I'm reminded of a bit that Johnny Carson (maybe others?) used to do. Start with "People in the media are so dumb..." now you say "How dumb are they?" Well...
Now hundreds of journalists from the United States and the rest of the world are about to descend on this town [Baghdad] to cover the elections scheduled for Jan. 30. Do they have any clue what they’re getting into? Many don’t, judging from the calls they’re making to the U.S. Embassy for support. ‘We’ve heard American media are coming in force,’ says an embassy spokesman. ‘One network plans to send five crews. Another is going to send its anchorman.’ Network affiliates—read: local TV stations—are planning to send crews, too. Not to mention photographers, radio reporters and low-profile scribblers like myself.
Coming "in force." Wow. Here's the really sick thing. We've gotten so used to hearing reports of soldiers, Iraqi policemen, and others getting killed in Iraq that most of us barely give it a second thought. Imagine what would happen, however, if reporters from a local affiliate or two bit the big one. Wall-to-wall coverage on CNN, incessant talk of the "courage" of the dumbass who thought they'd take the red-eye into Baghdad and cover the good news from Iraq...cripes.
Posted by Jason at January 11, 2005 01:45 PM