Media Equals "Propaganda," according to soldier.

MOSUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Friday took a delighted dig at the media after troops he was visiting in Iraq complained their good works were ignored by the press while disasters grabbed the headlines.

A soldier at his first stop in Mosul asked Rumsfeld how the "propaganda" worked?

Rumsfeld, under attack since he appeared to brush aside a question about poor equipment from a U.S. soldier in Kuwait that later turned out to have been composed with help from a reporter, jumped at the opportunity to turn the tables.

"That doesn't sound like a question placed by the press," he told his audience to loud applause.

Rumsfeld needles media as troops bemoan bad press

Factual or exaggeration?
Media=Propaganda?
How is that the media does only cover the "bad" and rarely if ever covers the "good" that is happening in Iraq?
Are they purposely covering only the 'bad' in hopes of causing further dissent at home, and abroad for the war?
I have reason to seriously believe so, and I base it on the media doing the very same thing in and with the Vietnam War. There is no doubt that the media is doing likewise with this war...no doubt.
What is the real motivation for the media doing what they are doing by selctively covering only the "bad" things that transpire?




seekerof

[edit on 24-12-2004 by Seekerof]

Please Delete.

[edit on 24-12-2004 by faddinglight]

Originally posted by faddinglight
There using fear tactics, the media always talks about the, "bad." I'd like to say more, but Im feeling horribly sick, lol, sorry.

Well I don't know about the USA but at least in Canada on CBC no less, they usually make sure to balance things out. Now when it has to do with Iraq though, it is usually bad news. In a war zone its nearly impossible to "Look on the Bright side" when dozens of people, both Iraqi and American are getting killed every single day. I'm sure that some good things have happened in Iraq but with all that is going on, to focus more on just the "Good" stuff is in itself a form of propaganda in that it may give the impression that everything is all rosey and peechy over there, when clearly it isn't. I believe the objective of the Media in all this is to keep thier ratings up, and no channel is a complete innocent in this. I don't believe it's a liberal media conspiracy. I believe its just a money making conspiracy, just as the Iraq war is but that is just my opinion on the matter and I'm not looking to debate that issue right now.

Any war is not rosy. As a veteran I do not believe everything the media tells it. It does not help when people protest around the globe and here in the USA putting our forces down!
Bad news has been programed into the mind that gets attention, more so than good news. Media can kiss my American Veteran a__!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by ancientsailor
Any war is not rosy. As a veteran I do not believe everything the media tells it. It does not help when people protest around the globe and here in the USA putting our forces down!
Bad news has been programed into the mind that gets attention, more so than good news. Media can kiss my American Veteran a__!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I go out to protest I am not spitting in the face of Vets, as I respect them emensly. I disagree with the motives behind certain wars so I exercise my right to protest, and if you don't like that well I can't think of anythiing nice to say to close off so I'll just leave it at that...

I'm a veteran of Iraq, and Afghanistan, I protest both now. Some of us aren't fully brainwashed, and can see the light of our actions. I have however seen a few good things happen in this war on terror, things that have not been reported, but I don't care, and I won't push for those things to be publicized. This war is wrong and is being handled wrong, that is a fact.

Originally posted by Seekerof
What is the real motivation for the media doing what they are doing by selctively covering only the "bad" things that transpire?

I think you'd be shocked if you knew how many of the 'bad things' are left out, not to incriminate the American government even further.....

A great example is the issue of the American Marine shooting an unarmed and wounded Iraqi in a Fallujah mosque. A reporter -- who was filming a documentary about the American soldiers in Iraq -- happened to have caught it on tape, and this footage got on TV all over the world. Many people were shocked by the footage, and the reported got many hatemail from supporters of the war.... as if he was portraying a false image.

The footage was, however cut in a way to incriminate the US army less, than it would have, if it was not cut. I don't remember why the reporter chose to do so, but after a few months he DID release the entire footage, while also giving an interview about the footage. One this footage, we see how the American marines visit the Mosque in question for a first time. In the room, there are several dead and wounded people. The footage that made world news was made THE NEXT DAY, and the wounded person was one of those that were shot THE PREVIOUS DAY. They had just left him to rot there for a day, before shooting him a second time.... while unarmed.