The Sporting Life: War coverage sends journalism to all-time low

Brent Lawrence is columnist and copy editor for the Springfield Business Journal.

The war with Iraq has proven that television journalism if not all types of media, to a lesser extent has slithered to a new low.

News reports were filled with unnamed sources, rumor, speculation and half-truths. Think about how many times they changed the facts pertaining to the rescue of Jessica Lynch.

That kind of reporting with preference given to getting a story first instead of getting it accurate gives a black eye to all journalists.

Of course, they had to put something on the broadcasts be it right, wrong or indifferent. Dead air doesn't draw ratings.

One news report on ABC started with "Saddam Hussein may be dead." The report went on to quote an unnamed source as saying there was speculation Saddam was dead after a bombing a few days earlier. Big news! Right? It would have been except for the reporter noting, at the end of the report, that the source also said Saddam could be in hiding and nobody knew anything for sure.

So much for excellence in journalism.

The big picture also was often lost or ignored just because visually compelling images existed.

Early in the war, there were a handful of American troops accompanied by a reporter and cameraman in a four-hour battle with Iraqi troops. The cameraman was able to film the American troops returning fire, shooting a shoulder-fired rocket, and then a tank moving in to finish the battle.

Compelling video? Yes. Was the battle significant to the war? No. But the report was constantly topping the news, not because of its significance to the war, but because the media had first-hand footage to capture viewers.

The embedded reporters were certainly able to provide some interesting perspectives on the war. However, their viewpoints were hardly representative of the bigger picture.

It was kind of like looking through a peephole and thinking that whatever you see is the whole picture of what's going on in Springfield. War like most things going on in the world can't accurately be viewed from this perspective.

Yet, the national news media was happy to report whatever they had, regardless of the lack of perspective.

The televised press conferences were frustrating for me as a journalist. It seemed that the journalists would ask questions about rumors they were hearing from "sources" that is understandable. However, these questions would then take on a life of their own, with the answers to unsubstantiated rumors becoming part of the daily coverage.

We ended up with reporters reporting on answers to questions derived from unnamed sources' speculation.

That makes for quality journalism.

All in all, it reminded me of watching sports coverage: highlights from all the battles, replays, commentary from retired generals, live updates from all across the battlefield. It was like a pitch-by-pitch description of a blowout.

Of course, this is without mentioning FOX's Geraldo Rivera releasing information about where American troops were and other information not intended for the public.

Local media, generally speaking, has retained its professionalism. KYTV and KOLR regularly produce professional newscasts that don't insult the public or the profession. Same goes for Springfield News-Leader and, of course, us here at the Springfield Business Journal.

Reports with nothing but unnamed sources, rumor, speculation and half-assed attempts at accuracy aren't journalism. Please don't paint us with the same brush.