That's because you didn't post the first part of the story. --------------------------
July 1, 2003 -- WE Americans have the finest media in the world, representing the broadest spectrum of opinions. Our media is feisty, but also self-critical and self-correcting (though The New York Times may win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year). Overall, the American people are very well served.
But the fierce competition that makes our media so effective can also be its worst enemy. The fight for the hottest headline can lead to peculiar forms of group-think and pack journalism at its worst.
The Laci Peterson story is a good example. One murder, among many, catches on - and suddenly it's a more important story than terrorism, famine, coups or genocide. Pack journalism leads to a loss of perspective that badly distorts our national priorities.
Well, journalistically speaking, poor Laci Peterson's in Baghdad now. A relatively small number of foreseeable attacks - predicted by this column months ago - have been blown wildly out of proportion.