That said, I have a problem with the idea that the media is portraying the war in Iraq negatively out of some anti-bush bias.
When we first rolled into Iraq the media's attention was riveted on the invasion. CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and all the cable channels essentially fawned over the awesome power of the American Air Force. There were stories discussing the technological sophistication of the US military, the intricate plans of attack, and the methods by which the military would seek to minimize civilian casualties.
Embedded journalists gave breathless reports of marine divisions moving under cover of darkness and under fire with lighting speed - flanking Iraqi positions and cutting them off with surgical precision while directing the rivers of fire and metal that roared from the sky like the finger of God himself.
The battle for Falujiah was covered by the media with an air of mystery rather than objection that being denied access to the city and US troops were heralded as heroes, fighting for the liberation of Iraq and the safety of the world.
But then Iraq fell, and the long occupation began. American troops found themselves reliving the nightmares of their fathers in Vietnam. The threat of death from the darkness coupled with the inability to strike back against an enemy that vanishes into the crowd struck an ominous chord, both in the ranks and back on the home front. Visions of rice paddy's danced in the heads of military wives, mothers, and children back home - and public support for the war waned.
The GOP, which is now irrevocably shackled to the fate of the Iraq conflict, would ask that our media portray it as a continuous parade of roses, kittens, and butterflies. They would ask that, rather than covering the dozens of people killed every day by bombs, bullets, and blades that the Media focus its attention on the electricity being on an extra 20 minutes this week or the fact that schools in Iraq are slightly less overcrowded now than they were a few months ago.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the media covers what is newsworthy. The ending of a human life is fundamentally more shocking, more interesting, and makes for better TV than the construction of a school. Our media exists to sell ads - to make a profit - and to increase shareholder profit. To do those things it must boost ratings and to boost ratings it must keep viewers riveted to their sets.
War is news worthy, war is frightening, war is really good television.
Unfortunately, there is a real lack of roses, butterflies, and kittens in a war zone.
Media bias? I think not. Death sells, war sells, and scandal sells.
When Clinton fired off salvos of missiles into Afghanistan in an attempt to kill Osama Bin Laden - the GOP cried "wag the dog," and the media turned their cameras on Monika Lewinski. Forgotten was the pursuance of a wanted terrorist. US lives weren’t on the line in the strikes - and besides - there was a SEX scandal to cover.
Where was your precious media bias then?
EDIT: Holy Crap!
Did vtwahoo just cite an academic journal? 
Here I thought I was all bad-ass with my wikipedia citations and whatnot.Edit 2: Oh, and a study from the Media Research Center - that's nice.
I've snipped out irrelevant portions of the article - but if you want to read more, follow the link above.Wikipedia (on the Media Research Center) wrote: The Media Research Center (MRC) was founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III. Leaders of America's conservative movement have long believed that within the national news media a strident liberal bias existed that influenced the public's understanding of critical issues. MRC documents what it claims is widespread liberal media bias in the American press.
On June 16, 1998, the MRC founded the Conservative News Service. CNSNews.com provides news articles for Townhall.com and other conservative websites for a subscription fee.
In July of 2002, MRC and affiliate Parents Television Council (PTC) paid an out-of-court settlement ending a lawsuit which had been launched by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in November of 2000. WWE alleged 13 instances of defamation, copyright infringement and interference with prospective business relations after PTC produced a fundraising video using unauthorized WWE footage, falsely claimed WWE was responsible for the murders of four children, and falsely claimed advertisers had pulled their commercials from the show. MRC paid $3.5 million.
Media Research Center and David Thibault have been involved in questioning the validity of the circumstances in which Democratic Representative John Murtha received his purple hearts as a response to his criticisms of the U.S. War in Iraq.
