Media coverage of the Iraq War

Media coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq was different in certain ways from that of the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Around 600 journalists were "embedded" with military units, 80% being British or American.

The Pentagon established the policy of "embedding" reporters with military units. For the first time in world history, home viewers were able to watch major events of the war in real time. For example, viewers of several channels were able to see U.S. tanks rolling into Baghdad live on television, with a split screen image of the Iraqi Minister of Information claiming that U.S. forces were not in the city.

Robert Entman, professor of communication at North Carolina State University, indicated it was a very wise tactic from the Pentagon. He mentioned there were more chances for the journalists to make favorable reports whilst in Iraq with British and American soldiers than if they had been asking questions in Washington. Entman indicated there is a natural cultural bias of American journalists in favor of military troops of their own country and that journalists do like to satisfy the government upon which they rely for information, as well as the public on whom they depend commercially. Entman also mentioned the high number of retired generals making comments on TV, pointing out these could not be considered independent experts as they were still paid by the government. He claims the British Broadcasting Corporation was much more neutral and informative on cultural and historical background than most American television reports.

Some critics asked sarcastically whether the reporters were "embedded" or "in-bed." Some reporters referred to their hosting troops as "we" instead of "they" leading to charges of non-objectivity.

There have been a number of journalist casualties during the invasion, including fourteen deaths (some not directly war-related). Notable deaths include the April 8 accidental death of journalists by U.S. fire in Baghdad (see the entry for details), and the death of Michael Kelly, an influential reporter, columnist, and editor. NBC's David Bloom died of a blood clot while reporting from Iraq.

The most popular cable network in the United States for news on the war was Fox News, whose commentators and anchors regularly made comments which are seen by some as being pro-war or disparaging to detractors of the war. Fox News is owned by Rupert Murdoch, a strong supporter of the war. On-screen during all war coverage of Fox News was a waving flag animation in the upper left corner and the headline "Operation Iraqi Freedom" along the bottom. The network has shown the American flag animation in the upper-left corner since the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack. MSNBC also brought the American flag back on screen and regularly ran a tribute called "America's Bravest" which showed photographs sent by family members of troops deployed in Iraq.

Comparing viewership from prewar to post war, MSNBC saw a 357 percent jump in ratings, while CNN went up 305 percent, and Fox News climbed 239 percent, according to Nielsen numbers. In overall numbers, Fox News was number one, followed by CNN, and then MSNBC. It was a major success for Fox News, as many had believed CNN would reclaim the top spot, since it established itself with coverage from the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

In separate incidents, Peter Arnett, an NBC and National Geographic correspondent, was fired for giving an interview with Iraqi officials in which he questioned the United States' role and saying the "first war plan had failed," and Geraldo Rivera left Iraq after drawing a crude map in the sand during a live broadcast on Fox News, which raised concerns at the Pentagon that he was possibly revealing vital troop movements on air.

A large statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Freedom Square, directly in front of the hotel where the world's journalists had been quartered, was toppled by a U.S. tank surrounded by dozens of celebrating Iraqis, who had been attempting to pull down the statue earlier. The destruction of the statue was shown live on cable news networks as it happened and made the front pages of newspapers and covers of magazines all over the world - symbolizing the fall of the Hussein government.

The images of the statue falling came as a shock to many Arab viewers who had been led to believe that Iraq was winning the war. Iraqi citizens then decapitated the head of the statue and dragged it through the streets of the city hitting it with their shoes.

Various media outside of the mainstream U.S. press argued the statue's toppling was a carefully staged media event. [1] Some claim that some of the demonstrators were seen at supposedly independent celebrations, although this has not been verified. [2] [3].

Non-U.S. coverage sometimes differed strongly in tone and content.

In some countries television journalists behavior differed significantly during the conflict compared to Gulf War conflicts. Jean-Marie Charon said most journalists were more precautious, using conditional form very often, and citing sources. He noticed televisions were on the whole avoiding noisy and flashy jingles.

The crew of the HMS Ark Royal, Britain's flagship naval vessel, demanded that the BBC be turned off on the ship because of what they saw as a clear anti-Coalition or "pro-Iraq" bias. One BBC correspondent had been embedded on the ship, but the crew said they had no complaints of his reporting specifically. The sailors on board the ship claimed that the BBC gave more credit to Iraqi reports than information coming from British or Allied sources, often questioning and refusing to believe reports coming from Coalition sources while reporting Iraqi claims of civilian casualties without independent verification. The ship's news feed was replaced with Sky News. [4]

Arab media, Al-Jazeera broadcast many scenes of civilian casualties, press conferences with Iraqi officials claiming to be winning the war, and of American and British P.O.W.s which U.S. media refused to run. Most Arab networks also downplayed the scenes of Iraqi citizens cheering coalition forces entering their towns.

• Cable's War Coverage Suggests a New 'Fox Effect' on Television, The New York Times, April 16, 2003
• War toll: journalists killed, missing and held in Iraq, The Guardian, April 16, 2003