolated snapshots and couldn't always discern the larger view.
Unfortunately, that didn't stop some from offering broad and often inaccurate characterizations of the overall campaign to their readers and viewers. Only after the dust settled -- sometimes literally -- could it be known how off-base some of the reporting was. For example:
On Day 3, MSNBC's Brian Williams compared U.S. precision air strikes to carpet bombing during World War II.
On Day 4 a widely carried Reuters wire report said the Marines were "bogged down" near An Nasiriya.
On Day 6 retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey said the coalition could suffer as many as 3,000 casualties.
On Day 7, CBS' Leslie Stahl asserted to Secretary of State Colin Powell that the U.S. force in Iraq was too small, couldn't protect its supply lines and was losing the war. Powell cut her argument to pieces with clear statements of fact.
Coverage often lacked perspective, Waller writes, exaggerating every suicide bombing attack, every angry crowd and "every tank that lost a tread."
Of course, when the coalition quickly reached its military objectives all talk of quagmires and all second-guessing about the size and nature of the force used looked pretty foolish.
Coverage centered on the speed of the campaign, the genius of a flexible war plan and low casualty rates. Fox News' Brit Hume best captured the media turnaround, telling Waller, "That's why it's so great to be a journalist. You don't have to adhere to any fixed principles of any kind."
Another point to keep in mind.
Inhaling deeply, smells like fresh pine and sagebrush scented air after a rain.
Particularly when compared to the foul, sewage laden stench coming from NYT, LAT, BGlobe and others of that ilk.
Special Report is must-see TV. FOX News' premier news program.
My main question would be: Why would anyone interested in accurate coverage listen to the spin networks and the spin media?
If it isn't FR, FOX, selected talk radio stations or selected internet sites, then it isn't worth the effort to turn the dial or click the remote.
Credit to the TICKs also for their great coverage.
My feelings exactly. If I only get to see one newscast, it has to be "Special Report". Even if I can sometimes only catch the last 20 minutes or so, it's still with it for the panel discussion and the "kicker" item at the end. Tony Snow is OK when he sits in, but Brit with his sense of humor deliverd with a poker face is a winner.
The alphabet networks (I think it was ABC) will rue the day they lost him.
This little story has been going around and is pretty much on the mark:
The Pope is visiting DC and President Bush takes him out for an afternoon on the Potomac, sailing on the Pres. Yacht. They're admiring the sights when, all of a sudden, the Pope's hat (zucchetto) blows off his head and out into the water. Secret service guys start to launch a boat, but Bush waves them off, saying "Wait, wait. I'll take care of this. Don't worry."
Bush then steps off the yacht onto the surface of the water and walks out to the Holy Father's little hat, bends over and picks it up, then walks back to the yacht and climbs aboard. He hands the hat to the Pope amid stunned silence.
The next morning, the Washington Post carries a story, with front page photos, of the event. The banner headline is "Bush Can't Swim"
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