Major US networks now average 2 min of Iraq War coverage per week

[HotHotHeat]

The three major US networks spend on average 2 minutes per week covering the Iraq war, this according to the New York Times. The networks aren't telling the public about the deaths of Iraqi civilians since the invasion (anywhere from 600,000 to 1.2 million) or about the displaced Iraqis both internally and outside the country (more than 5 Million). The Real News Network Analyst Pepe Escobar comments.

PEPE ESCOBAR, ANALYST, THE REAL NEWS NETWORK: Roughly two minutes of coverage per network per week. This is what the three major US networks now think the drama in Iraq is worth. This story was broken by The New York Times, quoting research carried in 2008 by TD consultant ["AN-dral-TIN-dal"]. CBS Evening News is lowest in the scale, followed by ABC World News and NBC Nightly News. Even before The New York Times' story, CBS foreign correspondent Lara Logan had told John Stewart's Daily Show:

Link to video, story

I found this interesting... Thought others might as well. The Daily Show clips are especially intriguing. It's amazing the number of current or former US troops that played a part in this war come back and absolutely rip apart the US media and Bush administration.

[HOZ]

Could be a possible answer. It's not bleed'n it ain't lead'n

[Azure]

Its amazing how the media forgets about something when it isn't going 'bad.'

Nothing more, nothing less.

Besides, there is an election coming up soon, so I'd assume a lot of the prior coverage about the Iraq War is now being taken up by the idiots who are worried about Obama being too white for the job.

EDIT: Oh, and its pretty hard to 'cover' a story if you don't even have reporters there. Micheal Yon has been saying for months now that all the good reporters have been pulled out of Iraq.

[Daradon]

Are you guys serious?

It's going so well it doesn't need (or is interesting enough to be) reported.

There are several other answers to the question.

I mean we are talking about a government that banned pictures of coffins coming back.

I know where my bet lies. Yes 'the surge' has had some success, but not nearly enough to be called 'a success'.

No, it's not making the news cause 1) it's old news, and 2) many parts of it are being banned.

And 3) the public cares about the Spears family and Bradjolina...

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Azure

Its amazing how the media forgets about something when it isn't going 'bad.'

Nothing more, nothing less.

Besides, there is an election coming up soon, so I'd assume a lot of the prior coverage about the Iraq War is now being taken up by the idiots who are worried about Obama being too white for the job.

EDIT: Oh, and its pretty hard to 'cover' a story if you don't even have reporters there. Micheal Yon has been saying for months now that all the good reporters have been pulled out of Iraq.

Can you imagine all the war correspondents from Vietnam who are weeping today at what our media has become.

No longer is media about 'what we need to know' but 'what we want to see' .... So we have nothing but crap on TV since we like our media like we like our fast food.

[Locke]

Finally that pesky war can stop monopolizing our airwaves. I mean, if I wanted to see people getting blown up I'd throw in the DVD of Missing in Action II: Still Missing in Action.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Are you guys serious?

It's going so well it doesn't need (or is interesting enough to be) reported.

There are several other answers to the question.

I mean we are talking about a government that banned pictures of coffins coming back.

I know where my bet lies. Yes 'the surge' has had some success, but not nearly enough to be called 'a success'.

No, it's not making the news cause 1) it's old news, and 2) many parts of it are being banned.

And 3) the public cares about the Spears family and Bradjolina...

The Iraq war has had more free press coverage than any other war in history. Unfortunately it has been decidedly one sided. It has been pretty easy to find stats on US casualties and civilians casualties but, you have to look pretty deep to find a count of the enemies killed. You also hear very little about any progress regarding the building of infrastructure and such. Tons of stories about low troop moral but, very little said about those who believe in the cause.

McCain has been advocating a troop surge in Iraq since 2003. Obama was recommending immediate with drawl(basically surrender) at that time. The fact that the surge has worked should be a big news story.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Are you guys serious?

It's going so well it doesn't need (or is interesting enough to be) reported.

There are several other answers to the question.

I mean we are talking about a government that banned pictures of coffins coming back.

I know where my bet lies. Yes 'the surge' has had some success, but not nearly enough to be called 'a success'.

No, it's not making the news cause 1) it's old news, and 2) many parts of it are being banned.

And 3) the public cares about the Spears family and Bradjolina...

Eh? The surge was a complete success. At least going by what the media over there is saying.

But of course, the media wouldn't know that because none of the major networks in the US have people over there.

I think there are a few Brits/Germans/Aussies left that are actually embedded with the troops and reporting on what they see. It is old news, and nobody cares anymore. Plus, there is an election coming up as well.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Thor

Can you imagine all the war correspondents from Vietnam who are weeping today at what our media has become.

No longer is media about 'what we need to know' but 'what we want to see' .... So we have nothing but crap on TV since we like our media like we like our fast food.

It was the same in the Vietnam War. Remember the Tet Offensive? A handful of rebels couldn't even get through the gates of the American Embassy and the media reported it like the apocalypse was coming.

The Tet Offensive was a military failure for the communists but proved to be a political victory because it persuaded many Americans that the war was being lost.

[tjinaz]

More good news about Iraq that likely was not mentioned on the National News. Think what you like about media bias but once things started to turn around and get better the press seemed to walk away.

If more people die it makes the news, if it looks like it could be a good thing it is not worth reporting.

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?op...702&Itemid=128

[RougeUnderoos]

Oh yeah, that's it. The mission is so successful, the American people don't even want to know.

If there is one thing Americans hate, it is hearing stories about their own military triumphs. And, since they are happening daily in Iraq, nobody cares. It's a real shame.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Oh yeah, that's it. The mission is so successful, the American people don't even want to know.

If there is one thing Americans hate, it is hearing stories about their own military triumphs. And, since they are happening daily in Iraq, nobody cares. It's a real shame.

Weird eh? Makes no sense.

If I was running the news this would be my report.

Today our batallion claimed this hill and killed 250 soldiers and captured 1000 POWs and 500 weapons. NOBODY on our side was captured or killed.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Oh yeah, that's it. The mission is so successful, the American people don't even want to know.

If there is one thing Americans hate, it is hearing stories about their own military triumphs. And, since they are happening daily in Iraq, nobody cares. It's a real shame.

Especially when an election is coming up. Because Iraq will not be an election issue at all.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Oh yeah, that's it. The mission is so successful, the American people don't even want to know.

If there is one thing Americans hate, it is hearing stories about their own military triumphs. And, since they are happening daily in Iraq, nobody cares. It's a real shame.

I suppose Americans WANT to hear about Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, eh?

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Azure

I suppose Americans WANT to hear about Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, eh?

yes, yes they do.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Table 5

yes, yes they do.

I'm sure some do....but there are people who actually 'care' about the news. Well, really news I mean.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Azure

I suppose Americans WANT to hear about Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, eh?

Well yeah.

The media is, first and foremost, a business. They cater to their customers.

I can't, off the top of my head, think of any other business that intentionally gives their customers what they don't want. The media doesn't do it either.

PBS exists. They cover the war quite extensively every night. If the average American would rather hear about the war instead of trivial non-
matters, Jim Lehrer would be considerably more famous than Paris Hilton.

When the war started it was on 24/7. People got tired of it for whatever reason. Maybe it was because they felt duped, felt it was a mistake, felt it was such a glorious success that they didn't care to watch anymore, grew weary of bad news or just plain old forgot about it. I don't know what it is, but I do know that if they still wanted to hear about it all the time, they would be hearing about it.

[Igottago]

Have you guys watched Lions for Lambs? I watched it last night...pretty good movie about the relationship between the government, media, and the apathy of the common person. Highly recommend it, even though Tom Cruise is in it.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Well yeah.

The media is, first and foremost, a business. They cater to their customers.

I can't, off the top of my head, think of any other business that intentionally gives their customers what they don't want. The media doesn't do it either.

PBS exists. They cover the war quite extensively every night. If the average American would rather hear about the war instead of trivial non-
matters, Jim Lehrer would be considerably more famous than Paris Hilton.

When the war started it was on 24/7. People got tired of it for whatever reason. Maybe it was because they felt duped, felt it was a mistake, felt it was such a glorious success that they didn't care to watch anymore, grew weary of bad news or just plain old forgot about it. I don't know what it is, but I do know that if they still wanted to hear about it all the time, they would be hearing about it.

Isn't PBS a government-funded network?

Honestly? I think people get tired of it....they don't want to hear about what is going on over there anymore. Success or not success...even if the US would be killing 500 terrorists everyday and making incredible gains each day, people still wouldn't care.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Azure

Isn't PBS a government-funded network?

Honestly? I think people get tired of it....they don't want to hear about what is going on over there anymore. Success or not success...even if the US would be killing 500 terrorists everyday and making incredible gains each day, people still wouldn't care.

They could kill thousands of terrorists everyday but with most people now knowing there weren't any terrorists there before this war, it's pretty damn depressing. A real ****-up, especially for those who supported it.