Facts vs. Fiction: A Report from the Front

Report from the Front: (read the whole thing)

One media critic (Arthur Chrenkoff) did a content analysis of a typical day (January 21, 2005), and counted this breakout of freshly published stories on Iraq:



• 1,992 covering terrorist attacks

• 887 essays alleging prisoner abuse by the British

• 289 about American casualties or civilian deaths in Iraq

• 27 mentions of oil pipeline sabotage

• 761 reports on public statements of terrorists

• 357 on U.S. anti-war protestors

• 121 speculations on a possible American pullout

• 118 articles about strains with European nations

• 217 stories worrying over the validity of the upcoming January 30 Iraqi election

• 216 tales of hostages in Iraq

• 123 quoting Vice President Cheney saying he had underestimated reconstruction needs

• 2,642 items on a Senate grilling of Condoleezza Rice over Iraq policy



Balanced against these negative stories, Chrenkoff ’s computer search found a grand total of 96 comparatively positive reports related to Iraq:



• 16 reports on successful operations against insurgents

• 7 hopeful stories about Iraqi elections

• 73 describing the return of missing Iraqi antiquities