On Thursday night, journalist Dahr Jamail spoke to a group of about 300 on campus, sharing his personal accounts of his eight months in Iraq. A main focus of his talk being the media's coverage of the war, he spent more than 10 minutes criticizing the April 3 Daily Texan story "Young vets recount deployments," which was the second in a series about students who have served or are serving in Iraq. The stories, by reporter Teresa Mioli, will be published each week until the end of the semester.
Mioli, a Plan II and journalism senior, sat and listened as he picked apart her story, describing how unrepresentative the veterans' accounts were of his experiences. He read several quotes from Mioli's story, one of which was from a veteran who recounted Iraqis during the invastion rushing up to troops "hugging us, kissing us, trying to get us to come in and have tea with them."
"So, that's the portrayal of the invasion in the article," Jamail said, contrasting that veteran's story with a more negative account he had witnessed. He mentioned that he'd had an "albeit two-question-long interview" that day with Mioli (but he failed to mention the interview was short because he was boarding a plane), and he pointed out that the she was likely present in the audience that night. He challenged: "Let's see what comes out in this paper tomorrow."
The media is caught in a perpetual push-and-tug between the pro-war and anti-war factions of our country, both of which claim that coverage is biased or unrepresentative of their side. In the first article of The Daily Texan's series ("Student recalls stint in Iraq," March 27), Mioli told the story of UT student whose feelings toward the war "are no longer warm-hearted like they once were." Mioli has also covered two anti-war events in recent months, and has heard a variety of veterans' voices through her reporting for this series. Concerns that the media should be objective are justified, but Jamail, in his criticism of the Texan, failed to examine both stories in the series before going public with his claims. Still, he garnered a round of applause from the audience of mainly anti-war activists who trust his assessments. Just like the media, vocal leaders such as Jamail carry much weight in the public sphere and should be held to the same standards.
The media is a watchdog, but it certainly needs watchdogs like Jamail to hold it accountable as to avoid repeating the same mistakes it has committed. For example, the media was not critical enough of the Bush administration's plan to declare war, and it surely hasn't kept good enough track of Iraqi casualties. But blame should be more heavily placed on our government's guilt- and fear-mongering tactics, which spread the sentiment that Americans who are critical of the war are unpatriotic, "anti-troops" or even un-American. This sentiment more profoundly shields our country from reality than the media. We the people - and we the media - must remember that questioning our government is how America came to be in the first place.
But the real structural problem in the media concerns a general lack of real coverage aside from the routine news reports of statistics and mass casualties that make it easier for people to become numb and distance themselves and keep score from afar. Only two stories into this weekly series of actual war stories and the Texan has already come under harsh denigration from both the pro-and anti-war movements. We respect and heed readers' concerns and the public's criticism of the media's war coverage, but we hate to see negative energy distract from the real problems that exist both in our government and overseas. Being caught in the middle of hostility only further inhibits and lessens the media's coverage.
The U.S. media needs to bring the Iraq war closer to home, and it must not neglect the stories of people who have been in Iraq for fear of criticism or attempts to meet structural standards of timeliness or newsworthiness. Whether pro-war, anti-war or anywhere in between, these stories need to be told. And the duty lies especially with college papers, as college-age men and women, often for the incentive of getting their educations funded, are who fight and die in Iraq. Furthermore, it is America's youth who will be charged with cleaning up this mess, whether they support it or not.
Since Thursday, Mioli has come under harsh criticism, with some saying she shouldn't be allowed to cover the war and one reader even calling her coverage "inhumane." Media outlets can, and have, avoided criticism by drawing back coverage of Iraq, but we wish to stay true to our responsibility of telling stories of fellow students who have been effected by the war. Neither Mioli nor The Daily Texan news office seek to cover the Iraq war as a for-it or against-it issue, but sources who have experienced the war first-hand will surely feel strongly one way or the other. The Texan seeks to bring readers as many voices and personal accounts as possible, and we wish for activists and fellow journalists such as Jamail to do the same.
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