I’ve been watching closely the television coverage of the war in Iraq since the election. In particular, I’ve paid special attention to the portrayal of the siege of Falloujah, which began just after the election. What I’ve noticed is that the media, like America, has now ratified and approved the war in Iraq.
Prior to the election, the mainstream media (NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN) portrayed Iraq as a frenetic, out-of-control hellhole ruled by unwieldy, blood-thirsty Arab insurgents. Since the election, the media has switched its coverage, now portraying the war as America’s glorious mission to “pacify” and “bring democracy” to the heart of the Iraqi insurgency.
This change in coverage, once again, shows the weakness of the American media. The American media is compliant; its only mission is to get high ratings so advertisers will continue to pay big bucks. Once President Bush won reelection by dominating the vast majority of American states, the weaklings in the media figured they’d better get back in touch with those red state folks by covering the war more favorably for the President. All at the expense of the American soldier.
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