Ever since the United States and an international coalition toppled Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in the spring of 2003, the Iraq war has dominated network newscasts. … network reporters [are] giving the public an inordinately gloomy portrait of the situation…the positive accomplishments of U.S. soldiers and Iraq’s new democratic leaders [are] being lost in a news agenda dominated by assassinations, car bombings and casualty reports…
This conclusion is based on a Media Research Center study of broadcast network news coverage of the Iraq war so far this year…Among the key findings:
It is probably predictable that journalists would emphasize bad news, but network TV’s profoundly pessimistic coverage has shortchanged the accomplishments of both the U.S. military and Iraq’s new leaders and has certainly contributed to the public’s growing discontent with the war. Just as it would be wrong for reporters to conceal any bad news, it is wrong for journalists to downplay the good news that is being made in Iraq. Reporters have the responsibility to fully inform citizens about progress that is being made amid great sacrifice, and they are not doing so.
(For the complete report “TV’s Bad News Brigade,” click here.)
Read the excerpt below. Do you agree with the Media Research Center's conclusion that "Just as it would be wrong for reporters to conceal any bad news, it is wrong for journalists to downplay the good news that is being made in Iraq. Reporters have the responsibility to fully inform citizens about progress that is being made amid great sacrifice, and they are not doing so"?