Five Years of the War in Iraq: Where’s the Media Coverage?
I am thrilled and honored to part of this forum. Thanks for having me.
I’ll tackle Greg’s second question, regarding the coverage of the war.
This week marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, but you wouldn’t know it from what you see on TV.
With all the scandal-mongering coverage of the Democratic primary, the media’s been too busy to spend much time talking about the two wars we’re still fighting. In fact, just 3% of the news in February was dedicated to the war. That’s down from 15% of news coverage last July. For the men and women risking their lives overseas, that’s a slap in the face.
And it’s skewing Americans’ perceptions of the war. Over 80% of Americans are aware that Oprah Winfrey endorsed Senator Obama, yet only 28% know how many American troops have died in Iraq. That’s less than one in three Americans. For any readers who aren’t sure, the casualty number is about to hit 4,000. You can see the names and faces of these brave men and women here.
Most Americans will say that it’s the very least we can do is take the time to honor their sacrifice. But how can we, as Americans, claim to be honoring their sacrifice if the average American can’t even measure it?
We can do better.
I know it’s an election year, and that the economy is in trouble. I know that it’s easier to endlessly replay the latest gaffe from a candidate than to take your camera outside the Green Zone. But news of the ongoing wars shouldn't fall by the wayside.
You can help remind them. Please take a minute now to sign an open letter and demand the major networks increase their coverage of the Iraq war.
The media must demonstrate that they can walk and chew gum at the same time.
The link to the open letter doesn't work.
Thanks for the post. I'm a Vet and this is important for that reason, and the fact that I have five family members on active duty.
1. Having no "skin in the game" makes it easy to avoid the uncomfortable facts of war. Since a very large percentage of Americans do not have to worry about answering the door when someone knocks for fear of seeing those uniforms at the door, it is obvious to me why it gets little play in the media.2. A war fought by less than one half of one percent of our population isn't going to get the ratings that pay the bills for the corporate media.
March 19, 2008 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
My honest opinion is that this is less a contrivance of the media than a result of the fact that Americans would rather watch news about things they can do something about. They elected the Democrats to end the Iraq war last November. Nothing happened, so now all they can do is wait for the next election to see if the Democrats pick up enough seats to get a backbone or a plan. The primaries are still ongoing, so they still feel they can do something with the information they receive about Clinton or Obama.
Also, the Iraq war was conceived specifically to drive a philosophical wedge into America, so it should be no surprise that the bottom has fallen out in terms of interest. (We routed the Taliban and handed off Afghanistan, so that war is "over" to most Americans.) The die-hard 20% of Americans who do not question anything W. says don't need anymore information and they know the MS media is hiding the true success story. The 15% who were against the Iraq war from the start know it has panned out as they expected and have no interest in anything other than withdrawal. Most of the remaining percentage were only in it for sh!ts and giggles, and, since it has turned out to be a real bummer, would rather move on to something else. So, who is it that wants more coverage exactly and what good with it do? Zilch.
Interest will grow after the election when we get to see a new dynamic emerge between the White House and Congress.
March 19, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
one often hears that reporters don't get out of the green zone often enough to report the facts, but, they don't have to leave the green zone to report the facts. it's dangerous out there and armed factions are roaming iraq either actively resisting the us occupation, using the occupation to settle intra-Iraqi scores or simply waiting for us to leave.
in the lead up to the war, the press failed on purely journalistic grounds, not failure of imagination, to get it right. i think this is in large part to corporate ownership of the large media outlets who expected to benefit in a myriad of ways by war. editors stovepiped articles sympathetic to bush's shifting justifications and squelched dissent, just like the administation.
the press coverage did get better following the taking of Baghdad as, one by one, the administration's shifting justifications for the war were debunked.
now we are at an impasse. the public wants out, but bush wants to stay. nothing has changed, or is expected to change, until we get a new president. meanwhile, attention has shifted to other matters with the occasional story indicating that the situation in iraq continues to deteriorate; Turkey and the Kurds, ineffectual Iraqi government, the drip, drip of US casualties, the astounding cost of the war, S.T.A.R. chamber prosecutions, warrantless wiretapping, fear mongering, corruption, torture and the continued erosion of America's reputation.
unfortunately, this is no longer news.
March 19, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, I'll admit something horrible here. There's a lot of war coverage available and I no longer seek it out.
I'm far more interested in coverage about why we went to war, or how we were tricked into going than I am about current battlefield updates. I'm far more likely to read an economics or election story than a war story. In terms of what I watch or read, Iraq has faded into the background. You don't even want to know what I don't know and am not finding out about Afghanistan.
The battlefield stories all blend together for me, anyway. Something exploded in a market. This many were hurt, this many missing. We caught this many guys in Fallujah...
But I'm really only interested in getting our troops out subjecting Bush and Co. to the scrutiny of history and maybe an international war crime tribunal.
When it comes to Bush I'm also barely interested, which might be part of the problem. I only perk up about Bush when we have to stop telecom immunity. Other than that, Bush is a lame duck who doesn't command my full attention. Maybe because I so closely associate the Iraq war with him, my interests have wandered.
March 19, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey Paul, I'll gladly sign the letter, but I can't get the link to open either.
March 19, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
ME TOO! Give us a link, please!
March 19, 2008 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
The lack of coverage on the war is serving to increase McCain's numbers. It could even make him win in November if it keeps up, because, let me assure you, "most people" figure there's no coverage because nothing much is happening anymore, and "the surge is working." Promise you. This IS what they think. I live way down here in "most people land" and it's horrible being here. Just horrible.
Even the media has jabbering heads who say off-handedly, "Clinton and Obama are running on a 2006 notion of the war."
See? It's not just a lack of coverage, it's a sly change in reporting at every level.
March 19, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey everyone.
Thanks for all the comments. Sorry for the link problem--it should work now. Also, please check out our latest at www.IAVA.org.
And Grand Panjandrum, thanks for your service.
Please keep the comments coming. I'll try to check back a few times later today.
And please check out Greg's excellent book!
March 19, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you follow the Bush and now McCain line here's what it leads to;
The Japs invaded and conquored the Phillipines, yet they were never safe there due to the guerilla actions of Phillipine scouts and US military personell.
When the Germans invaded and conquored France they were never safe there as the Maquis resistance bled them dry.
As I said in another post on this book review;
During WWll I fought in France, Holland, and Belgium, and never felt threatened by the civilians of those countries. It wasn't until I crossed the Rhine into Germany that I felt threatened by the civilians, with some actually attacking us.
By putting and keeping our troops in Iraq, a country with a history of religious animosity among the people, Bush put our troops in the same situation the Japs and Germans were in when they occupied countries.
Our choices are simple, stay and die....or leave,
I don't buy the rationalizations for staying being offered by the 'always wrong' on Iraq gang.
We should cut our losses and pull out in the quickest, and safest way.
March 19, 2008 6:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
War cover footage doesn't sell product.
Also, major media owners are also invested in selling goods to the military and so eternal war is good for business.
March 20, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Media resources are strained thin...they do have to report on what Britney is up to. To report on a ware that is so far away makes it hard.
March 20, 2008 11:33 AM | Reply | Permalink