"The Media Has Dropped the Ball on This Conflict"

ware_6-11.JPGThe New York Observer has a wide-ranging article about the media coverage of the Iraq War, as told through the eyes of many of the correspondents who have spent significant time in Baghdad.

"As the American press corps gets older, wearier — and simultaneously younger and more untested as the veterans leave — there are truths that some of the reporters of Baghdad have learned about the war in Iraq," reports the Observer.

CNN correspondent Michael Ware is critical of the lack of focus on reporting from the region. "This is the Vietnam War of our generation. This conflict is going to have repercussions that far exceed that of an Indo-Chinese, essentially, civil war," he says. "Yet for a litany of reasons, which may or may not be legitimate, from cost to security to audience fatigue, the media has dropped the ball on this conflict. It is a tragic indictment on the Fourth Estate."

kealy_6-11.JPGCourtney Kealy of FNC has seen the American public turn on the reporters and turn off the coverage: "People say to me, what's the real story in Iraq? I say, read the books that have come out and won Pulitzers. Look at my friends' articles. Look at the stories I've done. They're not looking, and they're not reading; they don't want to."

After the jump, Baghdad correspondents who say part of the reason for the lack of coverage is that good news is coming from the region.


ABC News correspondent Terry McCarthy says the drop in violence gets less attention. "A drip, drip story that's getting a little bit better day by day doesn't make a headline," he says. "We have to struggle to get more stories on the air. We have to do more feature-type stuff. The news of the day is not really here anymore."

Despite having "more room to report," because of the drop in violence, it doesn't necessarily translate to more room in the newscasts.

"I was walking around the city doing interviews, without any kind of security protection or back up at all. That felt great," says NBC correspondent Richard Engel. "People are getting out more. You see more people on the streets going to markets. When I go to do interviews, I can stay longer."

New from mediabistro.com

20 Tips in 20 Minutes
mediabistro.com's PR Speaking Series: Online & In Person

The phone rings. It's CNBC. They want your CEO in the studio and on air. In three hours. Oh, and your CEO has never done a broadcast interview. What do you do? Find out at our new monthly breakfast speaking series for PR and marketing professionals, "20 Tips in 20 Minutes." Our next topic is "Media Training: How to Prep Your Company, Client, and Yourself for Interviews," with Garrett Glaser, former CNBC and MSNBC.com reporter and founder of Glaser Media LLC at 9am on Thursday, February 18. Join us for breakfast or watch the live webcast from your desk. Click here to sign up and view the full schedule of topics.

Email This Post

Fill out the following information and click on the Send button in order to send this post, "The Media Has Dropped the Ball on This Conflict", to a friend.
Friend's name
Friend's email address
Your name
Your email address
Note to your friend (optional, max 200 Characters)

Read more on TVNewser >

And Now the News...About TV News

TVNewser in Your Inbox

Job Listings

Featured Listings

Sales Planner
Westwood One - Metro Networks
Culver City, CA

Metro Marketing Manager, Sales Support NY
Westwood One
New York, NY

Senior Archivist
WNYC Radio
New York, NY

Executive Producer
AARP
Washington, DC

ADVERTISEMENT


mediabistro.com l Member Benefits l Jobs l Freelance Marketplace l Courses l Events l Forums l Content
mediabistro Blogs: Media News l TVNewser l GalleyCat l UnBeige l FishbowlNY l FishbowlLA l FishbowlDC l PRNewser l AgencySpy
MobileContentToday l WebNewser l BayNewser l eBookNewser l MediaJobsDaily l mbToolbox
Site Map l Advertising/Sponsorships l Partners l About Us l Contact Us/Help

WebMediaBrands
mediabistro learnnetwork freelanceconnect SemanticWeb
Jobs | Events | News
Copyright 2010 WebMediaBrands Inc. All rights reserved.
Advertise | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy