Broadcasters continue to target the military
 

You have to admit, those liberal broadcasters really are working hard spreading the enemy propaganda..almost as much as the democratic party.


Bad News' Rife In Military Coverage

By Jennifer Harper, The Washington Times

Broadcasters continue to target the military, according to an analysis by the Media Research Center (MRC), which has detected a pronounced "bad news bias."

From May 17 to June 7, NBC, CBS and ABC aired 99 stories -- or 3½ hours of negative news coverage -- on the ongoing investigation of U.S. Marines in the death of Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November.

However, from September 2001 to June 2006, the same networks broadcast just 52 minutes of positive coverage of the nation's top military heroes, such as U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith, who died while protecting 100 fellow soldiers during the battle for Baghdad's airport in April 2003, earning the Medal of Honor.

Nineteen other men received high honors -- the Air Force and Navy crosses and the Distinguished Service Cross -- yet 14 were never mentioned on the air, according to the MRC analysis.

"None of those positive stories have interested the networks as much as news of possible military misconduct," noted Rich Noyes, who led the research.

The analysis examined Haditha coverage from May 17 to June 7, "before the networks' pessimism was interrupted by the successful termination of terrorist menace [Abu Musab Zarqawi]," the study said. It also found that the networks used terms such as "Marine massacre" and "mass murder" to describe the Haditha incident, which is still under investigation by the Pentagon.

The MRC analysis noted that ABC News was the worst offender, airing 86 minutes of negative coverage, followed by NBC with 67 minutes and CBS with 58.

"Much of the coverage has been repetitive, reviewing the allegations and the still unfinished investigation. At the same time, the networks have presumed a guilty verdict and a blow to the overall American military's reputation," Mr. Noyes said.

The trend has not gone unnoticed by the military. Major Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq, recently cautioned journalists not to muddle facts -- such as confusing Haditha with a March 15 raid near Samarra in which Iraqi civilians died. That raid was investigated and found to be in accordance with standard rules of engagement.

"Recently there has been much attention in both the Western and Arabic media concerning reports of coalition soldiers killing innocent Iraqi civilians. Temptation exists to lump all these incidents together," Gen. Caldwell said June 3. "However, each case needs to be examined individually."

Such was the case, perhaps, when a grisly photo of blindfolded Iraqi civilians executed by local insurgents was used to illustrate Haditha coverage in the Times of London on June 1 and as an inspiration for a Chicago Sun-Times editorial cartoon. Both news organizations later apologized.

And overlooked: A May 28 Defense Department press release reporting that the United States recently spent $230,000 in repairing schools and water systems in Haditha, a city of 75,000.

You want praise, then defend America only.

You can't expect militarism to garner anything but scorn. That's why the founders tried to prohibit a standing Army, which unfortunately was gotten around via a corrupt legislature who wanted to use military spending as "pork" for their districts.

When the US governments military is reduced to that needed for defense of the country only, respect will return; slowly and well into the future.

Some of us have never lost that respect.

Pat, media coverage of the military would not be any more positive if we were shooting at invaders on our own beaches. They are usually blame-America-firsters.

No, they'd be telling us that the government is mounting a futile attempt to fend of our "liberators".

Heard on the radio this morning that intel obtained from the Zarqawi raid has led to 452 individual operations in the last week which have killed 104 insurgents, captured 759 suspected insurgents and discovered 28 arms caches. For a numbers comparison, that would be like an entire US Army Battalion either being killed or captured in one week.

Anyone hear about that on the news? I must have missed it.

But...but...

Bush lied.©

The war was a mistake.©

We're losing.©

This is a huge quagmire.©

It's Vietnam all over again.©

Right.

Things are going fantastic in Iraq. Really, really well.

Damm media keeps getting blown up and stuff, and they don't send the replacements fast enough to pump out the positive stories!

That's the problem. The damm media.

"Take responsibility for your actions, don't blame others for your failures."

that was the Conservative credo, what happened?

Fintstone is nothing more than a whiny liberal with these stupid cut and pastes blaming the media for everything when conservatives enjoy unlimited power. You look like a muling weakling.

Stop whining about the media and get working on catching OBL. We'll all be better for it.

There is, Hugh, I agree with you, a deep anti-military bias in the media. One that begins from the premise that the military must be lying, and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong. I think that that is a hangover from Vietnam, and I think it's very dangerous. -- Chief White House Correspondent, Terry Moran (ABC)

Care to actually address my point Rodeo or hunter?

I know it's easier to just put up the cut and paste response, but why haven't we heard about this huge sweep going on? Almost 1,000 insurgents either killed or captured and not a word on the evening news?

Even as the Iraqi government released a document found in al-Zarqawi's hideout that appeared to show the insurgency was weakening, new violence erupted. Gunmen shot and killed 10 Shiites in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad.

U.S. officials also identified the man claiming to have succeeded al-Zarqawi as head of the al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist group as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian with ties to al-Qaida.

American and Iraqi forces have carried out 452 raids since the June 7 airstrike on al-Zarqawi, and 104 insurgents were killed in those actions, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.

The nationwide raids led to the discovery of 28 significant arms caches, Caldwell said.

He said 255 of the raids were joint operations, while 143 were carried out by Iraqi forces alone. The raids also resulted in the captures of 759 "anti-Iraqi elements."


AP (mostly biased leftist reporting)

Case in point:

MSNBC World News Page Headlines:

AROUND THE WORLD
• Britain's Queen celebrates 80th birthday, again
• South Africans mark pivotal Soweto uprising
• China hears trial of New York Times researcher
• Toxic spill in China nears water for 10 million
• Quartet deal seen imminent on Palestinian aid
• Newsweek: World leaders exploit Bush’s weakness
• 2 trapped by Mount Merapi debris found dead
• Britain offers to imprison ex-Liberian leader
• Why your valid passport might not work overseas


CONFLICT IN IRAQ
• Baghdad mosque attack kills 10
• U.S. death toll in Iraq hits 2,500
• New inquiry after deaths in U.S. custody
• WP: Militias control many Iraqi prisons
• House rejects Iraq withdrawal deadline

NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL EDITION
• How the U.S. found Zarqawi
• The next generation of terror
• America's Mexico takeover
• Is Russia unfit for the WTO?
• The world's true game


So, out of the 5 headlines deemed fit for their Conflict in Iraq front page headlines, 5/5 are negative stories and not a single mention of almost 1,000 insurgents killed or captured in the last week. Somehow, a mosque attack that kills 10 civilians leads the stories though. 10 civilians killed vs 902 insurgents or suspected insurgents killed or captured...

Hrm....

What happened?...You accepted the lies of anti-American swine as truth. That is what happened. The media and Democrats should be apologizing, but they own the largest share of media so you betcha there is a fat chance of that happening...The media and Democrats have mounted a full court operation to undermine and lose this battle for us. All you have to do is turn on Chris Matthews, George Steponallofus, Timmy Russert, et al, and you will see starkly how their agenda drives how and what they report.

The mainstream democrats and leftist media are trying desperately to lose Iraq and the war on terror, as their future depends on this loss. Our loss is their gain...This is not difficult to observe, as all good is buried or diminished with a generous dose of negativity. They do this in order to warp the truth into a more convenient and self-serving leftist fiction.

The American public has been brainwashed by the mainstream leftists for too long. It must stop.

Hey guys..

It is very simple. Selling space in the media. The more space sold, the higher the profits.

"If it bleeds, it leads".

Good news does not interest the majority. They want blood, guts, accusations, innuendo, conspiracies.

Do not just blame the press. Blame the public for their short attention span and love of controversy. Blame the publicity hounds. Blame the pundits who love to stir the pot.

+1

You think Coulter makes her money off of "good news"? Pundits on *both* sides are popular because they are mean-spirited purveyors of shallow sensational soundbites. That seems to be all the public can digest...or wants to listen to.

Anyone else notice how the lefties are all in a lather trying to diminish our recent successes in Iraq?...Treasonous...It seems like the greater our successes, when Bush or Republicans are in office, the more hysterical, petty and mean-spirited they get.

Scum.

nostatic?...What happened to the gay bashing thread?

Yes, that's why Coulter is rich. But she is not a journalist by any stretch and I don't think she even claims to be one. What gets me is that every op-ed writer calls themselves journalists. They're no more so than I am. They just get paid to write whatever they feel like writing. I consider the gumshoes who go out and find stories to be real journalists. Network news is a misnomer and you really have to watch and read multiple sources to know what's going on.

You don't watch CNN? You may want to start.

Fox is too concerned with poor dead blonde Natalie and the Duke Boys, nothing there.

I figured that the response would be the old "it bleeds it leads" mantra.

Ok, I accept that. It bleeds, it leads. So does that mean that good news get NO TIME AT ALL? That's what is happening now, the military sweep has gotten zero time on the major networks. None. Zippo. Nada. Not even a "10 civilians were killed in a mosque today, in other less important news, 902 insurgents were killed or captured by coalition forces this week."

It bleeds, it leads only gets you so far. This is ridiculous.