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studs? Were readers and viewers well-served or
deluged with confusing information? And what
does all of this portend for coverage of future
wars?
Please realize: I am not against the press, nor
dismissive of the enterprise, hard work and
tenacity shown. Many of our reporters were
brave, most hard working and a few even brilliant
in the stories they filed. I can’t fault the
technique or the way in which they worked to
give us an insider’s seat at a war. The technology
was amazing and some of the imagery unforgettable.
At the same time, one must ask, what was the
cumulative impact of this news army, what are
the stories that went uncovered in a heavily
managed system? Bear in mind that propaganda
works best when you are unaware of it. Censorship
is most effective when it is subtly achieved.
Without “shooting the messenger” we can and
must evaluate the message, its social meaning
and political effect.
There has been a gradual erosion of the adversarial
stance of many on high-status beats,
reporters who appear to be seduced by the aura
of power and the prestige of those whom they
have been assigned to cover.
The White House correspondents’ dinner is a
case in oint. Journalists there were “em-tuxedoed,”
socializing with war makers. It is one
thing to be polite. It is another to be co-opted.
President Bush knew he had a friendly crowd
to wow and woo. He spoke eloquently of journalists
he knew who died, especially the conservative
Michael Kelly, without touching on any of
the issues that worry advocates of free expression.
He was preaching to those who should be
watchdogs, who should be scrutinizing his poli-
WINNERS AND LOSERS
45
cies, not complicit in his project.
There was no dissent shown from any of these
correspondents and stenographers of power,
nary a negative word. Instead, they cheered.
They cheered. At one point, the outgoing president
of the White House Correspondents Association
commented that some reporters had
even suggested that anti-war musicians like the
Dixie Chicks or Harry Belafonte be invited to
entertain. He scoffed at that proposal. “Imagine!”
he sneered. “You can’t make this stuff up.” He
was right on that point. You can’t make this stuff
up. ●
WAR AS NEWS BECOMES
WAR AS HISTORY
NEW YORK, APRIL 23, 2003 – The non-stop
news cycle turns instant events into history with
a new rapidity. Soon we will be flooded with
books, videocassettes and documentaries about
Operation Iraqi Freedom through a media recycling
operation already in high gear.
New media products offer one way of amortizing
the investment in so much news coverage.
But it is also a way of reinforcing the U.S. TV
view that good has triumphed over evil, that the
war was welcomed and worth it. Soon, the News
Business will start handing out awards for best
coverage by an embedded journalist under fire
and, later, memorial plaques for those who died.
Our heroism and valor cannot be forgotten.
What is needed more is real introspection and
a critical reassessment. Were some media outlets
acting more like publicists and promoters of
the war than journalists with a duty to remain