Media Wars - NBC vs. 'Conservatives'

America is not only at war in Iraq, but at war in the media. And like it or not, our success here on the homefront in terms of how Americans see the war or support the effort will be determined to a great degree by which 'side' wins the media war.

Capsule of case in point: MSNBC in reporting on Tuesday's Today Show said President Bush suggested the media was being used by the insurgents when he said, "They're capable of blowing up innocent life. So it ends up on your TV show."

See transcript of press conference.

Andrea Mitchell, author of the article wrote, "As opposition to the war rises, it's a theme amplified by Vice President Dick Cheney and conservative talk show hosts: a supposedly passive, even lazy media is focusing too much on random violence," and quoted Rush Limbaugh as an example, "And they go out and find video of a burning, smoldering vehicle blown up by an IED and that's the news of the day.”

On the show itself conservative Radio host Laura Ingraham and NBC's Richard Engel debated the effectiveness of the media's role in reporting on the war:

For example, Laura said:

"David, to do a show from Iraq means to talk to the Iraqi military, to go out with the Iraqi military, to actually have a conversation with the people. Instead of reporting from hotel balconies about the latest IEDs going off."

To which Richard responded:

"There have been about 70 reporters killed over here while trying to go out and find the stories. Another 40 of them have been taken hostage, three are still being detained by kidnappers."

To which Andrea Mitchell wrote,

"Reporters used to travel more freely, before the rise in violence during the last year and a half. But why is the administration now seeming to blame the media? In fact, it's a familiar tactic...(and then quotes David Gergen, former presidential adviser), 'I think they are batting around the press because they are frustrated they have been down in the polls so long.'It's a political strategy by a White House struggling with an unpopular war."

No American wants to see any American killed, soldier or reporter. And no American wants their news slanted...we expect it in op-eds but not in our daily news coverage, print or otherwise. We want just the facts.

Alot has being written about President Bush's press conference and the media's spin on it no need to duplicate, but for some of the buzz you might want to start here:

http://newsbusters.org/node/4559

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/13296.html

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/13281.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

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