Go Back to the B3 Home Page
Complaints, compliments, arguments? Email me.
[<< "TBTM Radio #20: The First Anniversary Special"] [Archive Index] [>>"Nobody ever accused them of being smart."]
11/24/2003 Archived Entry: "Untold stories from Iraq"
Untold stories from Iraq
The CBC has put together a web site to go with a 2-hour documentary interviewing journalists about what they saw during the invasion of Iraq. Worth a look.
There were two wars in Iraq. One featured soldiers. The other featured journalists. News organizations competed with one another, and the resulting risks journalists took to be first on a given story sometimes got them killed. The fact is that journalists and journalism were often front and centre in the stories that came out of the conflict. Embedding versus unilateral. The high mortality rate of journalists. Criticisms surrounding the soundness of the coverage. The unprecedented speed and immediacy of transmitting words and pictures of combat. Now that the war is "over", journalists and journalism are still making headlines. Christiane Amanpour of CNN has stated that the coverage of the war, particularly in America, was too driven by patriotism. John Burns of the New York Times recently said that the Iraq war highlights how corrupt journalism has become. His colleague at the Times, Judith Miller, has herself been accused by some media observers of being corrupted by Pentagon influences. The controversy around Tony Blair and the BBC's coverage of the war continues to boil.
Given all this, we thought it would be fascinating and informative to zero in on the journalists who were there. Whether there were logistical impediments to getting their stories out, or editorial concerns, or military restrictions, there was much that they couldn't, or wouldn't say, during the war. Now they can.
Replies: 5 people speak up
you have to laugh (or maybe cry, im not sure) when the "media" starts talking about how the "media" is biased. i love it when they do hour long discussions about how they are spending too much time covering michael jackson (or kobe or laci or any other stupid public interest piece). or when they talk about how the "media" is covering things up or lying or whatever else....
heres a bit of advice, you are the fucking media, when you point a finger at all the other networks, your just as responsible. either do something to fix it, or shut the fuck up. god damned media whores, i hope they all get media syphillis.
Posted by justin @ 11/24/2003 04:03 PM NY
Media syphilis? Oh shit, I hope that angry, red rash surrounding my family jewels is not one of the symptoms.
On a more serious note, the CBC rules! It's Operation Iraqi Freedom coverage far surpasses the BBC's.
Posted by Metropolitan99 @ 11/24/2003 06:19 PM NY
I've always found the CBC to be the most even-handed news network I've seen. I wouldn't go so far as to call the CBC media whores, since they pretty much just commit themselves to reporting, and play down the sensationalism.
And, I would like to think that a documentary like this is an attempt to fix it, by letting others know what exactly has passed between the US Admin and the news networks.
Posted by Pfonics Monkey @ 11/25/2003 11:54 AM NY
i didnt call the cbc media whores, i love the cbc. i called FOXSNBCNN media whores
Posted by justin @ 11/25/2003 02:32 PM NY
Okay, my mistake. I'm just fiercely protective of the CBC. ;)
Posted by Pfonics Monkey @ 11/25/2003 08:40 PM NY
