The Media and the Iraq War

What do you believe was the greatest error the mainstream media made in its coverage of the build up to the war in Iraq? Support your opinion with evidence from our class readings and videos.

Comments

[Whitney Everhart]

I believe that the greatest error that the media made was on whether Iraq really had weapons of mass destruction. This, in my opinion, is ultimately why the American people were in support of the war.

[Brad Rhodes]

I agree with Whitney, the overall build up to the war was because we accepted the media's coverage as the absolute truth. The media was far too "jumpy" around the time the war started to do their job and investigate before they report. It was a typical human error that cost us quite a bit.

[Aiken Hamilton]

I agree as well. I think the media's two major problems were competing to get the 'scoop' first, causing them not to delve far enough into the other reasons why there were be aluminum tubes in Iraq, instead of assuming they were for WMDs, and the media not wanting to be regarded as unpatriotic. They didn't want to ask questions because they didn't want to seem like the enemy, but I think the truth is more important. Reporters should have been more skeptical and not made assumptions regarding WMDs.

[Taylor Eason]

I too agree with everyone above. We were all ready for the war, and the reports on the news just made our anger againts Iraq greater. With all the hype that was put onto us by the media about the weapons made everything blow up out of proportion. In no way am i not supporting our decision for war but with the way the media presented it is what i am not supporting.

[Bob Hsu]

I agree with everyone too. The media needs to tell the truth about the war. It could not give people the wrong information because it would increase the anger greater. I am against the war, but I am also against the media does not telling the truth. People should not take this war personally and be fair to look at it.

[Amanda Wright]

I would have to join the crowd and agree as well. We were led to believe that, that was the truth. Instead of competing to get the scoop first they should play a new game called get the scoop right.

[Reilly Sowka]

The greatest error the media made in its coverage over the war was trying to compete against other news stations while delivering news at the same time. To attract more viewers, stations create VNR's and other fancy ways to grab people's attention. These actions are misleading and can sway public opinion greatly. If the media refrained from competition of other stations and released unbiased news, our nation as a whole would be more properly informed.

[Katelyn Morgan]

I feel that yes, the media made a mistake by not covering the true story in the beginning. There greatest mistake was going along with the group thing mentality of our government. After 9/11 We wanted to stand up for what we believed in and fight back. No one took the time to point out that who we were fighting wasn't responsible for what was motivating us to fight. However, they are making another one mistake now. I may not agree with the war, but the newspapers seem to forget that as Americans, you should support your soliders no matter. I feel like the media is trying to make up for being to one sided in the beginning and now looking at an opposite opinion by doing the exact same thing. Media should stop trying to find the story and start trying to find the truth.