<\body> Stories in America: Yes TV 'Journalists,' We Are at War

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Yes TV 'Journalists,' We Are at War

If you watched TV over the past 48 hours or so, you'd think the war in Iraq suddently erupted again. Flipping from local news to cable news, TV anchors are giving in-depth coverage to the roadside bomb that hit ABC anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt. Larry King dedicated Monday's show to the men and the ongoing danger in Iraq; on Sunday night, San Francisco's ABC affiliate spent eight minutes on the topic. Local newscasts never spend more than a few minutes on any one story. The accident was tragic, but we're at war. The Iraqis have to worry about bombs every single day, yet Iraqi deaths are never reported.

And what about wounded and dead American soldiers? A woman who called the Larry King show asked why civilian reporters are given more attention than soldiers. "The US government has made a decision that we are not allowed to see the coffins, that we're not allowed to see the burials, that we're generally, generally not allowed to go to any of the areas where there are wounded, US military hospitals...perhaps more in Landstuhl, perhaps more in the US, but it's very, very difficult to get close to that kind of real tragedy that the American servicemen and women are going through as well," said CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

A Google News search for the wounded newsmen brings up 2,281 stories; a search for Douglas Baker, a former Army reservist who served in Iraq, brings up only 16 stories. Baker shot himself last week.

10 Comments:

At 1/31/2006 7:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I only got 10 results for "Peter Sprenger"

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=aecb6fe5486c6010VgnVCM100000cfe793cd____&page=1

 
At 1/31/2006 9:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So annoying. TV news gives the news media a bad name. At least Amanpour is there to provide some context.

 
At 1/31/2006 10:18 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

At least Amanpour is there to provide some context.

Yeah, well, especially since she's been banned in Iran for an incorrect translation of a speach given by Mahmoud Amadinejad.

Rather ironic...considering how she played along with the farcical notion that elections in Iran last June offered a meaningful choice to the Iranian people.

 
At 1/31/2006 10:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just checked on CNN's status...looks like their back in.

Apparently they figured out that their interests could be better served by allowing access to a network that withheld information about Saddam Hussein's atrocities in order to maintain access in Iraq.

Makes sense.

 
At 1/31/2006 12:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is disgusting. I've never heard of Douglas Baker until now. Why isn't Fox reporting his death? Or that liberal media?

 
At 1/31/2006 7:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You lost me timmy.

 
At 1/31/2006 8:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

that should be "they're" not "their"....

preview is my friend...preview is my friend...preview is my friend.....

Sorry, AF...I was refering to something that happened a while back.....CNN withheld information about Saddam's atrocities to insure their access in Iraq. If you're interested:

http://patterico.com/2003/04/12/177/you-must-have-seen-this/

 
At 1/31/2006 8:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Back to the subject at hand...

Rose, you're way ahead of them.

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060131-041958-8164r

 
At 1/31/2006 11:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, that story is a must read. Amazing, this war is so sanitized.

 
At 1/31/2006 11:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for raising this issue..

 

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