Missing in Action: Main Stream Media

This post is a bit long, and doesn’t talk about soldier life. I offer my view about how reporting of the war could be improved.

Much ado over the recent announcement that only one Iraqi battalion is up to snuff, when Congress thought it was three. I just don’t get this. Why is Congress so uninformed? There are frequent CODELs (Congressional Delegations) coming over here; what do they do here? It’s not like they’re busy golfing or vacationing. The main reason, I believe, is that they just don’t talk to soldiers when the come. I blogged about this in an earlier post about bigwigs visiting. If you only talk to Commanders, all you’ll get is the Command Message, and that begins at the top.

Likewise, the MSM gets lots of criticism for not reporting the war well. I guess one reason is editorial decisions not to print or show routine stuff; a new water project just doesn’t grab attention like a bomb does. But, you’d think a report about the lack of readiness of Iraqi battalions would be interesting. I suppose I’m assuming this hasn’t been reported, based on Congress’ surprise.

What I’m getting at is that the MSM isn’t sending reporters out, not in our area. Near as I can tell, they pretty much just huddle inside the Green Zone in Baghdad. We’ve seen a few here; some from home to report on hometown soldiers, some from Stars & Stripes, but nothing extended.

For whatever reasons, we don’t have many (any?) reporters hanging out with soldiers in our area. It’s easy enough to catch a spare seat on a patrol, or to a meeting with a local Sheik or to the military assistance team training the Iraqi Army. Hang around the regional embassy and observe state dept staffers. How about having a reporter live for three to six months here with us? A month or two? A few weeks?

MSM and CODELS ought to get out of the headquarters buildings and circulate among soldiers. It’s simple to ask the guys training Iraqis “What do you think of their readiness? What standards are they meeting?” I’ve asked that in the chow hall, and the recent assessment that surprised Congress was consistent with what the soldiers told me. Or, ask the soldiers if more troops would help, and if so, how? I’ve done that, and the answer often isn’t exactly what you hear from command.

Of course, the view from the dirt is limited in range, so the Joes have only a part of the truth. Embedded reporters did a great job reporting the initial attack. Embedding seems to be a thing of the past. Embedded reporters wouldn’t be at any greater risk than soldiers. Probably a bit less. I’d like to see reporters assigned to a FOB or large unit for an extended period.