This is your chance

I'm attending a journalism conference next month on "Covering the War at Home."

I'm doing some research ahead of time to prepare, and thought I would go straight to the experts.

You.

I'd like to know:

- Do you follow news reports about the war and life on the homefront? If so, where do you get most of your news (online, TV, newspapers, blogs, etc.)?

- What grade would you give the media, newspapers in particular, on war coverage and military news?

- What's good and what's bad about the coverage you see/read?

- Where do you get most of your news?

- What types of articles are you most likely to read?

- What stories would you like to see that you haven't?

- What role do you think the media should play?

- What are your thoughts in general on how journalists write about the war, the military and military families?

Comments

[Marine Wife]

Oh...where to start?!
First, I stopped watching news on TV after Stretch got home from Iraq in 2003. I think I may have overloaded on it while he was there the first time. Since then, I'm more likely to get my news from on-line news sources and only occasionally from TV news networks (usually while channel surfing).

I think I would give the war coverage by mainstream media a "D" and that might be generous. It seems that it usually focuses on the negatives and rarely on anything positive. It also seems sensationalized when it's covered.

I'm much more likely to be interested in a story that details the positives of what the troops are doing over there and the gains that have been made. While obviously things are going to happen that are not positive, balancing the negatives with the things that are going right would be nice to see. I guess that is my biggest beef: coverage is not "fair and balanced" and although I don't think it can be since humans are reporting on things, there doesn't seem any effort to try to be impartial and show both sides of anything. And yes, I am talking about both sides of the aisle.

Stories about military families...that is a hard one. It's such a fine line. I hate when we are depicted as victims but I don't much like it when we are held up on pedestals as heros either. We are like any other family but we sometimes find ourselves in exceptional circumstances. There was a time when military families weren't such an oddity to the rest of the country. A time when we were all in the same boat together. Now, it seems like military families get paraded out as a zoo exhibition occasionally.

Sorry for rambling on and on for so long.

[Amie]

In the very beginning I used to follow the news fairly closely regarding the war. Over time though, the war got less and less media time. Anymore you're really lucky to catch anything about the war, but if you need to know about Brittany Spears you can find that info anywhere, which is rather irritating to me. I do read the news online, and I mainly look for the articles that show the good things the military is doing, cause lets face it, mainstream media doesn't really cover those types of stories, they only want to put out the negatives about whats going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. For this very reason, I honestly have to give the newspapers and media an F. Is it harsh? Probably.

At the same time, there are journalists who cover all aspects of the war, the good and the bad. Those are the types of journalists I seek out when I'm reading the news. But finding someone who covers the good and the bad, can prove to be rather difficult.

Sometimes I get tired of how military families are portrayed. There are so many articles and news coverages of the wives, we get stereotyped as lazy, fat slobs who just spend all of our husbands money while they are gone and just shack up with Billy Bob from down the street. Or occasionally you'll see the coverage of some wife who just says how ol so bad it is, and how she cries 20 hours a day. Obviously, this isn't the case for most wives.

Military families are really no different from civilian families.

[Jan Wesner]

Interesting comments, ladies. I especially like what you said about the portrayal of military families.

I think it's often hard for journalists - and I am one myself - to find that fine line between glorifying us or pitying us.

[Savannah Smiles]

Most of my news comes from on-line (CNN, SP Times, BBC, The Australian, NY Times,etc.), as I HATE watching TV news. I also read your blog (obviously!).

Most of the time, I believe the reporting about the war to be substandard (anywhere from a D- to a C-, depending on the source) because I don't think there's enough emphasis on the Iraqi citizen side of it all. It seems too much is sugarcoated. They talk about the 4,000+ American deaths, but rarely do they mention the tens of thousands of Iraqi deaths. No matter what their leadership has done, the Iraqi people are a lot like you and me -- they have families, they have jobs, they have homes, and they are stuck in a war they had no control over in starting and no way of stopping.
I want to see our elected and appointed officials grilled more. I want their feet held to the fire. I want the news media to dig deeper for the real story, not just play as mouthpieces for both the government and corporations.

I would also like to see many more stories done about the soldiers who make it home, but are gravely injured. Our nation now has thousands of wounded soldiers, who get the parades and "way to go!" cheers when they get back from Iraq, but does the support continue after the fanfare dies down and the real work starts (whether rehab, counseling, etc.) Will they be forgotten by the VA after a year? How do they adjust to civilian jobs/life? What is really being done to help them?

I would have to agree with Marine Wife, about military families depicted as either victims or heroes. Give me stories about REAL military families, who cope just like everyone else -- one day at a time. They have good times, bad times, stressful times, worries, fears, celebrations and regrets, just like the rest of us. Show us that whether we are military families or civilian families, we are more alike than we are different.

Once people start realizing that, you may find more interest in what's happening in the war.

[saltynavywife]

I am a little surprised that so many people seem to think that the war isn't covered on the mainstream news networks. I see Richard Engle on NBC almost every night reporting from Iraq, both the bad and the good. I've seen more heartwarming stories of successes on the news than any where else. Admittedly there isn't a whole lot of time devoted to it, but there isn't a whole lot of time devoted to anything on the evening news anymore. It is basically a recap of the days events exactly because so many people get their news from the internet. So really I give news broadcasts a B-. I read three to four papers a day and always see "war" stories, every day, and I don't live in a "military town". There are personal stories about the soldiers and their families (I agree there is a fine line between admiration and pity) as well as what is actually happening on the ground. So newspapers I give a B+. The internet is such a mix of fact and mistruth that I usually get my news from the AP and Reuters sites.
I still follow the news every day, but CNN isn't on my tv 24/7 like it was when hubby was there. And quite frankly, it wasn't good for me when the news was constantly on all the time. I didn't sleep, I couldn't "settle down" I hated to leave the house b/c what if there was a breaking report? That can also be attributed to hubby being there.
Any way, over all I think that honestly, not a lot of people connected with the military will be happy with the level and quality of news coverage. They will say it is either all bad news, not enough news, too much info, etc.
Any way my two cents; try not to jump too far down my throat.

[Carol]

Like most of the others, I'd be hard pressed to give the general media any better than a "D" and note that it lacks depth and focus. Most of what I get comes from CNN, Reuters, and the like - typically online. I also ready the SPTimes, your blog, and follow the links to many of the other stories, blogs, etc. talked about here. I would definitely like to hear more from the troops (after all, they're the ones risking their lives) as to how they feel about what they are accomplishing or trying to accomplish. I'd also like to see one of the large media outlets put together some type of (for lack of a better word) mini-series - most of the public needs a crash course in "Operation Iraqi Freedom 101" - some straight talk and plain language (read - no politics, sensationalism, etc.) about what's going on over there and why. What did we set out to do? What have we accomplished? What should non-military American's be doing to help? What is our 6 month, one year, three year, and five year plan? Where have we made mistakes and what have we done to correct our course? In short - MANY American's failed to pay attention until gas prices jumped up and bit them and we need those folks to get caught up to speed (as well as clarifying the situation for everyone) so that we can have educated voters at the poles and informed citizens supporting our troops and their families.

[Tootie]

Sounds like an interesting conference!

Here's my one thing - I'd like to see more positive news from Iraq and Afghanistan. I know it's there. (Butterfly Wife, for example, posts some of the positive news stories on her blog.)

I've turned online for most of my news. I like being able to 'pick and choose' what I read (and think critically about it), instead of having some TV anchor telling me their opinion.

Can't wait to hear how the conference goes!

[Jan Wesner]

Hmmm ... Interesting comments, for sure.

I think the media in general does a decent job of covering the war and the homefront, in particular the large papers like the Washington Post and New York Times. I think this is especially true given the tight constraints facing newsrooms today. It's not an excuse, but the fact of the matter is that most newspapers are laying off staff and making significant budget cuts. Many papers are getting smaller and, like much of America, trying to do more with less.

That being said ... I do think there's room for improvement, especially in coverage of "human" subjects like soldiers on the front lines and families at home.

And I really like Carol's idea for "Operation Iraqi Freedom 101."

[kirsten]

I don't read a daily paper, I don't watch the evening news. When the hubby is around we listen to NPR a lot, but when he's gone I rarely turn on the radio (except the 'all Christmas music Thanksgiving through Christmas' station at Christmastime).

When something happens I go online to read about it, but seeing CNN at the PO is enough to make me not want to have news on at home. I have enough stress in my life without elevating it with Breaking News-Car Accident in Poughkeepsie or some such tragedies.

So I cannot grade coverage.

I do give The Daily Show an A+ however ;)

As far as military families go-I hate to say it, but we all are worthy of admiration! We deal with the same stuff every family in America deals with, plus we have the added stuff that goes along with the military life.

[S]

I would have to say over all I agree with the above comments but would have to say this. I think there is coverage of the war but overall I think it is biased. I too would like to see one heck of a lot more coverage focused on the good being done. I know it is not all good but feel like not much gets thru in the telling.
I am tired of media telling me their slant. Just cover the dang story and let me decide how I feel about it.
I too see how the Military family is protrayed and I agree with all of you on that.
There is a fine line but I also feel that those whose members are on active duty should be appreciated to balance out the waterworks and marriage betrayals protrayed by the media.
I never looked at the heros aspect. I just always felt there should be more understanding (real understanding) of how families deal with deployment in wartime. Jan you and alot of the other bloggers have covered that alot better in most cases than mainstream media sources.
anyway just my two cents worth and that does not go far these days

[Jan Wesner]

Kirsten and S - Thanks for weighing in. As you all know, I'm not one for the big pat-on-the-back stories. Maybe that's just my nature as a journalist.

I think that unfortunately what happens is that coverage becomes influenced by politics and all the rhetoric that comes with it.

I do generally think coverage is fair, or as fair as it can be given the constraints of writing about the miiltary.

But I don't think there's enough of it, and I think it focuses way too much on the top brass and policies and the politics than it does on people how those policies and politics affect them.

[saltynavywife]

I was at the mail boxes last night when one of my neighbors pulled up to get his mail. He has been to Iraq three times. I asked him what good things he wished were reported from Iraq. He looked at me and said "What good news?" and got in his car and drove away.

[wendy's Tiki Hut]

I follow news of the war online. Yahoo News, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. I also listen to NPR religiously.

I don't particularly look for news on the homefront from a national news source, but I love reading blogs of those who have been there, done that, or are doing it now. National news stories can be really cheezy.

I would like to see more about the wounded warriors (and their families) too. But I would look for that in a book, not on CNN.

I would also enjoy seeing more day-in-the-life-of stories about the soldiers in the news.

[Jan Wesner]

Salty - I think you would hear that from a lot of guys.

Wendy - I agree about the day-in-the-life kind of stories.

[saltynavywife]

Jan- it makes me so....sad. I just stood there for a while looking after his car and wondered...what they all must think and feel...and how they really can't express it, even to themselves....just makes me sad.

[Jan Wesner]

Salty - Sad is right. You know, there are a lot of blogs from guys who are deployed. I'd like to see someone write - honestly - about what it's like when you come home. Anybody know of any blogs out there like that?

[liberal army wife]

sorry I waited to post, work computer very very very sick.

I watch news... lots of news, but BBC, NPR and Lehrer are the ones I prefer. The big three - no. CNN - repeats stories every 30 minutes and makes me nuts. Fox - NO WAY!

Good news... well. ok there must be some, but I don't think it's going to make a difference in the long run.

How we military families are portrayed? Oh, there we could write a book! WE are either illiterate, unkempt enormously fat, living with our 8 kids in a condemned trailer... or the ultra sweet, darling little person in braids who gush about the Presnit, 9/11, and the righteousness of our cause. ...

I urge everyone to watch the last few minutes of Lehrer, when he does the Honour Roll... there - THAT'S the price that has been exacted.

LAW

[Jan Wesner]

LAW - Mark saw the honor roll on one of his first nights home. He didn't know they did that.

For me, I get most of my news online because I like to control when I see it and how much I get in one dose.

[saltynavywife]

We watch Lehrer instead of the local news at 6, this being Chicago and all that, you wanna talk about a depressing newscast!! Ok gotta go get the kitchen cleaned for the FOURTH flipping time today!! ARGH!!

[Jan Wesner]

Salty - I love big-city news. But that's probably because I don't live in a big city!

As for cleaning the kitchen ... that's the one thing I hate about the weekends ... cooking and cleaning up at least three meals, plus countless snacks, all day long ... I keep telling my kids this is NOT an all you can eat buffet!

[Rebekah]

Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Afghanistan -- that's what I'd like to see more of, the forgotten war. The very few stories that come out of that country are usually datelined "Kabul" - which is very far geographically from where most of the action is happening. That means that the reporters are relying on second and third hand info for the stories, which means the stories are often very, very wrong.
I'd like to the see the major news orgs grow some (sorry for being crass) and send real live reporters to where the action is to actually cover the war that everyone forgot.

[Jan Wesner]

Rebekah - Very well said. I appreciate the input and you are absolutely right.

I'm not sure exactly yet what the format of the conference is, but I'll do my best to share the thoughts expressed here.