03.27.08
The media isn’t interested in the war
Eric Alterman and George Zornick document the evidence of the media’s declining coverage of the Iraq war. They note:
– A study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism found that in all of 2007, the topic of the Iraq war occupied an average of 15.5 percent of the “newshole” in the media; in the last quarter it fell to nine percent, and then to 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
– The broadcast networks’ nightly shows devoted more than 4,100 minutes to Iraq in 2003 and 3,000 in 2004, before going down to 2,000 a year, according to Andrew Tyndall, who monitors the broadcasts and posts.
– Only two newspapers noted the 4,000th combat death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq
Or maybe not. I’m sure Bush and the GOP are pleased that the War is not getting much attention from the media.
Zach said,
28 March 2008 at 8:14 am
Maybe it’s because things there are getting better, and the media doesn’t want to report THAT? Here’s a link for you.
LeisureGuy said,
28 March 2008 at 8:20 am
I don’t think that can be it—for one thing, things are now getting worse: the civil war is in full swing, and US troops on fighting on the side of Maliki. Bush, it’s true, did say that the increasing violence is a sign of success (though he did not explain how). Even the Green Zone is now unsafe and anyone who ventures out is required to wear a helmet and body armor. Those in the Green Zone must now sleep in fortified locations (no more sleeping in trailers) as frequent rocket and mortar attacks occur.
Zach said,
28 March 2008 at 11:41 am
That’s just the last couple of days, really, all Al Sadr inspired. And it’s a shame too, for all of us. Before that, who knows; it could have been for this reason, easily; and then this lull will soon be over and Iraq back on the front pages. The nature of 24 hour news; doesn’t work well when there’s a lull.