Attention all those who think Iraq is a disaster

Matt brings us a must read (especially for the anti-Iraq war people). Here's the required teaser, intending to whet your appetite for more:

Aiding and Abetting the Enemy: the Media in Iraq
By LTC Tim Ryan, CO, 2/12 Cav, 1^st Cav Div

What if domestic news outlets continually fed American readers headlines like: "Bloody Week on U.S. Highways: Some 700 Killed," or "More Than 900 Americans Die Weekly  from Obesity-Related Diseases"?  Both of these headlines might be true statistically, but do they really represent accurate pictures of the situations?  What if you combined all of the negatives to be found in the state of Texas and used them as an indicator of the quality of life for all Texans?  Imagine the headlines: "Anti-law Enforcement Elements Spread Robbery, Rape and Murder through Texas Cities." For all intents and purposes, this statement is true for any day of any year in any state. True -- yes, accurate -- yes, but in context with the greater good taking place -- no!  After a year or two of headlines like these, more than a few folks back in Texas and the rest of the U.S. probably would be ready to jump off of a building and end it all. So, imagine being an American in Iraq right now.

I just read yet another distorted and grossly exaggerated story from a major news organization about the "failures" in the war in Iraq.   Print and video journalists are covering only a small fraction of the events in Iraq and more often than not, the events they cover are only the bad ones. Many of the journalists making public assessments about the progress of the war in Iraq are unqualified to do so, given their training and experience. The inaccurate picture they paint has distorted the world view of the daily realities in Iraq.  The result is a further erosion of international public support for the United States' efforts there, and a strengthening of the insurgents' resolve and recruiting efforts while weakening our own.  Through their incomplete, uninformed and unbalanced reporting, many members of the media covering the war in Iraq are aiding and abetting the enemy.

Here's hoping you're wringing whet and wanting to read the rest.  It's so freakin' necessary that people read it all.  Trust me.

Comments

[True_Liberal]

I've been highly skeptical of MSM for at least four decades, based on stories where I knew first-hand the distortion of facts and implications. Many of my colleagues have come to agree with me.

This is not hard to understand, given their business model of maximizing advertising revenue through ratings and circulation figures. Bad news sells; good news languishes. As long as their near-monopoly persisted, they could sell all the bad news they liked.

The portside list which possibly once served them well is becoming a bigger & bigger liability, though, given the greater astuteness of the public today, the result of competing news sources (cable, satellite, web, etc.)

As their market share declines, MSM will have to adapt or die.

[Rick]

TL,

"Portside list"...

"Maximizing advertizing revenue"...

"Bigger & bigger liability"...

"Adapt or die"...

Brilliant man... just brilliant...

Thanks for being bright here...

[Josh]

I don't need to read it all of it to agree with it, but I made sure to read the first 5 paragraphs so I could collect facts.

[Willy dog]

Whatever we hear on tv these days--take it with a grain of salt.
I believe that most of the information is 'processed'- meaning that the media is controlled by mega-poweful parent companies, who mostly if not all, adamantly support Mr. Bush. If someone in media wants to keep their job, don't bite the hand that feeds you. So to disagree with your Bush supporting boss at the top of the pyramid, in a sense, is career suicide. Make the Bush supporting media bosses happy, right? "Oh yes, of course I love Mr. Bush, sir. He's definetly doing the right things." and the media boss says, "Good. so lets keep the damaging stories to Bush's reputation out of the picture, got it? good. by the way, I see a future promotion here for you at our network. congratulations."
Theres a word for this-- its called Fascism. 'when the leaders of business and government merge to create an oppressive, controlling system, combined with fervent nationalism.' That don't sound like Jesus to me.