An excellent overview of the media's retreat from coverage of the war in Iraq. The writer makes some good points about cost of maintaining reporters in Iraq and the mind-numbing nature of many of the stories. But she also notes that there are opportunities to cover the war from the United States, as with the Washington Post's Walter Reed series and the New York Times' report on bought-and-paid-for military officers who double as talking heads on television news programs.

This is a nicley written, nuanced, piece about a question of importance. More pieces like this are needed to remind journalists of their responsibilities -- and the fact that readers have a significant role in this as well.

The story is primarily about big corporate media and their decreased coverage of the Iraqi occupation. When they were pounding the war drums and spouting great faux patriotism, the right wing corporate press was covering shock and awe like crazy since it seemed to make their party look like heroic patriots. Now that it is a quagmire, the subject is avoided. Also, there have been a series of groundbreaking investigations over the past year. In one of the most recent, the New York Times' David Barstow documented how the Pentagon cultivated military analysts to generate favorable news for the Bush administration's wartime performance. Many of the talking heads, including former generals, were being coached on what to tell viewers ... More »

this article lays out clearly what has happened with news coverage of the war in iraq and related events. it offers from many sources reasons, explanations, causes for the dramatic drop in media focus. there are both criticisms as well as suggestions from some media leadership for how to refocus stories on the war and its impact on all involved. i can only hope those in charge of their particular mediums read this. perhaps news coverage needs ways to be more balanced all the time, without excluding some to trumpet other stories.

Sherry Ricchiardi contributes a 4,000-word piece exploring recent media coverage of the Iraq occupation. As indicated by its length, the article explores the wide range of issues that allow the third longest US war to slip off the radar. Finding faults but also understanding the motivations of news gatherers, Ricchiardi apportions significant blame to the public for insufficient interest. Quoting Armando Acuna, she writes, “There’s enough shame . . . for everyone to share.” The article quantifies staggering drops in coverage but reports that news managers deny making conscious decisions to back off. They typically blame dangers, costs and alternative story choices. Some suggest that the quantity decline is offset by the ... More »

This is a great meta-analysis of the Iraq war and its contemporary coverage.

This opinion piece has minimal journalistic merit. The author ignores the fact that coverage of Iraq has dropped because the news has been so good. The McClatchy editor puts it exactly: "... but the decline in violence since the U.S. troop buildup last year has resulted in fewer daily stories, says Foreign Editor Roy Gutman." Wow! An amazing, but true, admission. The Iraqi Parliament is rated as better than the U.S. Congress. The people have turned against the terrorist groups. The economy is growing. The article is poorly sourced: the author is unaware of major reporters, such as Yon, Totten and Emanuel and needs to do some reading of their and other reports before attempting to write on Iraq again.

This is an outstanding journalistic endeavor. Not only did it convey the somewhat tepid excuses as reponded by news editors and sources, but also highlighted the need for families and the population in general to sustain the consistent flow of daily news from Iraq and in Washington, as it relates to the war. These young men and women cannot be forgotten like some unimportant unpleasantry one deigns not to speak of. The answer as to why Iraq is not paying for this war itself has never been fully explined. discussed and addressed by the mainstream media. It boggles the mind that so fundamental an issue such as fiscal responsibility not being taken by for one country's own lack of governance, and thus being allowed to have this ... More »

Found this story fascinating.