# On the castration of the press and the pathetic coverage of Iraq **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 12, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132 "2004-01-12T05:59:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/1 "2004-01-12T05:59:36Z")
I am a news junkie. I read the local newspaper, I check the online versions of Newsweek and Time every Sunday afternoon to get the latest in-depth stories as soon as they’re released, I check [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) a dozen times a day. I see plenty of stories about the latest bomb to explode in Iraq, or announcing the death of the latest American soldier, or the latest non-event in the search for WMDs. But damn if I ever see anything about what it’s like to be on the ground and outside “the bubble” in Iraq. This morning, for the first time in a long time, one of those stories actually appeared. It’s by a guy named Tod Robberson, a writer for [The Dallas Morning News](http://www.dallasnews.com). Registration is required, but it’s a pretty good newspaper, and they do not spam you. The specific story is here: [http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sundayreader/stories/011104dnsuniraqfuture.644de.html](http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sundayreader/stories/011104dnsuniraqfuture.644de.html) Some things you’ve undoubtedly heard about before (if you’ve been paying close attention, which most people haven’t), like the sorry electricity supply, the gas shortages, and the ethnic/religious tensions. But in the ordinary course of reporting, those facts are rarely mentioned other than in passing, like they’re theories best described in the abstract. “Sunnis are afraid of the Shiites. Everyone hates the Kurds. Britney’s annuled wedding at 11.” Thank god for Mr. Robberson, who had quite a bit of interest to say about the situation in Iraq. A few quotes: > [@](#): > > I’ve covered Iraq through three wars across three decades, from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war to the chaotic fall of Baghdad in April. I’ve seen battlefields strewn with thousands of bodies, apparently gassed by Mr. Hussein’s army. I’ve been on the receiving end of Scud missiles. > > But never have the challenges facing this country seemed as complex and dangerous as they did during my most recent trip in November and December. > > Religious and ethnic tensions are increasing. Opposing sides are arming. Roadside bombs and grenade attacks have become part of daily life, as have fuel lines and power outages. Everyone’s patience is being pushed to the limit. > > The good times Iraqis expected with the fall of Mr. Hussein’s dictatorship have failed to materialize. Rightly or wrongly, in the eyes of many Iraqis, the United States is to blame for the current mess. > [@](#): > > It’s doubly frustrating for them to live in a country with the second-largest petroleum reserves in the world, behind Saudi Arabia, and yet they have to wait 10 hours in line to fill their tanks. > > I remember my shock the first time I drove the length of the waiting line outside a fuel station near my hotel. I started down the street from the station and worked my way around the corner, thinking, well, it probably only goes another quarter-mile or so. > > Around the corner, the line went up the ramp to a two-mile-long bridge. I reached the crest of the bridge, and my heart jumped. I still couldn’t see the end of the line. It went all the way to the other end of the bridge, then around a corner and another corner after that. > > When news broke of Saddam Hussein’s capture, I went to the bridge to interview motorists. The sound of celebratory gunfire was everywhere. U.S. troops, on their highest state of alert, were racing everywhere through the streets. > > “Did you hear the news?” I asked Thayer Abbas, 43, a taxi driver. > > “Yes. But did you know the police up ahead are taking bribes to let people cut in line? I’ve been waiting here since 8 this morning, and the police just let someone cut in line up there,” he responded. > > I thought maybe he hadn’t understood the question. “Let’s talk about Saddam Hussein’s capture,” I said. > > “It’s very good,” he said, pausing. “But the Americans really should do something about the people trying to cut in line!” > [@](#): > > Rarely could I conduct an interview anywhere without hearing a litany of complaints from Iraqis about the American presence in their country. I constantly had to ask myself how I could report the concerns of Iraqis without incurring the wrath of readers back home who would accuse me of not quoting enough Iraqis with a positive view of the U.S. occupation. > [@](#): > > Increasingly, academics are turning to the history of Lebanon in search of answers to Iraq’s dilemma, noting that both countries have disparate ethnic and religious groups competing for power, and both have predatory neighbors who want to exploit the instability. > > More and more, Iraqis are wondering whether, like Lebanon, a long and devastating civil war might be in their future. If so, they ask, is the American military presence forestalling or hastening such a war? > [@](#): > > In April, even the most cynical of Iraqis were convinced that by now, 10 months after Mr. Hussein’s ouster, at least minimal public services would have been restored. There is no telephone service for most of the country. Iraqis still line up for hours at fuel pumps. They have electricity sometimes for as few as four hours a day. > Yes, imports are booming, and there is an unprecedented supply of electronic goods for sale. But what good are they, Iraqis ask, if there’s no electricity to run them? > > Baghdad is a city of 5 million, nearly twice the size of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. A third of the population lives in neighborhoods constantly flooded with raw sewage. Sounds like a recipe for success, yes? Seriously, though, can someone explain to me why such reports are so rare? Has the press turned into nothing more than a conduit for soundbytes, a cowed and beaten coward? Why the heck is it so darned rare to see such reporting about the situation on the ground? ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/2 "2004-01-12T06:17:10Z")
Reports from the ground depend on many factors: - If you are taking the officially sponsored tour of Iraq like most Senators. - How outside the protected areas you are. - What your editor’s bias and needs are too. - Finally What your bias against or for the invasion is. For good or bad we all tend to distort “reality” to suit our views. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/3 "2004-01-12T06:23:39Z")
Gee, I found [this interesting and fairly detailed report from ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/GoodMorningAmerica/Iraq_assessment_031102.html) and [this BBC article\*](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2002/conflict_with_iraq/default.stm#) by doing a 10 second google search. They report very similar things to the article you are quoting. I don’t watch much network news, so I couldn’t tell you much of what they are reporting. The 3 major cable news channels have done blurbs on what life is like for Iraqis in recent weeks. \*click on the “Life in Iraq” link. ---
**Author:** ![45\_70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/5f9b8f/32.png) [@45\_70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/45_70)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/4 "2004-01-12T06:30:10Z")
Reports like this are rare because it isn’t gaudy enough to attract attention. For most of the viewing public, flashy carnage is what sells. When most don’t care what goes on in their own neighblrhood, why would we expect they to worry about another country? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/5 "2004-01-12T06:34:26Z")
There are several dozen blogs being written by Iraqis themselves. Some are pessimistic, many are not. [http://iraqataglance.blogspot.com/](http://iraqataglance.blogspot.com/) [http://www.hammorabi.blogspot.com/](http://www.hammorabi.blogspot.com/) > **[IRAQ THE MODEL](http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/)** > > New points of view about the future of Iraq and the Middle East. [http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/](http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/) ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/6 "2004-01-12T07:59:23Z")
I can’t see any other way to assess the US media coverage other than on a country to country comparison, so it opens up the whole debate to numbskull nationalism or similar . . . hey ho. Fwiw, I think an interesting starting place to consider the US-based coverage of all things Iraq is Murdoch. In the US he runs Fox, in the UK Sky. I don’t see either but I am often told Sky isn’t very different to the BBC. I’ve not heard many good things about Fox. Why the difference between Fox and Sky ? Well, perhaps it’s not surprising given that they are legally obligated – though through different legal routes – to present fair and unbiased news coverage. The BBC Charter requires more of that Org than does the Regulations governing private broadcasters but both methods are overseen and reviewed rigorously. This would seem to exclude even the potential for so-called ‘Infotainment’. Strangled at birth. Afaik, there are no obligation to do anything in the US save serve the corporate/capitalist agenda of owners and to not lose too much money. Then there is the issue of diversity, or, as you term it, outside the “bubble”. I don’t know why the situation is as you describe it. It certainly isn’t reflected here, in electronic media or print – the print media here is especially good on the wider issues concerning Iraq. My best guess would be that the regulatory framework is flawed (if there is one at all); I’d hazard that US media companies don’t compete on the quality of what they offer, but on what people want to hear. This would seem to be the definition of ‘dumbing down’ expectations of News and Current Affairs. What’s interesting is that I often hear Americans complaining of the coverage, so very many are aspiring to better quality. I take this as confirmation that the public do aspire to quality and my description of the UK market mechanism is not rose-tinted wishful thinking. People genuinely seem to desire quality. For (news junkie) reference: 1. [BBC gateway page to all things Iraq](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2002/conflict_with_iraq/default.stm)– comprehensive coverage, populist 2. [Guardian Gateway page](http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/0,2759,423009,00.html) – Investigative style and thorough 3. [Financial Times](http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/Page/SpecialLevel1&cid=1031119383196) – **Superb** on reconstruction in general and reconstruction contracts in particular 4. I’d also recommend searching out (on Google News) **Robert Fisk** of the Independent who’s insights after 25 years are exceptionally nuanced ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/7 "2004-01-12T12:23:58Z")
LC, That is the funniest thing I’ve read all week. I’m astonished you left Chomsky off the list. Now I just want someone to come along and list Fox, Newsmax and Rush Limbaugh as _their_ unbiased sources… ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/8 "2004-01-12T12:29:08Z")
Go ahead, **furt** , list away. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/9 "2004-01-12T12:37:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > \*\*Go ahead, **furt** , list away. \*\* Sorry, I’m of the opinion that there ARE no unbiased sources. I’ll read the Guardian, but also the Independant, and watch CNN, but also Fox, read Instapundit but also Josh Marshall, etc. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/10 "2004-01-12T13:09:47Z")
FWIW, I’m not simply looking for other, similar stories. My thesis is that such stories are excessively rare, not that they do not exist at all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/11 "2004-01-12T15:13:21Z")
**LC** : So, let’s get this straight. You never watch Fox, but are sure it’s biased because you’ve heard rumors that it is. And you offer us a reason for why it is biased (even though you don’t watch it). Wow, that’s impressive! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/12 "2004-01-12T15:33:38Z")
Give it up, **minty**. This one seems to be turning into the pissing match that every other attempt at a balanced look at the war and its aftermath turns into. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/13 "2004-01-12T15:35:10Z")
[Try this](http://electroniciraq.net/news/). You’ll love that one. [This is more like IraqNN or Foxraq.](http://www.iraqdaily.com/) This is [weird.](http://server794.dnslive.net/~kovesji/home.shtml) Now that CNN’s buddy Saddam is gone, there are actual upstart news agencies that do something other than kiss Saddam’s ass 24-7. Sometimes it’s an improvment. Usama has made it clear that his battleground is Iraq, as predicted. So, what should we expect? All things considered, the foreign policy situation is far brighter than it was during the 1990s and early 2000s – just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Terrorism continues… That’s news now because Bush can be blamed. Meanwhile, back in 1993, the first WTC was treated as an ordinary street crime. Clinton missed his golden opportunity to create a real foreign policy legacy for himself. He was far more intellectually capable – but most importantly was perceived as sitting on another side of the invisible political fence. Therefore, Clinton could have taken out Saddam in 1998 without much in the way of international consternation, well, compared to what Bush gets anyway. I won’t downplay it. Clinton would have had the _extreme_ right carping (some things never change – substitute Bush for Clinton or left for right). Moreover, the hate-America left throughout the world wants us dead. It’s not a question of just kissing the right ass. Similarly, the Islamists are perhaps more dangerous. As always it comes down to: your solution is? I know, discuss things with Chiraq and Evilpain. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/14 "2004-01-13T01:37:30Z")
My, what a lovely rant. Now, would you care to address the actual question I posed in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/15 "2004-01-13T01:39:19Z")
Damn you and your automatic sigs, vBulletin! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/16 "2004-01-13T01:56:31Z")
Minty: As noted in my first post in this thread, it is possible to find some interesting reports pretty easily on the web. But I do agree with you in that I wish the major news outlets (papers, cable) would give periodic (monthly?) updates on how things stand. Sort of like what any company would do for a major project like this: regular Operations Reviews comparing progress in the major areas (security, employment, utilities, oil production, etc.) against the goals that were set. In fact, I’ve never even seen anything outlining what the goals are, other than very broad, high level goals like having the Interim Gov’t running things by this coming summer. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Iskander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/db5fbb/32.png) [@New\_Iskander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Iskander)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/17 "2004-01-13T17:51:05Z")
> [@minty green](#): > > Seriously, though, can someone explain to me why such reports are so rare? … Why the heck is it so darned rare to see such reporting about the situation on the ground? The number of such reports must be exactly equal to the number of journalists willing to do real investigative reporting and being able to secure the support of their publications in doing so. I’ve read a few other good reports on real life in Iraq, tainted both right and left. Strictly speaking, whether such reports are “darned rare” or “overdone” is a matter of opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/18 "2004-01-14T02:21:16Z")
The reason there are so few first-hand reports from Iraq in the mainstream press is because the press does a really lousy job of covering things like this. Most foreign press coverage consists of a bunch of reporters flocking to the nicest hotel in the biggest city, venturing out a few blocks if at all, interviewing a couple of people, and then hanging out in the bar. Because of this, the press is an easy target for manipulation. I used to bitch about this stuff in the old Soviet Union days - reporters who go to the Soviet Union, get shown a Potemkin Village, get a tour of the opera house or a stadium, and be ‘allowed’ to interview people who were either stooges or ordinary citizens painfully aware that the nice American was standing with a KGB agent. How much first-hand reporting did you hear coming out of Rwanda? Or any number of troubled places? There are still good reports coming from places like this, but almost all of them from independent journalists and writers like Mark Steyn, P.J. O’Rourke, Thomas Friedman, etc. Most of these people have some sort of agenda, so you have to read carefully. My suggestion would be to go right to the source. Read those Iraqi blogs, and follow the links to other Iraq resources. There are a number of Iraq newspapers on the web now that you can read. There are also some good Iranian, Kuwaiti, and other middle-eastern journals and newspapers that have good info in them, but you have to remember to filter their biases out. The mainstream media sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/19 "2004-01-14T03:45:10Z")
> [@London\_Calling](#): > > Afaik, there are no obligation to do anything in the US save serve the corporate/capitalist agenda of owners and to not lose too much money…I’d hazard that US media companies don’t compete on the quality of what they offer, but on what people want to hear. I thought this addressed the OP very well. I don’t browse [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) to get “news”–I browse [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) to see what’s happenin’ in the world lately. There’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132/20 "2004-01-14T03:46:09Z")
For those interested, there is a [Frontline](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/beyond/dispatches/) show scheduled for February 12th in which the reporter specifically set out to report on Iraq “outside of Baghdad”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-castration-of-the-press-and-the-pathetic-coverage-of-iraq/224132.md?page=2)