Public Eye
March 20, 2007 2:23 PM

Have Other Foreign Stories Been Squeezed Out By The Iraq War?

By
Brian Montopoli
Topics
Mega-Media Trends
(CBS)
For four years, the Iraq war has been the dominant foreign story in the US media. But has the war meant that other foreign stories have not gotten the coverage they should? I put the question to Jennifer Siebens, CBS News vice president and London bureau chief, who started with the network in 1976.

"It has," said Siebens. "It's extremely difficult because the cost of covering Iraq, which was supposed to be a short term cost, has become long term. We work in a world of finite resources – every corporation in America does. And to the extent that the war becomes the single focus, it makes it harder to cover other topics."

"I want to put in a note of caution, because on any big foreign story, where there is firepower, there is going to be coverage," she added. "It's part of formula that other things will get shoved aside." But this war in particular has eaten up resources, she said, because it's so dangerous for journalists.

"It's not just that it's a war, but that it's a war that is extremely hazardous to the health of the journalists who cover it," Siebens said. "This company has suffered terrifically, with the loss of a crew. The need to protect our people creates this whole other cost center I've never seen."

I asked Siebens what stories have gotten less coverage than they might otherwise have.

"Within the confines of the Middle East, a lot of interesting stuff is going on," she said. "The Arab world is not a monolithic place…We did swarm into Lebanon, but there was a war. Anything short of that, to try to get below the surface of other Arab countries, it's just not happening."

Still, she said, "I'm confident that if a really big story breaks, we're going to be on it."

Add a Comment
by ikez78 March 21, 2007 2:48 PM EDT
Covering other wars that don't have U.S. involvement won't allow for the anti U.S. axe grinding of many in the media to take place so those things are ignored.

Also, looking at the Islamic radicals terrorizing Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia, Algeria, India and all over the world would tend to support the case for America action against these groups and thus undercut the media's "antiwar" mantras. No wonder they ignore it.
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by ronmwanga March 21, 2007 1:39 AM EDT
Understandable that with narrowing budgets for the overseas news division and 22 mins, there is only so much one can do. Still, here are some international stories I'd LOVE to see more of (in no particular order): The Arab Summit (March 28-29, Riyadh), The disintegration of the Zimbabwean economy, The Hariri Investigation, Will Russia's Stalling on UN Sec Council Cause New Outbreaks of violence in Kosovo? What are the factors behind the waning of Catholicism in Latin and South America? The Anglican-Episcopal International Schism over Homosexuality (Pls. contextualize this), and, some good stories about Africa, without flies and disease, please.
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by one_american March 20, 2007 6:27 PM EDT
The Press is fixated on the Iraq War, and are missing other foreign stories.

France has surrendered at least a dozen times since then, and yet nobody noticed.
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