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Friday, August 8, 2008
63 Years Ago: Media Distortions Set Tone for Nuclear Age At this time of year it is always important to look back at how the original "first-strike" was explained to the press, distorted, and then became part of the decades-long narrative of how, in this view, nuclear weapons can be used -- and used again.- August 06, 2008
New Book from 'WSJ' Bureau Chief 'In Same Spirit' As Famous E-mail from Iraq It was the e-mail read 'round the world. Nearly four years ago in September 2004, Farnaz Fassihi of the Wall Street Journal penned a private email to friends exposing horrific conditions in Iraq. Now she has written a book that updates and expands on her outspoken views.- July 29, 2008
'Spokesman-Review' Probes Another Vet Suicide A day after the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. highlighted a surge in vet suicides in her state -- and focused on the most recent case where the victim was denied full help by the V.A. -- Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke out on this issue.- July 22, 2008
'NYT' Probes Electrical Risks to U.S. Soldiers in Iraq "Shoddy electrical work by private contractors on United States military bases in Iraq is widespread and dangerous," James Risen writes, "causing more deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged, according to internal Army documents."- July 17, 2008
Did Famous Photo Kill a Soldier? "My shot made Joseph Dwyer famous. Did it also help lead to his death?" So began an article in The Washington Post on Sunday by Warren Zinn.- July 14, 2008
"Gina Had to Go" So comments Sam Donaldson, following Dana Milbank's Washington Post story about public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery fired after she protested restrictions on media coverage of funerals.- July 10, 2008
Why Tim Page Took That Buyout The Pulitzer-winning classical music critic for The Washington Post is part of a veritable all-star team exiting the paper now. How did it happen and what will the Post look like now? - June 25, 2008
Downie Deserves Plaudits -- But Remember the Run-up to War The greatest stain on therecord of retiring Leonard Downie Jr.: The Washington Post's tragically poor performance in the run-up to the Iraq war, and Downie's failure (as far as I've seen) to fully admit that. - June 24, 2008
Full Story of Suicide in Iraq Finally Emerges A preliminary investigation had found that Sgt. Jeffrey McKinney, after all the recent deaths, felt he had let his men down. He had been having trouble sleeping, and communicating, and was on medication. Beyond that, there was great mystery. - June 15, 2008
Ari Fleischer Hits McClellan, Defends Press Coverage of Iraq But Fleischer's case in the Op-Ed is misleading and weak. Consider just one assertion: "In the lead-up to the war in Iraq, no matter what position the president took, the press took the opposite."- June 09, 2008
Tom Brokaw's Disturbing Defense of the Media and Iraq In the wake of the revelations in Scott McClellan's new book, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw offers Exhibit A in the continuing denial by the media of their complicity in the catastrophe that is the Iraq war. - May 31, 2008
Bob Woodward and the War In a maddening exchange, Woodward admits that he felt the evidence for WMD in Iraq was skimpy but he took the word of his inside sources who said it was adequate. At another point he reveals that he knew there was no "smoking gun," and that there should be one before going to war -- but hey, what more could he do? - May 23, 2008
Obama and Bowling: When the Media Promoted 'Gutter Politics' Now that he seems to have his party's nod for president locked up, Obama may no longer be bothered by the media's recent obsession about his bowling skills. It's revealing, however, that ever since Bowling-gate erupted, he has been shooting hoops -- on camera -- every chance he gets. - May 12, 2008
If There's a Brokered Convention: Who Will Be Our Will Rogers? Are the Democrats heading for a repeat of 1924? Many pundits and reporters seem to be hoping for that kind of epic event. Maybe they should consider this little history lesson.- April 27, 2008
Bruce Springsteen Reads the Papers -- and Backs Obama The "Boss" I knew, starting over 35 years ago, rarely read a paper or talked about politics. Now he calls himself an "inveterate" newspaper reader and backs a candidate at a key moment in the race for the White House. - April 16, 2008
Is Petraeus Quote the Most Revealing of Entire War? In 2003, Gen. David Petraeus, then little-known, asked Rick Atkinson of The Washington Post in Iraq: "Tell me how this ends." It soon became his "mantra." But as his testimony continues in Washington, do many in the media feel that he now knows the answer?- April 09, 2008
As Petraeus Testifies: How Press Helped Bring Him the 'Surge' In the five years since the war started, the single greatest mistake made by the media was hardly raising a single voice of protest against the 2007 escalation in Iraq -- until it was much too late. - April 08, 2008
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