IMHO the press has been given too much credit in Iraq, they spin each and every event into what “they” want the sheeple to hear.
I don’t know if there is a cure for the problem. Americans pride themselves on a free and open press, but there is no method of policing them to assure they are also honest.
We prided ourselves in those same principles in World War II, and yet we were able to effectively manage it for OPSEC throughout that war.