The Role of the Media

Douglas MacKinnon writes an interesting opinion in the Washington Post on the media's role on reporting on the military in Iraq. He questions whether the media has crossed the line:

While there is no doubt our soldiers need more armor and protection, the question remains: Is it right or ethical for a member of the media to spoon-feed a question to a soldier and manufacture a news story that he and others would then cover? Which begs a larger question: At what point does irresponsible and sensationalist reporting become dangerous, or even acts of betrayal? All involved in prosecuting and covering this war need to ask themselves that. Political correctness dictates that we do not speak about this, but I have yet to talk with a member of our military who does not strongly believe that the Abu Ghraib prison scandal wasn't blown out of all proportion. Worse, they feel that the ensuing media feeding frenzy had a direct result in fueling the insurgents attacking our troops and innocent civilians in Iraq. Do they feel the mistreatment of the Iraqi and insurgent prisoners was wrong and disgusting? To a person. Do they think some in the media have used the inappropriate behavior of seven ignorant soldiers to tar and feather the other 140,000 on the ground? To a person. Just as they feel that many in the press are purposely twisting the definition of "torture" to play "gotcha" journalism with a military they not so secretly look down upon.

More at the Washington Post.