Posted on 03/22/2006 5:24:01 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
March 22, 2006
Laura Ingraham clearly hit an MSM sore spot with the charges she levelled during her appearance on yesterday's Today show, in which she locked horns with David Gregory and James Carville. Read Laura in the Lions Den.
Ingraham accused most American media of covering Iraq from their balconies in the Green Zone, confining their reports largely to IEDs and killings and missing the more positive stories that abound across the country.
This morning, a clearly stung NBC asked itself whether it is doing a good job reporting on Iraq, and - surprise! - the Peacock Network assured itself and us that indeed it is. If anything, Today told us, the situation in Iraq is even worse than the MSM portray it.
Ingraham's gutsy appearance took on national momentum. Laura discussed it at length during her own syndicated radio show. Rush Limbaugh picked it up, and Ingraham made evening appearances on the O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes. At one point, Ingraham mentioned that it was her viewing yesterday of a report by NBC's Richard Engel, from the proverbial Green Zone balcony, that sparked some of her sentiment.
NBC fired back this morning, and featured the very same Engel in doing so.
Hosting the segment was Gregory, sitting in for Matt Lauer. He kicked things off asking "is the U.S. media focusing too much on the negative and ignoring the positive stories in Iraq?" Gregory then threw it to Engel in Baghdad, who began by alleging that there are "a lot of myths and misperceptions about what reporters are doing and are not doing here in Iraq."
Engel then narrated a montage showing that at various times, he and his crew have accompanied US troops, put on flack jackets and ventured outside the Green Zone, and exposed themselves to a variety of violent situations. We saw dramatic footage of Engel flat on the ground as bullets whizzed around. The point was made that even staying in the office can be dangerous, as the NBC News Bureau has twice been bombed. Engel also mentioned the danger of kidnapping, with 40 reporters having been taken hostage so far.
While making the case that Baghdad is a dangerous place and that the people covering display bravery, in many ways Engel failed to confront Ingraham's most fundamental charges. She had challenged NBC to apply some of the massive resources it devoted to the Olympics, or even to answering "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?", to its Iraq coverage. Ingraham suggested that the media get off their perches and out into the field. Speak with the Iraqi military, meet with villagers and children. Ingraham predicted that the resulting stories would paint a picture of Iraq more positive than the gloom and doom seen in the glare of the latest IED explosion that is the typical MSM fare.
There was nothing in Engel's report to indicate that NBC had ventured much if at all outside Baghdad or made any systematic effort to speak with the Iraqi military, or with Iraqi people-in-the street or with villagers in the many peaceful areas of the country.
Indeed, Engel's report confirmed Ingraham's allegation that the MSM portray Iraq in a consistently negative light. At one point, Engel asserted that "reporting on everyday life is increasingly dangerous because life here is getting more dangerous." And incredibly, Engel closed by claiming that, if anything, NBC's coverage was . . . not negative enough.
When Gregory asked "is security the overall story?" Engel replied:
"Most Iraqis I speak to say most reporters get it wrong. The situation on the ground is worse than the images we project on television."
Laura Ingraham is GREAT!
Gore would have never gone into Afghanistan... much less Iraq. The courts and the UN would have been his 'weapon' of choice.
Had John Kerry won the election we would have turned tail and run last year.
How did Slick Willie "play it out" in Rowanda?
What happened when the UN and Slick Willie decided that Africans in Rowanda were disposable?
What happened in Cambodia after John Kerry came home after Christmas Eve?
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WTC-'93, Somalia's "Blackhawk Down", WACO, bombing the ChiCom embassy by Slick Willie - we know well the great minds of the democrats when things get hot -
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As far as "intellectual honesty" - Slick Willie's alleged "intelligence photographic memory" did not seem to help him when MENSA turned down both Bill & Hill flat in 1992 during the campaign.
If anyone knows about failure, its Carville.
He's been one his entire, pathetic life.
LOL, first time I've seen the NBC Pinki!
Just my own devious sense of humor but I especially liked this one;
What happened in Cambodia after John Kerry came home after Christmas Eve?
Cambodians - "did you see him?", "no, hey Ling, did you see him?".............
About 3 million Cambodians were butched by Pol Pot after the USA pulled out of Viet Nam
The media occasionally showed some pix - there was a great movie - but the MSM never let Americans connect it up with the anti-war hippies and John Kerry
Yes, I wasn't thinking and was joking about Kerry's claim to having been in Cambodia on Christmas Eve.
PBS did some navel-gazing tonight about whether the press is unfairly accentuating the negative. The lead-in was a portion of Pres. Bush's encounter with Helen Thomas yesterday. The conclusion of the panel was that "if it bleeds, it leads" and if people want to know anything else, they'll have to go to alternative sources like the internet. OK, they don't have to tell me twice!
Thanks for the ping.
HA!
That's GREAT! ;o)
Here's what that dirbag Keith Olberman said:
"A note about Laura Ingram's comments. I've known her a long time. I'll in fact give you the caveat that I've know her socially. But that hotel balcony crack was unforgivable. In was unforgivable to the memory of David Blum, it was unforgivable in considerable of Bob Woodruff and Doug Vought, unforgivable in light of what happened to Michael Kelly and what happened to Michael Weiskopft. It was unforgivable with Joe Carroll still a hostage in Iraq. And it was not only unforgivable of her; it was desperate and it was stupid."
Can't stand Tim.
Long ago, he'd sometimes make a half-hearted attempt at being non-partisan, but that flew out the window in the year 2000.
"Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarbles, ya eunuch jelly thou!"
- Alex (Malcolm McDowell) in 'A Clockwork Orange (1972)'
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