Journalists Discuss – And Defend – Their Coverage Of The War
On Monday, a forum called "Iraq: Reports from the Frontlines" was held at UC Berkeley. "The discussion centered on two deeply polarizing questions," writes Bonnie Azab Powell in an excellent write-up (hat tip Romo). "Given the extreme danger of the situation in Iraq, are journalists in Iraq even able to cover the real story? And are they getting the story 'right'?"
This is ground we've covered before, but it continues, I think, to be extremely important. So let's get into it. The forum included a partial screening of "The War Tapes," which is a documentary filmed entirely by soldiers that will be released in theatres in July. The film is "the single best document you could see," says New York Times' Baghdad bureau chief John Burns. "It captures, in ways we as embedded reporters could not, the misery and futility of this war." It also captures the horror: At one point, writes Powell, "The camera pans slowly over the blackened shell of the vehicle and the charred upper torso of a man, head burned beyond recognition, lying halfway outside the open car door in a pool of blood. In numb tones, the soldier holding the camera tells us what that blood and flesh smells like and describes how crisped skin fragments are crunching under his feet."
When Washington Post writer Jackie Spinner told the audience that "I think we're getting 90 percent of the story" in Iraq, she was met with guffaws. "Excuse me, have you been there?," she replied. She said that Iraqi stringers help the Post's reporters get the stories that they otherwise could not.
Ralph Peters was not at the forum, but Spinner's point made me think of his latest dispatch from Baghdad. I really have no idea how true this is – Peters has a much rosier view of the situation in Iraq, to put it diplomatically, than most of the people covering it – but it is worth considering. Here's a portion:
Spinner, meanwhile, said something that, to me, rang particularly true. I'm not a mainstream media apologist by any means – my previous job at Columbia Journalism Review entailed ripping journalists daily – but I do think there's something to this comment: "The Iraq war has so polarized this country. That's why you hear hisses and boos and claps, depending on what you're saying — people want to hear journalists reaffirm their previously held beliefs about the war," she said. "And I don't do that. I simply speak what I see. And I'm sorry if that's offensive to people, but I'm a journalist."
OK, OK, I know the "I'm a journalist" bit was somewhat self-righteous, but I do think that there's something to the idea that people often want the press to reaffirm their points of view instead of telling them the truth. That's why you can't read too much into the fact that 31% of Americans think the press is making things in Iraq sound worse than they really are, according to the latest CBS News poll (pdf). After all, 24% think the media is making things sound better than they really are.
That doesn't mean people are getting the whole story from the press, however. Burns said that Americans have reason to be proud of their military, which is building schools, helping Iraqi victims of attacks, and repairing sewage lines. "Is that adequately reflected in what we write? I'm afraid to say it isn't," he said, adding: "If 52 people get killed in a succession of bombings as they were yesterday in Sadr City in Baghdad, that's a major story. You can't ignore it. We have to dedicate resources to it. Now, whilst that was going on I have no doubt that there were thousands of American troops doing things of direct and immediate benefit to the Iraqi people."
© 2006 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved. This is ground we've covered before, but it continues, I think, to be extremely important. So let's get into it. The forum included a partial screening of "The War Tapes," which is a documentary filmed entirely by soldiers that will be released in theatres in July. The film is "the single best document you could see," says New York Times' Baghdad bureau chief John Burns. "It captures, in ways we as embedded reporters could not, the misery and futility of this war." It also captures the horror: At one point, writes Powell, "The camera pans slowly over the blackened shell of the vehicle and the charred upper torso of a man, head burned beyond recognition, lying halfway outside the open car door in a pool of blood. In numb tones, the soldier holding the camera tells us what that blood and flesh smells like and describes how crisped skin fragments are crunching under his feet."
When Washington Post writer Jackie Spinner told the audience that "I think we're getting 90 percent of the story" in Iraq, she was met with guffaws. "Excuse me, have you been there?," she replied. She said that Iraqi stringers help the Post's reporters get the stories that they otherwise could not.
Ralph Peters was not at the forum, but Spinner's point made me think of his latest dispatch from Baghdad. I really have no idea how true this is – Peters has a much rosier view of the situation in Iraq, to put it diplomatically, than most of the people covering it – but it is worth considering. Here's a portion:
The dangerous nature of journalism in Iraq has created a new phenomenon, the all-powerful local stringer. Unwilling to stray too far from secure facilities and their bodyguards, reporters rely heavily on Iraqi assistance in gathering news. And Iraqi stringers, some of whom have their own political agendas, long ago figured out that Americans prefer bad news to good news. The Iraqi leg-men earn blood money for unbalanced, often-hysterical claims, while the Journalism 101 rule of seeking confirmation from a second source has been discarded in the pathetic race for headlines.Back to the conference: Berkeley journalism professor Mark Danner said it was very difficult to get the full story because of the situation on the ground. "The story we're getting is very limited because the risks are so great," he said. "[The violence] has to have an effect, it has had an effect, and I think we should recognize that." Burns said he sometimes has to ask himself, "Am I going to commit my colleagues or myself into a situation which can very easily turn catastrophic for us?"
Spinner, meanwhile, said something that, to me, rang particularly true. I'm not a mainstream media apologist by any means – my previous job at Columbia Journalism Review entailed ripping journalists daily – but I do think there's something to this comment: "The Iraq war has so polarized this country. That's why you hear hisses and boos and claps, depending on what you're saying — people want to hear journalists reaffirm their previously held beliefs about the war," she said. "And I don't do that. I simply speak what I see. And I'm sorry if that's offensive to people, but I'm a journalist."
OK, OK, I know the "I'm a journalist" bit was somewhat self-righteous, but I do think that there's something to the idea that people often want the press to reaffirm their points of view instead of telling them the truth. That's why you can't read too much into the fact that 31% of Americans think the press is making things in Iraq sound worse than they really are, according to the latest CBS News poll (pdf). After all, 24% think the media is making things sound better than they really are.
That doesn't mean people are getting the whole story from the press, however. Burns said that Americans have reason to be proud of their military, which is building schools, helping Iraqi victims of attacks, and repairing sewage lines. "Is that adequately reflected in what we write? I'm afraid to say it isn't," he said, adding: "If 52 people get killed in a succession of bombings as they were yesterday in Sadr City in Baghdad, that's a major story. You can't ignore it. We have to dedicate resources to it. Now, whilst that was going on I have no doubt that there were thousands of American troops doing things of direct and immediate benefit to the Iraqi people."
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- Americans should feel a bit safer. We nailed a 6 month old terrorist in that recent air assault. Al-Quaeda toddlers beware: we are now launching the biggest air assault since Bush landed on the USS Independence. Scot McClellan said this afternoon that the attack on Iraqi children is a wartime extension of the No Child Left Behind Program. The Press Corps was rolling in the aisles while Bush joked about Chaney nailing a few newborns..
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- O'Hanlon of Brookings reported in Jan of this year that we were still struggling to get electricily back up to pre-war Saddam era levels. And remember, due to draconian economic sactions during the nineties, the electric grid had already been significntly compromised. Add in the sewer situation and opening of the borders to terrorists, and the sad, unpleasant truth is that the people of Iraq were better off under Saddam. Now Bush wants to do an Iraq redux in Iran, and again, like the last time, without planning for the aftermath of a military action. Rove has concluded that the only recourse for the Republicans at this juncture is to start another war and have the Democrats meekly go along with it so as not to look weak on national security. It might work.
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- If the role of stringers in Iraq is worth considering, consider the following: Sringers staging photos for terrorists: http://sirhumphreys.blogspot.com/2005/10/ap-and-reuters-photographer-bilal.html And video: http://sirhumphreys.blogspot.com/2005/10/bbc-uses-propaganda-video-to-claim.html Likely staged pictures that win a Pulitzer: http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2005_04.php#010128 http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2005/breaking-news-photography/works/warzone20.html CBS hiring as a stringer a "fixer" from Tikrit, i.e., Saddam Hussein's hometown, later detained by the US as a suspected terrorist: http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/04/08/iraq.main/index.html These are reasons why people laughed at the journos, even in the antiwar echo chamber of Berkeley. As for Mr. Baldwin's comment about the electrical power, I would note that the AP report discusses the level in February. The most recent edition of the Iraq Index published by Brookings shows that power generation for March is on track to be the highest it's been since last July. So as much as I respect John Burns as a reporter (and I do), I could have pointed to the AP's electricity story as an example of how "good news" from Iraq is ignored in favor of outdated bad news.
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- This will be first and only post on the CBS blog: I'm an Independent who has voted for Dems more than Republicans (and was a longtime Democratic activist). I started out in journalism. CBS and the other old networks are the enemy; the fifth column. They don't even TRY to hide their loathing of all things conservative anymore (especially anything to do with Bush). There is no discussion or debate to be had, because of their actions over the last 10-15 years. They are, simply, the enemy of America. And we will crush them. Full stop.
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- CNN's posting of the picture of dead toddlers swaddled in the back of a truck is something that would not have been published a few years ago. Bushes indifference to the carnage stands in stark contrast to the mourning family members. Knowing that Bush and his Republican lackies get there jollies seeing this kind of thing is a powerful and provocative dissonance that can fill good Americans with appropriate rage. The no holds barred reporting on this latest military fiasco has been surprisingly unrestrained.
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- You have to filter out the cheerleading and doomsaying by looking for objective facts. Arguments over whether 300 or 1300 civilians were killed is less revealing about civil war than learning that Shiite families are now evacuating Sunni cities and vica versa. New reports on the deterioration of the electrical power grid to 2003 levels and building gas fired power generators in a country where there are no natural gas olines tells us more about Iraq than stories about GIs helping to build schools.
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