Today Show/NewsBusters ping.
NBC claims its Iraq coverage not negative enough. Yeah, that's the ticket!
Here's more information on the Ingraham/Gregory confrontation.
I thought about posting a separate thread because ABC's Good Morning America led off with asking readers' to email them from their website about what type of coverage we (the public) would like to read.
I went ahead and emailed them my thoughts.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/
Well if it's all that bad, why is he standing on a balcony? Has he ever heard of snipers? Bazookas? or American Tanks? ;)
Were there any clips of Engel and ordinary Iraqi citizens and/or children?
That's a predictable result, when you embed yourself with al Qaeda!
Here's a link to a depiction of Ingraham's appearance yesterday on the Today show: "Laura in the Lions Den."
http://newsbusters.org/node/4542
I despise them more at times like this than all others combined. They actually believe that we believe they submitted themselves to the tough questions. Pffft.
If NBC believes most Iraqis they speak with, then the reporter's statement constitutes an admission that they are not getting out and getting the REAL STORY about the security situation.
And, if they believe, by their own admission, that they are not getting the real story on the "security situation", why is it that they believe they are reporting the real story regarding the "non security" aspects of life in Iraq?
Ms. Ingraham is correct to challenge the lamstream media to do that, but my guess is that even if they did they'd find a way to spin it negatively. What we need to realize is that the lamestream press has no intention of being objective. When a Republican/conservative is in office, everything is bad, bad, bad. When a liberal 'Rat is in office, everything is great, great, great. Their reports are not information but agitprop. The MSM is an agenda-driven business, and the truth of the matter about any given subject is not a consideration.
We're mostly on our own when it comes to finding out the truth of any story today. Fortunately, we have more resources today to do that than were available in the past. Unfortunately, most people in the country are lazy and willing to believe what they are told than make any effort to find things out for themselves.
Frankly, neither side has it correct. There are good things happening, as well as an abundance of bad. And the ongoing bad media campaign is sickening.
Frankly the administrations admission the other day that any withdrawl would likely occur on some other administrations watch is a very different story of when we were told we would leave if asked by the Iraqi government.
It could be that we know the government wouldn't ask for at least three more years or now we wouldn't if we were asked.
But back to the media, how many reporters or their crew have been killed, seriously hurt or kidnapped while covering this war. And I bet they weren't all on a balcony.
Laura's comment was a straw man argument.
This morning on Today, we ask "Are journalists doing a bad job covering Iraq?" Let's ask a journalist.
That's pretty funny.
In the past 5 months, I have talked to 4 local reservists who each returned from Iraq assignments that lasted more than a year.
If it isn't the first sentence they volunteer, it is in their second: They say that what you see on TV is not at all the way it is Iraq. And they say that it is much more POSITIVE than portrayed.
This is why the MSM has such a credibility issue. When do you see any stories about returning service members? Usually only if they are in the minority voicing opposition, or if they have returned with a major injury. Only the local media outlets cover the reports from our friends and neighbors who give first-hand accounts of what is really being accomplished.
As far as David Engel, it seems like if he went to a road-building site or new school or hospital, his chances of needing his flak jacket and helmet would be greating reduced. But, they're not doing that kind of story in New Orleans, either. So why should we be surprised?
In the early days of the troops in Bagdad, one of the big hotels was attacked. IIRC NBC's Richard Engel was the reporter who sent his driver downstairs (where the action was) to get the news reports. Engel stayed upstairs (safety) and made his broadcasts from there.
There were FR threads about it when it was revealed. Engel may have been employed by CNN at the time. IIRC, he changed employers a couple of years ago.
That was about the time he was annointed with the nomenclature: Chicken Richard.
This strikes me as similar to Pauline Kael's "No one I know voted for Nixon."
Obviously, he is so isolated, he cant see reality.
Maybe if just once, when the MSM is caught red-handed reporting something wrong/lying/being biased, they would just own up to it and take their licks, then viewers would have a bit of respect for them and their ratings wouldn't be hemhorraging.
When you'd like a terrorist to shoot accurately, they whiz them over his head!