The Unseen War

In this article, veteran journalist Michael Massing expresses concern about the American media's coverage of the Iraq war. The Coalition Media Center in Baghdad was a very "uninformative" source for the media, as described by Massing, yet its official news briefings – which were usually very upbeat and pro-Coalition – seemed to be accepted as 'the final word' by most American reporters. British journalists covering the same stories, on the other hand, often asked extremely sharp and controversial questions, says Massing. He attributes the difference in style to the different target audiences served by the major news organizations. The American version of CNN, for example, relied on much 'friendlier', less graphic images of destruction and war casualties, as these were thought to be more palatable to American viewers. Meanwhile, the BBC provided a more balanced and critical view of the war. Massing's essay shows that despite utilizing the same global, instantaneous communications technology, the media organizations covering the war produced and presented distinct perspectives on the war. – YaleGlobal