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American Morning

Iraq & the Media

Aired September 24, 2003 - 08:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The mounting death toll, meanwhile, in Iraq among U.S. troops well documented; 166 U.S. soldiers dead there since the 1st of May. That's when the president declared major fighting over. But are reporters focusing too narrowly on the bad news in Iraq? That's a charge leveled by U.S. Representative Jim Marshall out of the state of Georgia. He wrote that in an op-ed column published this week by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution." He's with us live in D.C.
Good morning, sir. Nice to have you with us.

REP. JIM MARSHALL, (D), GEORGIA: Happy to be here.

HEMMER: Also in our studio, CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf, who will be going back to the Iraqi capital in about a week's time.

Nice to see you, Jane. Good morning.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: First to the Congressman, your main accusation says essentially that the negative reporting could lead to the deaths of more U.S. service members. Explain how you see that logic and that parallel, sir.

MARSHALL: Well, this is a guerrilla conflict, and we can't win it without the Iraqis stepping forward. We can't force freedom on them. They've got to take it for themselves. Their willingness to step forward and take chances is going to depend an awful lot upon how they perceive things going. If the media is painting a bleak picture, they're apt to see things fairly bleakly. If we're discouraged, if we're not resolute, they're apt to see things pretty bleakly. They don't come forward, they don't give us intelligence information, they don't fight. The consequences to us are pretty bad.

HEMMER: So you're saying the negative news, negative headlines encourages more terrorist activity?

MARSHALL: There's no question that it does that and will over the course of time do that. Americans need to think about this as they think about their nightly news and local TV stations and front pages of newspapers. If you think about it, in most communities, that's awfully negative stuff, and yet people can -- they have a sense that that doesn't really paint a fair picture of our community and what's really going on. In Iraq, it's a similar sort of thing. I don't think there's any grand conspiracy here. I think it's the tendency of media to focus on the negative, because the negative sells, and we need to be aware of that. To the extent the media can change and start showing a little bit more of the picture, that would be great. But at the very least, Americans need to know things are going better in Iraq than is depicted on our television screens.

HEMMER: I understand your point.

You're back from Baghdad. Do you see his point, and does he have a fair point?

ARRAF: I think he certainly has a fair point in that it's a very complicated situation, and everyone's trying to figure out the best way forward in something that's still very volatile. I don't really think that the terrorists are really watching the media, listening very much. I don't think that's really affecting them. And I think it really does a disservice, Bill, to the Iraqi people to think that if we have more good news stories, then their confidence will increase. That's really not the problem.

HEMMER: Let me share with our viewers quickly a part of what the Congressman wrote. We'll put it up on the screen He says, "I'm afraid the news media hurting our chances. They are dwelling upon the mistakes, the ambushes, the soldiers killed, the wounded. Fair enough. But it is not balancing this bad news with the rest of the story, the progress made daily, the good news."

Why is it that we only hear about shootings on a daily basis and not about the school that's being rebuilt or the water treatment plant that's now been re-established or things of that nature, like a hospital?

ARRAF: There are small bits of good news, and we do try to do them, and everyone who's there tries to do a balanced picture. But I don't think we can forget that this is against the backdrop of something that cannot be seen as other than bad news. American servicemen are dying, Iraqis are afraid, and it's really only when you've been there, as we have, and as the representative have, that you get a sense of it.

But one of the things I have to say, as well, is that most congressional delegations who have come to Iraq do not even spend the night. They consider it too unsafe and they go back to Kuwait for the night, which is really an indication. We can't be overly -- we can't paint a rosier picture than exists. And the reality is, it is pretty bleak there.

HEMMER: Yes, Congressman, there are some new poll numbers that came out from the folks at Gallup earlier today. Listen to some of the numbers that they're putting out. Only 33 percent in Baghdad of those surveyed say they're better off now than before the war. 94 percent say their city is more dangerous now. Yet -- and here's a positive note here -- 62 percent do think that ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the effort. Does that, those poll numbers that you're watching, especially 94 percent, do they not reflect the reality on the ground in Iraq today?

MARSHALL: There's no question that it is dangerous in Iraq today, and it's dangerous for the people of Iraq, in part, because Saddam released an awful lot of criminals before the end of the conventional part of this war. Zogby took a poll, 70 percent of the folks that Zogby polled said that allied forces need to stay there for a year. Think about 774 embedded journalists. That's the total. I think the high point toward the embedded journalists during the conventional part of the conflict spread them out over the military forces in Iraq today, have them send videos, news articles home, and I think what you'd find is an awful lot of that 90 percent of those journalists would not be seeing mayhem, they'd be seeing progress.

And there are literally thousands of stories of progress that can be given. We're headed in a good direction. This is not an ideal situation. Nobody wants to spend this kind of money in support of this effort.

But the fact of the matter is, we've got an opportunity to do an immeasurable amount of good to our national security if we're successful here. We need to stay the course. The key to the deal is whether or not Iraqis step forward and secure their own freedom. We can't force them to do that. If they do that, then this is something that we'll look back on and say was a wise thing to do, to stay in there and try to secure a secular representative government in this country.

HEMMER: Understood. About 10 seconds left. Final thought on what he said.

ARRAF: Just Representative Marshall's thought on more embedding, I don't think that's the solution. With embedding, journalists -- putting them with the military, you get narrower coverage, and you get the purely military picture. That is not what we need. We need wider coverage, we need journalists out there with Iraqis.

HEMMER: You be safe when you go back Baghdad.

ARRAF: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: Jane Arraf, our bureau chief in Iraq.

And, Congressman Jim Marshall, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

MARSHALL: Sure.

HEMMER: Out of the state of Georgia, with us today from Washington D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 24, 2003 - 08:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The mounting death toll, meanwhile, in Iraq among U.S. troops well documented; 166 U.S. soldiers dead there since the 1st of May. That's when the president declared major fighting over. But are reporters focusing too narrowly on the bad news in Iraq? That's a charge leveled by U.S. Representative Jim Marshall out of the state of Georgia. He wrote that in an op-ed column published this week by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution." He's with us live in D.C.
Good morning, sir. Nice to have you with us.

REP. JIM MARSHALL, (D), GEORGIA: Happy to be here.

HEMMER: Also in our studio, CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf, who will be going back to the Iraqi capital in about a week's time.

Nice to see you, Jane. Good morning.

JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: First to the Congressman, your main accusation says essentially that the negative reporting could lead to the deaths of more U.S. service members. Explain how you see that logic and that parallel, sir.

MARSHALL: Well, this is a guerrilla conflict, and we can't win it without the Iraqis stepping forward. We can't force freedom on them. They've got to take it for themselves. Their willingness to step forward and take chances is going to depend an awful lot upon how they perceive things going. If the media is painting a bleak picture, they're apt to see things fairly bleakly. If we're discouraged, if we're not resolute, they're apt to see things pretty bleakly. They don't come forward, they don't give us intelligence information, they don't fight. The consequences to us are pretty bad.

HEMMER: So you're saying the negative news, negative headlines encourages more terrorist activity?

MARSHALL: There's no question that it does that and will over the course of time do that. Americans need to think about this as they think about their nightly news and local TV stations and front pages of newspapers. If you think about it, in most communities, that's awfully negative stuff, and yet people can -- they have a sense that that doesn't really paint a fair picture of our community and what's really going on. In Iraq, it's a similar sort of thing. I don't think there's any grand conspiracy here. I think it's the tendency of media to focus on the negative, because the negative sells, and we need to be aware of that. To the extent the media can change and start showing a little bit more of the picture, that would be great. But at the very least, Americans need to know things are going better in Iraq than is depicted on our television screens.

HEMMER: I understand your point.

You're back from Baghdad. Do you see his point, and does he have a fair point?

ARRAF: I think he certainly has a fair point in that it's a very complicated situation, and everyone's trying to figure out the best way forward in something that's still very volatile. I don't really think that the terrorists are really watching the media, listening very much. I don't think that's really affecting them. And I think it really does a disservice, Bill, to the Iraqi people to think that if we have more good news stories, then their confidence will increase. That's really not the problem.

HEMMER: Let me share with our viewers quickly a part of what the Congressman wrote. We'll put it up on the screen He says, "I'm afraid the news media hurting our chances. They are dwelling upon the mistakes, the ambushes, the soldiers killed, the wounded. Fair enough. But it is not balancing this bad news with the rest of the story, the progress made daily, the good news."

Why is it that we only hear about shootings on a daily basis and not about the school that's being rebuilt or the water treatment plant that's now been re-established or things of that nature, like a hospital?

ARRAF: There are small bits of good news, and we do try to do them, and everyone who's there tries to do a balanced picture. But I don't think we can forget that this is against the backdrop of something that cannot be seen as other than bad news. American servicemen are dying, Iraqis are afraid, and it's really only when you've been there, as we have, and as the representative have, that you get a sense of it.

But one of the things I have to say, as well, is that most congressional delegations who have come to Iraq do not even spend the night. They consider it too unsafe and they go back to Kuwait for the night, which is really an indication. We can't be overly -- we can't paint a rosier picture than exists. And the reality is, it is pretty bleak there.

HEMMER: Yes, Congressman, there are some new poll numbers that came out from the folks at Gallup earlier today. Listen to some of the numbers that they're putting out. Only 33 percent in Baghdad of those surveyed say they're better off now than before the war. 94 percent say their city is more dangerous now. Yet -- and here's a positive note here -- 62 percent do think that ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the effort. Does that, those poll numbers that you're watching, especially 94 percent, do they not reflect the reality on the ground in Iraq today?

MARSHALL: There's no question that it is dangerous in Iraq today, and it's dangerous for the people of Iraq, in part, because Saddam released an awful lot of criminals before the end of the conventional part of this war. Zogby took a poll, 70 percent of the folks that Zogby polled said that allied forces need to stay there for a year. Think about 774 embedded journalists. That's the total. I think the high point toward the embedded journalists during the conventional part of the conflict spread them out over the military forces in Iraq today, have them send videos, news articles home, and I think what you'd find is an awful lot of that 90 percent of those journalists would not be seeing mayhem, they'd be seeing progress.

And there are literally thousands of stories of progress that can be given. We're headed in a good direction. This is not an ideal situation. Nobody wants to spend this kind of money in support of this effort.

But the fact of the matter is, we've got an opportunity to do an immeasurable amount of good to our national security if we're successful here. We need to stay the course. The key to the deal is whether or not Iraqis step forward and secure their own freedom. We can't force them to do that. If they do that, then this is something that we'll look back on and say was a wise thing to do, to stay in there and try to secure a secular representative government in this country.

HEMMER: Understood. About 10 seconds left. Final thought on what he said.

ARRAF: Just Representative Marshall's thought on more embedding, I don't think that's the solution. With embedding, journalists -- putting them with the military, you get narrower coverage, and you get the purely military picture. That is not what we need. We need wider coverage, we need journalists out there with Iraqis.

HEMMER: You be safe when you go back Baghdad.

ARRAF: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: Jane Arraf, our bureau chief in Iraq.

And, Congressman Jim Marshall, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

MARSHALL: Sure.

HEMMER: Out of the state of Georgia, with us today from Washington D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com