Critiquing the Press

Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Columnist
Monday, January 30, 2006 12:00 PM

Howard Kurtz has been The Washington Post's media reporter since 1990. He is also the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and the author of "Media Circus," "Hot Air," "Spin Cycle" and "The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media and Manipulation." Kurtz talks about the press and the stories of the day in "Media Backtalk."

Howard Kurtz was online Monday, Jan. 30, at noon ET to discuss the press and his latest columns.

Read today's Media Notes : Risky Business , ( Post, Jan. 30, 2006 )

The transcript follows:

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Arlington, Va.: Mr. Kurtz,

I am sorry to hear that Bob Woodruff and his cameraman was hurt in Iraq, but it seems like thousands of GI's and civilians have been seriously injured, and we hear very little about them. Indeed, one fairly often hears the American death count (and I feel for their families), but I never hear the casualty count. Do you think there's a media bias towards reporting the tragedies of their own? Again, I mean no disrespect for Mr. Woodruff, I just worry about the thousands of American and Iraqis that are similarly suffering.

Howard Kurtz: The folks at ABC, in reporting on this, have emphasized that Bob Woodruff (whom I said goodbye to as he headed for the airport last Monday) and Doug Vogt were taking the same kind of risk faced by tens of thousands of American soldiers every day. The Post some months ago did a story on the wounded in Iraq and the difficulty of getting such figures out of the Pentagon, and of course everyone has done features on those returning home with serious injuries. But there is always the danger, as the war drags on, that this becomes routine.

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Alabama: Hi Howard -- just a comment. I do hope Woodruff and Vogt's injuries will remind the partisan critics of the press, whether left or right, that reporters are real human beings putting their lives at risk to get the news and not ideologues serving one agenda or another. I don't think reporters are exposed to greater harm than soldiers, obviously, but this incident underscores the need to have people like Woodruff, Vogt, Jill Carroll and others in Iraq, and the personal courage it takes for them to be there.

Howard Kurtz: Well put. The 70 or so western reporters who are there, for all the controversy over how the media cover this war, are risking their lives every single day. They are flat-out courageous, in my view. And sometimes it takes tragic incidents like those involving Carroll and Woodruff to hammer that point home.

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Bainbridge, Ga.: It's a tragedy of course that the ABC crew has been seriously injured in Iraq--but does it warrant the "breaking news" coverage it's received? American soldiers and contractors are injured and worse every day over there and they barely get a few odd grafts. Is the heightened coverage simply a reflection of journalists parochialism, or does it give the lie to Russert's inane assertion that he and other journalists are not public figures, or both?

Howard Kurtz: It's a function of fame (although in the case of Jill Carroll, a relatively obscure stringer, it may have had to do with the tragic spectacle of a female journalist being kidnapped). Bob Woodruff is the co-anchor of ABC's evening news. Does that make him more important than all the soldiers or American contractors who are wounded virtually every day? No, of course not. But it does make him a symbol -- of the vulnerability of U.S. troops to these roadside IEDs, of the media's difficulty in covering this war. Woodruff and Vogt, of course, risked their lives precisely so they could tell the story of the war, and specifically whether Iraqi troops are able to assume more of the burden from the American forces.

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Madison, Wisc..: Mr. Kurtz,

As a frequent reader, I admire your work. At the risk of seeming callous I am struck by the extensive coverage of the injuries to the ABC journalists. To be sure their injuries are serious and newsworthy. But are they any more newsworthy than the injuries that befall our soldiers each and every day? Is this just media myopia?

Howard Kurtz: I just answered that, but let me add that the relative handful of news organizations that are keeping reporters in Iraq, at considerable expense, are doing so in part to tell the story of soldiers who are killed and wounded in combat, even though those may not be on the front page or top of the newscast day after day. I've written before about whether the media suffer from Iraq fatigue -- meaning, if a handful of people are killed every day in Iraq, does that become a back-burner story as our attention is focused on Katrina, Alito, Abramoff and other matters? Is it a more newsworthy story when 10 or 20 or 50 people are killed in a single attack or on a single day? These are questions worth grappling with as the war approaches its three-year anniversary.

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Washington, D.C.: Re: the comment about the dangers reporters face in Iraq

Nothing I've read about the war "got to me" the way Jenny and Jackie Spinner's accounts in The Post Style section did. Those stories really brought it home.

Howard Kurtz: And, of course, Jackie survived an attempted kidnapping where thugs tried to push her into a van. In fact, there are few journalists in Iraq who haven't had close calls of one kind or another. And many Iraqi journalists, whose names are unknown to us here, have died while working for western news outlets.

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Rochester, N.Y.: You write "The 70 or so western reporters who are there, for all the controversy over how the media cover this war, are risking their lives every single day. They are flat-out courageous, in my view." I'm glad to hear someone saying that. I couldn't agree more.

Do you think that, in the end, there is something truly cowardly about administration officials in their nice, safe Washington offices whining about the coverage of Iraq being done by reporters who are putting their lives at risk? And isn't it fair to say that it's easy for them to say "Iraq isn't that dangerous" when they're not actually there, dodging roadside bombs?

Howard Kurtz: Look, political leaders have been sending young people to fight and die in war for thousands of years. I certainly wouldn't say that they don't feel the pain of families whose loved ones are killed or wounded, or that they're under any illusions about how dangerous Iraq is. The debate is over whether we're making progress and Iraqis can soon take over some of the burden from American troops.

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Newark, Del.: On Saturday I watched a repeat of Brian Lamb's interview with you about your book Media Circus on Encore Booknotes. It's been quite a while since you did that interview. I was particularly struck when you went in detail about the charges that the liberal media is soft on democratic presidents. If only you knew then what was in store for Bill Clinton in the future!

If you could, would you list a change or observation you've made about the media since that interview and that book. Particularly if you've changed your mind about something involving the media.

Howard Kurtz: I can't believe that was aired again! It was back in 1993 -- before bloggers, e-mail, three cable networks, etc. At the time, there was starting to be some resentment on both the left and right over the way the media were covering Clinton, but I could not imagine the intensity that would reach in later years during impeachment, and again during the presidency of the son of the man Clinton defeated.

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Arlington, Va.: To change the subject a bit, I found your tidbit about Oprah's show interesting how the journalists there didn't know what she was going to do. Why did they think they were there. I don't feel bad for Frey, he didn't have to come on the show if he didn't want to.

Howard Kurtz: What they didn't know was that Oprah was going to open the show with a dramatic apology. They obviously knew they were there to offer their views on Frey's book.

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San Jose, Calif.: I noticed in the picture of Woodruff from a half-hour before the explosion that the troops he's with are wearing body armor and helmets. He's wearing nothing.

They wear that stuff for a reason -- it's a dangerous place. I think the media, because they don't want to look goofy on camera, refuse to wear the protective equipment the military offers. Is this the case here? Did they make a tragic mistake to value their appearance over their safety?

Howard Kurtz: ABC says both Woodruff and Vogt were wearing protective body armor and helmets at the time of the blast. However, they were standing in the turret of the vehicle, taping a standup, when the IED went off. That is why their injuries were so serious.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Attention paid to the tragedy which hit the ABC news crew doesn't take attention away from military or civilian casualties or mean they are less important. The sad fact is that despite our best intentions we tend to react more when something happens to someone we "know". While most of us don't really know Bob Woodruff, many feel a tie after inviting him into their homes via TV so many evenings. And it's a reminder to most people that these kind of injuries are happening daily to a lot of people who are unknown to us, but are just as loved and respected by their own family and friends. My prayers go out to all of them.

Howard Kurtz: That is true. People feel they "know" Woodruff because they've seen him on television, whereas the vast majority of the American troops are unknown to us personally. It reminds me of when Peter Jennings died of lung cancer last year, like so many others who had smoked, and yet his death prompted many stories on and much more awareness of the dangers of tobacco.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: Do you think that increased attention on quality reporters like Jill Carroll will inspire better reporting and reporting ethics? When you compare the type of work she was doing to the usual mindless "news" and spin on the TV it's so clear how far news has fallen. Everyone speaks so well of Jill and the Monitor now, but no one was reading it before she was taken!

Howard Kurtz: It's a good reminder to all of us that some of the best work out there is being done by unsung journalists who don't go on TV, don't blog, don't write books but are engaged in the tough slog of day-to-day reporting, and sometimes willing to put themselves in dangerous situations.

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Washington, D.C.: I am amazed at the hostility toward the media and widespread it is, witness all of the comments on this chat from posters who are upset over the coverage of Woodruff's injuries. OF COURSE it is newsworthy--he is a public figure with a high profile. It would be the same if a Congressman were injured. It seems that so many people despise "the media" and suspect you all of having the worst intentions. What do you think is the cause of that and, frankly, how do you get up and go to work every day just to walk into a buzz saw?

Howard Kurtz: I think there are times when we do make a bigger deal out of what happens to a fellow journalist. In Jill Carroll's case, for example, news organizations engaged in a voluntary blackout of her kidnapping for 48 hours to give negotiations a chance to work, and I'm not sure that would have been the case for every non-journalist. The irony here is that Bob Woodruff could have stayed in the studio in New York and done a perfectly creditable job as an anchor and not put himself in harm's way, but he wanted to go back to Iraq, where he covered the 2003 war as an embedded correspondent.

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Laurel, Md.: Mr Kurtz, thank you for the wonderful, and very necessary, work that you do. I have a question for you regarding the media coverage of the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections: How fairly or objectively do you feel this has been reported by the Western press? Do you think that the Hamas' views regarding Israel are given a disproportionate amount of coverage? I'm no supporter of Hamas, but I am interested to know more about the Palestinian voters' motivations and reasons for their choice, and it seems harder to find this type of reporting than it does to find world (especially U.S.) reaction to the election results. Is that just to be expected? Thanks again.

Howard Kurtz: I've seen some very good newspaper stories based on interviews with Palestinians who talked about their vote being more of a protest against the corruption and inefficiency of Fatah, and other factors. But when a political party that stands for the destruction of Israel is elected, there is no way that cannot be a major focus of the coverage.

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Warrenton, Va.: Will someone argue that the nature of TV is partly to blame for the Woodruff incident? That they had to frame the picture and do a standup, not just file from the laptop?

Howard Kurtz: Well, but newspaper and wire-service photographers take pictures too. And purely print journalists have been killed (Washington Post columnist Michael Kelly) and wounded (Time's Michael Weisskopf) by explosives in Iraq as well.

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Pittsburgh, Pa.: My husband served in Iraq in 2003. Everyday I wake up and wonder if and when he will be called up to go back. I do not see the journalists' story as more important than the stories of the soldiers and Marines. I am grateful that the news people continue to risk their lives to give a clear picture of what is going on. There is a grisly irony to the timing of this tragedy-- on the eve of another State of the Union Address when we are sure to hear how well everything is going. Do you think, Howard, that there is some rewriting going on right this minute? Also, regarding your column, I promise not to have sex until my husband of 24 years gets home this afternoon. Thanks for the chuckle.

Howard Kurtz: I'm sure your husband appreciates the pledge. Again, I don't think ABC or anyone else would say the wounding of Woodruff and Vogt is more important than the injuries suffered by American soldiers, but it gets more attention because a nationally known anchor is involved.

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Richardson: Poster: 'The sad fact is that despite our best intentions we tend to react more when something happens to someone we "know".'

No real comment ... just a little sadness. My brothers both fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it haunted me every waking moment. No one else much seemed to know or care, beyond the occasional bumper sticker.

My only wish is that the media would find a way to personalize the war even more so, for the 90% of Americans with no one they "know" in danger.

And that it wouldn't take the injury of a newscaster to do so.

Howard Kurtz: I think every local newspaper and television station in the country tries to personalize the war by focusing on the wounded who return home and the families of those who are fighting abroad. That's harder to do, obviously, in big metropolitan areas where there are so many people in each category.

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Washington, D.C.: I don't think that coverage of the ABC journalists is overdone, but I'd love one day to read an article that talks to aid workers the way your article today did to journalists. News seems to break down the groups in Iraq to journalists, military, and contractors, with the latter group generally chalked up as after either career or cash. But as you say about Woodruff: we didn't HAVE to go to Iraq, we're drawn to it, whether for humanitarian reasons or excitement or just to be an eyewitness. Maybe it's just that I was one of them, but considering there are exponentially more aid workers than journalists in Iraq, I'd sure like to see something about them some day.

Howard Kurtz: Fair enough.

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Pa.: Howie, I saw C-Span's Encore Booknotes with you on Saturday, too.... it was a bit funny to see your predications about whether or not the Washington Post would be around in ten years time.... don't worry, you were right, it's still being printed. I wonder if "Media Circus" will get a bounce on Amazon, if it does, now you'll know why.

Howard Kurtz: I'm going to check right now!

You know, there's a little industry of folks who keep predicting the death of newspapers. I'll go out on a limb and say The Washington Post will still be around 10 years from now. Of course, you might be getting it beamed to an iPod surgically attached to your wrist, but that's progress.

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Washington, D.C.: Last week, the NYT reported the chief prosecutor in the Jack Abramoff investigation was stepping down, as he's been nominated by the Bush Justice Department to a federal judgeship. I did not see that reported in The Post (I certainly looked) and I've seen no follow up from any media. I would presume it would be reasonable to expect a new prosecutor wanting time to get up to speed on the investigation, thus delaying both the outcome and perhaps, active press coverage. Doesn't this all seem a bit fishy?

Howard Kurtz: The Post reported it Friday as a news item. I would have given it more prominence, given the sensitivity of the investigation.

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Toledo, Ohio: As an earlier previous poster indicated, Bob Woodruff and Tom Vogt are getting a great deal of attention because they are, indeed, in people's homes every night.

But the media has not been ignoring the military personnel who have been injured or killed in Iraq; witness the "American Heroes" segments that are integrated into the breaks on the CBS Evening News. These segments profile those who have been killed, or, miraculously, survived their injuries and are moving on with their lives.

Howard Kurtz: CBS has been doing that for years now, and it's quite a public service. And remember the flap over Ted Koppel reading the names of all those killed in Iraq? I never fully understood why that was attacked by some in 2004 as being somehow antiwar.

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Syracuse, N.Y.: To your first Arlington, VA question. Regular listeners of NPR routinely hear profiles of fallen soldiers in Iraq. They're well done.

Howard Kurtz: Thanks for noting.

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Little Rock, Ark.: When you are interviewing someone on television what role do time constraints play in how you will follow up on answers, pay attention to answers and forgo questions in light of answers?

Howard Kurtz: Time constraints are huge on television. You're constantly making calculations about whether if you stay on topic A, will you be able to get to B and C, or maybe you should drop C because A is so important and the guest just said something that really needs to be challenged, or further explored. In short, it's a balancing act.

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Richmond, Va.: Iraq has been considered to be one of the most dangerous wars in modern history, but the press themselves don't really seem to talk much about that. Do you think that Woodruff's injury is going to change that, and also do you think that an attack on one of the big three's evening anchors will undercut the administration's claims that progress is being made to make Iraq more secure?

Howard Kurtz: I think some journalists have written candidly, and movingly, about the dangers they face or close calls they have endured. Others take a more stoic approach and just see those risks as part of the job they signed up for. As for the administration's claims, Iraq isn't any more or less dangerous because a TV anchor and his cameraman happened to be wounded, but I suppose it could become a symbol of the continuing difficulties there.

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Boston, Mass.: Any comment on Koppel's op-ed from this weekend?

Howard Kurtz: I had no idea he had an unfinished novel. The other points, about television distorting itself in pursuit of a younger demographic, he has made before, including in an interview with me. But it was, not surprisingly, well written.

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To Richardson: I totally agree with the chatter who had brothers fighting in our wars. I think the number one reason for such apathy across the country is that #1, people aren't directly involved or impacted; and #2, we have only limited exposure to the reality that our military (and Iraqis) face each day. If there were pictures, detailed pictures I think that would engage people.

Howard Kurtz: The reality is that war is hell, and we should reflect that. But we should also reflect the extent to which progress is or isn't being made in rebuilding Iraq.

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Bethesda, Md.: Do we know the status of the Time photos of Bush with Abramoff? Will these be published someday?

Howard Kurtz: Your guess is as good as mine. Time doesn't have the pictures, its reporters have only seen them.

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Reston, Va.: The day when you have to really fear the death of the newspaper is when they build monitors into my kitchen table. I love reading the paper while I'm eating and I don't like to eat in front of a computer.

Howard Kurtz: How about listening on a podcast?

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Hello? American Prospect study?: Uh...Howie? Care to respond to my previous question on the study commissioned by the American Prospect about the Abrahamoff contributions? The one that states point blank that the "directed to Dems" line is a kettle of rotting fish?

Here's the link again. Dems Don't Know Jack

This page links to the raw study as well.

I love the Post's idea of "interactivity". You get a black box with which to spike any question that goes somewhere you don't like. Real "interactive".

Howard Kurtz: I just read that this morning and will include it in tomorrow's online column.

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Washington, D.C.: Re: last week's "Reliable Sources" show. In last week's show you asked the question about whether Rep. Murtha's anti-Iraq war stance makes his war record open for discussion. By that same logic, doesn't Bush's pro-war stance make his lack of a war record open for discussion? But I guess now that CBS has muddied those waters no reporter wants to actually uncover the truth of what really went on in Bush's National Guard service.

Howard Kurtz: A president's (or candidate's) military service, or lack thereof, is always open to discussion. It's fair game. It's not that Bush's absences from the Guard were unreported before, it's that journalists had difficulty advancing the story and definitively proving what happened.

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Re: Koppel bias: HK, please reread transcript of Koppel memorial "Nightline." He makes several lectures about how Americans don't care enough to sacrifice more in taxes. The timing could also look political: it came on the anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech, not on Memorial Day.

Howard Kurtz: That was a different show, but I don't think it makes him either pro-war or anti-war. His argument is that the Bush administration went to war but didn't ask the country to sacrifice much of anything, as in past wars. You can agree or disagree, but that is the Koppel commentary.

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Anonymous: Our good wishes go out to Mr. Wodoruff and Mr. Vogt and their families. However, their tragic situation is a haunting reminder that despite the "mission accomplished" banner and upbeat public pronouncements from the administration, after nearly three years in Iraq, we are nowhere near being able to safely deploy our soldiers or our journalists outside the green zone.

Howard Kurtz: Yes, but did we really need those injuries to make clear that the war is far from over and the mission is not accomplished?

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New York, N.Y.: Have you ever considered becoming an ombudsman. Is that something you'd be interested in doing, and has any paper ever asked you to be one?

Howard Kurtz: I like my job and want to keep doing it. If you become an ombudsman, at The Post and some other papers, you sign a contract for two or three years, after which you have to leave. I'm not ready to retire, so you'll have me to kick around awhile longer.

Thanks for the chat, folks.

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