Peter Arnett: "Iraqis ... See Me as a Fellow Warrior."

[Hueij]

He is also in a competitive environment in which RATINGS matter.

What he said is unpopular to the audience in the US. It is a reporters job not only to report news, but to maintain and increase the networks ratings in doing so.

So that's how you guys get your news? Report what's going on but be sure to suck up to the public?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...

This explains a lot...

[yavoon]

there are only two ways to do news, let the gov't control it, and hope they produce a good product.

or let the free market control it and hope the consumers demand a good product.

being that those are the two known sources of income for a news agency.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Ned
MarkG: Do you have the same feelings about Geraldo Rivera? He was booted out of Iraqi by the military because he gave away future ops plans. Now, he may also be out of a job because being a war correspondent was his job.

actually, Rivera might go back to Iraq. Fox execs didnt get terrified by what the "silent majority" (i'm not saying the "pentagon minority" ) might do(although the fact that it is sildent guarantees that it wont bother to do much ) and backed him up. Now i read that the US Army is willing to give him another chance in hope that "he learned his lesson"(actual quote of unnamed US official i think)


now tell me what is worse:
1) speaking your mind and just saying your opinion with zero effect (for 1 minute of Arnett saying the initial war plans didnt work, you've got hours every day of US official saying "everything is fine. we're kicking ass")
2) showing coalition troops movements and tactics in real-time (although i dont think the Iraqi troops opposing those US forces were watching Fox at the time)

[MarkG]

Originally posted by gunkulator
Someone please tell me what freedom Arnett has lost?

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...53#post1882253

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Ned
gunkulator, I think there are a lot of people who do not understand how America works. In most other countries, the TV press is not free, but is run by the government itself. So, when a reporter gets fired by, let us say, Greek TV, he is fired by the government.

dont you worry, we've got our share of corporate-controlled media
we understand how the system works...

btw, state-run National Greek TV has also hired Peter Arnett

[Gatekeeper]

I think the Robins Report in this week's TV Guide is funny. "Gulf Warrior: At 68, Arnett is the comeback kid in Iraq," is the title of the article. Heh. I bet the writer is wishing right now that Arnett hadn't done that interview with Iraqi television. It sucks sometimes to write articles two weeks before publication date.

Gatekeeper

[LoneWolf]

Originally posted by Tingkai
NBC are a bunch of cowards with no journalistic integrity.

Arnett's comments have been said dozens of times by reporters around the world. The Iraqi resistance is stronger than expected. Re-inforcements are being sent in. The initial war plan of charging straight for Baghdad failed and had to be changed because the US/UK forces need to protect their supply lines. His reports, and other reports, of civilian casaulties affect public opinion around the world. That is a fact.

The sad thing is seeing Arnett apologize when he has done nothing wrong. Yes, he did an interview with the Iraqi state-controlled television station, but would anyone complain about him being interviewed by the state-owned BBC or CBC?

Hey, if your intent is to equate the CBC with the Iraqi press, you won't get any argument from me!

[gunkulator]

Tingkai : "The Iraqi resistance is stronger than expected."

I have yet to hear this from any coalition authority. I think it would be more correct to say that the Iraqi resistance is stronger than the media expected.

"The initial war plan of charging straight for Baghdad failed "

Link please to this plan. The only admitted problem with the war plan so far is the slowness in opening up the northern front. This was due to the unexpected diplomatic failures with Turkey.

I can't help but feel that both your statements are yet another example of the media trying to make a story out of nothing. If a rumor is repeated enough times, it somehow becomes reportable, even if it is the media themselves that start the rumor.

Those of you who remember the 1988 presidential election may recall that the media repeatedly reported that Bush the Elder was shackled by something called "the wimp factor". Yet when pressed for a source, noone could come up for one. Eventually most people figured out that "the wimp factor" was mostly a media fabrication.

[gunkulator]

double post

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by MarkG
actually, it's firstly a suppression of the freedom of everyone else beyond arnett. arnett is now an example: dont talk or you'll be fired

He has more work than ever: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml...toryID=2508609

[gsmoove23]

One things for sure, no matter how we see the Arnett situation, most of the people beyond our borders will see it as the big bad americans stifling someone who has something unpleasant to say.

[DinoDoc]

So?

[ahenobarb]

Originally posted by Sava

a democratic, public controlled news source, or "Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch" news?

So the people control the media in Greece? There's a democratic vote everyday about what articles go into the news? All papers are run by somebody.

[Ned]

Well, Mark, Geraldo caused more harm to the extent he may have compromised US plans. However, from a ratings point of view, MSNBC and CNN are in a real battle with flag-waving FOX. I think they drew the conclusion that they had to fire Arnett or else people would simply turn them off - not everyone of course, but enough to cost the network a lot of money.

[MarkG]

He has more work than ever

outside the US (home of the free)