Journalism vs. Reality in Iraq
In reading Austin Bay’s blog, I came across a blog titled StrategyPage that’s well worth the reading. The first article I read of their blog is titled “Journalism Versus Reality in Iraq” and couldn’t be more appropriately timed. Here’s a sampling of their work:
American troops are developing a hate-hate relation with journalists. The basic problem is that soldiers and marines in Iraq have access, usually via the Internet, to what the mass media is saying about what they think is happening in Iraq. These news reports, all too often, do not reflect what the troops experience. It gets uglier when the troops realize that reporters are spending most of their time in the Green Zone or some well guarded hotel, leaving it to local Iraqi stringers to collect information and photos for the reporters stories. Relations are a bit better with the few embedded journalists who still travel with the troops out in field. But even the embeds are often mistrusted and disliked, because some of them are blatantly out for dirt, not an accurate story.
This sounds more like an adversarial relationship than anything else and that’s a shame. Reporters should be about finding out the truth and letting the information take them to that truth. When they say that “even the embeds are often mistrusted and disliked, because some of them are blatantly out for dirt, not an accurate story” it sounds like how the Agenda Media act here in America.
This, in turn, informs us on why this nation is so polarized. Free and healthy societies rely on accurate information gathering. Without accurate information gathering, there can’t be a healthy society because decisions are made on the basis of false information.
Thankfully, we no longer have to rely on what Dan Rather or Dana Milbank or Chris Matthews tells us about the issues of the day but can rely on Hugh Hewitt, Glenn Reynolds, Ed Morrissey and legions of other great bloggers. The great information reformation that Hugh wrote about is strengthened by any blogger who cares about informational accuracy and who won’t compromise that part of their responsibilities because it conflicts with their political agenda.
Few of the troops understand that the news business is driven by dramatic events, not the tedious kind of process the troops go through every day to defeat the terrorists. To the troops, the war is being won. They see bad guys killed in large numbers, and few Americans getting hurt (it’s fairly common for their to be about twenty enemy dead for each American loss). The troops see tangible evidence, every day, of Iraqis having a better life. The troops cannot understand why that is not news, and why journalists always seem to be looking for a negative angle. To the average G.I., the attitude is, “what are these reporters looking for?”
This sounds eerily similar to everything that was written about Howard Dean’s use of the blogosphere and the Agenda Media’s fascination with MoveOn.org’s GOTV operations? These subjects drew the headlines but Bush/Cheney ‘04 quietly raised far more money from the internet than Dean had and, under Ken Mehlman’s and Karl Rove’s leadership, had far outdone their MoveOn.org and ACT activists in registering new voters and doing a terrific job recruiting grassroots activists for their GOTV operations.
My point is that the Agenda Media overlooks alot of important stories to run the stories that best fit their agenda, whether it’s about politics, the GWOT or natural disasters. (Remember the disastrous reporting in Katrina’s aftermath?)
In closing, I’d just encourage you to check this blog out. It looks like a terrific read.
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRing
November 21st, 2005 at 9:57 am
The really sad thing about the majority of embedded reporters is this..
They do what they do for fame and glory. They would easily release an article that put the troops in harm’s way- to further their career and their political agenda.
On the other hand…
The troops protect these journalists out of duty to country, with no honor, fame, or even pay bonus for doing it. They may even end up dying protecting one of these media vultures circling them in the Sand Box.