The "Liberal" Bias

So, I don't know if anyone really pays attention to the news here, I know some people deliberately don't, but if you've been reading, you've probably noticed that there are a lot more stories that cover positive things that have occurred in the country. Now - some people will say (I haven't been listening to talk radio here, but I'm sure the Rushes and Hannities have been spinning it) that this is just because we finally have to admit it. Well, no.

Yes, the surge is probably working. It seems like there is a decrease in violence, crime, all the bad things. This is a positive good. But a lot of the news coverage I think has more to do with the Army finally figuring out that it can release more than a one sentence press release. How many articles have you read that go like this: "The Army confirmed that two soldiers died today when their Humvee was struck by an IED. As casualties mount and there is a call for better protection for our soldiers in this divisive war..." etc.? Well a lot of that comes from the fact that the Army releases to the press words to the following: "Two soldiers were killed in an IED attack today." Well, journalists need to fill up their articles, you know? You can't just have a one sentence, or even one paragraph news story. You need to put something in there to justify the writing of the article in the first place. Now, you'll see stories much more along the lines of: "Two soldiers were killed when their Humvee struck an IED on the way to a local market. This local market is but one of several new markets springing up around the city as the surge spearhead by General Petraeus attempts to bring stability back to the wartorn country..." etc. Much better, and I am absolutely positively convinced it is because the Army is finally learning that it can release more than simple details, fill in the story, and get a positive response from the press. There is no liberal bias, there is just a newsworthy bias, and we just needed to give the press something more newsworthy than basic facts.

I just read a longer article on a unit in Afghanistan, pretty depressing, so don't read it if your not up to it. But at the same time, it's powerful, and shows some of the problems the Army is still going to encounter no matter how "stable" a country is.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/magazine/24afghanistan-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin