On the wars failings and the media
When I see a claim like this one suggesting "the United States could lose the war in Iraq if public support for it at home is sapped by negative media coverage," I wonder to myself just what media he's complaining about?
I understand that the media is an easy target of blame which exculpates the administration and the war's supporters, but thus far, the media has been very disproportionately favorable to the administration and the war.
Only 33% of Americans approve of Bush's handling of Iraq.
Can you imagine if two out of every three stories on Iraq disapproved of Bush's conduct? Or two out of three talking heads on Hardball, CNN, or Meet the Press? Can you imagine if the media narrative actually reflected the true opinions of what the American people are telling pollsters, covering the sense of loss and aimlessness that underpin the antiwar sentiment?
Americans aren't upset about the war because the media is telling them to feel that way; they're upset about the war because it is not going well.
Also, I find the suggestion that the media should reshape the truth very unamerican.
(I know there's nothing revelatory here. Just some random thoughts on a rainy day.)
I understand that the media is an easy target of blame which exculpates the administration and the war's supporters, but thus far, the media has been very disproportionately favorable to the administration and the war.
Only 33% of Americans approve of Bush's handling of Iraq.
Can you imagine if two out of every three stories on Iraq disapproved of Bush's conduct? Or two out of three talking heads on Hardball, CNN, or Meet the Press? Can you imagine if the media narrative actually reflected the true opinions of what the American people are telling pollsters, covering the sense of loss and aimlessness that underpin the antiwar sentiment?
Americans aren't upset about the war because the media is telling them to feel that way; they're upset about the war because it is not going well.
Also, I find the suggestion that the media should reshape the truth very unamerican.
(I know there's nothing revelatory here. Just some random thoughts on a rainy day.)
posted by mikevotes at
2:28 PM
4 Comments:
A strange claim, though no doubt effective.
I find the US media extremely frustrating when it even comes to fair coverage of war issues.
By
Cartledge, at 3:41 PM
Yeah. Because they're afraid of being called unamerican or not patriotic enough and losing advertisers.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 4:51 PM
Maybe they learned enough from Vietnam and the blanket coverage given to that debacle of a war to realize that once people at home realize just how messy the whole stupid mess is in reality, and that these people getting slaughtered were real live human beings just a second before that bullet or bomb hit them, support for a war tends to wear off pretty damn quickly.
To your point about public opinion being shaped by the media or not, I completely agree that - especially in the early parts of this stupid quest for cheap oil and Dubya heroics - to even intimate that you thought the 'War on Terra' was an unwise course of action, was tantamount to calling George Washington a fag and urinating on the flag.
I feel that for the most part it's still that way, and the few times that I do run across an occasional talking head whose views run contrary to the party line, it's extremely refreshing to see that someone is listening to what the vast majority of Americans are saying. We are NOT anti-military. We do NOT hate America. We just think this whole bloody war is stupid and senseless and causing infinitely more trouble than any benefits we could draw from it.
By
Anonymous, at 12:39 AM
Sorry to wait so long to respond, but I was in a hurry this morning and felt this needed a thoughtful response.
I think your first point is very right. One of the rarely spoken criticisms of the embedding process is that it allows the military complete control of the "deployment" of reporters. They can be channelled into successful and away from bloody fights. And, although the restrictions on embedding have been lightened, with security how it is, there is no alternative outside the green zone.
And I am very shocked as well that there are still so few antiwar voices on the TV. Maybe that's because the prowar people will accuse treason and boycott sponsors while antiwar won't.
But I think also it's the classic "groupthink." Those in the cocktail party circles have a somewhat collective opinion on Iraq, and that combined with their sense of "specialness" at being soooo very smart, makes them believe that they know best.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 11:38 AM
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