A newspaper guy in Iraq sheds a little light…not that’s it’s anything we didn’t already know…too much spin.
michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/05/ … story.html
[quote]The media is an industry; but their business is not to report news. The industry needs a captive audience to beat the bottom line. The product is advertisement.
This is not a right or wrong. It’s just a business concept for moving merchandise, and every profession or industry has one.[/quote]
For example…and note the spin…
[quote]“3 US soldiers were wounded in a small arms engagement in Mosul. 3 US soldiers from Task Force Baghdad were wounded by a car bomb in Baquba while conducting convoy operations in Diyala Province. 1 US soldier was slightly wounded by an IED while conducting combat operations in Baghdad. 2 US Marines were killed in a Humvee accident in Anbar Province. A Blackhawk helicopter made an emergency landing near Ramadi. No injuries were reported.”
This will hit pages all over the world, but in a newsier voice:
"A US helicopter made an emergency landing near Ramadi under unknown circumstances. An insurgent website claiming affiliation to Al Qaeda in Iraq says they shot down the helicopter with a surface-to-air missile. A US military spokesman would not comment. Elsewhere, one US soldier and two Marines were killed and seven other service members were wounded in Iraq, along with at least 18 deaths from a suicide car-bomber near the Syrian border. This brings total Coalition deaths in Iraq to 1,800. In other news, photos of the former dictator of Iraq in his underwear have infuriated the Arab world and angered the Pentagon, which promised a full investigation
Here’s the ultimate source for neoconservatives seeking a healthy change of perspective about the situation in Iraq: centcom.mil/
You can even sign up for their newsletter.
A good example of how the media distort the truth about the situation in Iraq and how a healthy dose of the missing good news element from sources such as Centcom can put things back in perspective is on the subject of Fallujah, arguably one of the most significant news stories of the whole of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Here’s the distorted, pessimistic media version:
"Fallujah is completely surrounded by US Forces, the only way in or out is through one of four very restrictive checkpoints. . .
Fallujah is devastating to drive through. There is more destruction and rubble than I’ve ever seen in my life; even more than in Rafah, Gaza. The US has leveled entire neighborhoods, and about every third building is destroyed or damaged from US artillery. Rubble and bullet holes are everywhere, the city is indescribably ravaged. It looks like it’s been hit by a series of tornados; it’s hard to believe that humans could actually do this. I have a new understanding of the destructive potential of modern warfare. See more destruction pictures.
US troops, Iraqi military, and Iraqi police have an overwhelming presence in the city. I’ve never seen such dirty looks directed at the passing forces; I guess in most places people get used to the occupier, but in Fallujah, the hate is still very alive. . .
There are horror stories everywhere. We visited a family’s home in a neighborhood where every structure is damaged or destroyed. Their home was full of holes and completely black inside from fire. They said that they’d left during the fighting with their home in tact, and returned to find all of their possessions had burned. Three families are now living in this 3-room house because their homes were completely destroyed. Over 25 people live in this burn-out shell of a home, including four infants. . ."
[color=blue]Now for the missing good news element version to put things back in perspective:[/color]
By U.S. Army Capt. Steve Alvarez, U.S. Central Command
Fallujah, Iraq