NOW THEY TELL US(ISBN=) 英文原版

　　Michael Massing describes the American press coverage of the
war in Iraq as “the unseen war,” an ironic reference given the
number of reporters in Iraq and in Doha, Qatar, the location of the
Coalition Media Center with its $250,000 stage set. He argues that
a combination of self-censorship, lack of real information given by
the military at briefings, boosterism, and a small number of
reporters familiar with Iraq and fluent in Arabic deprived the
American public of reliable information while the war was going
on.
　　Massing also is highly critical of American press coverage of the
Bush administration’s case for war prior to the invasion of
Iraq:
　　US journalists were far too reliant on sources sympathetic to the
administration. Those with dissenting views–and there were more
than a few–were shut out. Reflecting this, the coverage was highly
deferential to the White House. This was especially apparent on the
issue of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction …. Despite abundant
evidence of the administration’s brazen misuse of intelligence in
this matter, the press repeatedly let officials get away with
it.
　　Once Iraq was occupied and no WMDs were found, the press was
quick to report on the flaws of pre-war intelligence. But as
Massing’s detailed analysis demonstrates, pre-war journalism was
also deeply flawed, as too many reporters failed to independently
evaluate administration claims about Saddam’s weapons programs or
the inspection process. The press’s postwar “feistiness” stands in
sharp contrast to its “submissiveness” and “meekness” before the
war–when it might have made a difference.

　　Michael Massing, a contributing editor of the Columbia
Journalism Review, writes frequently on the press and foreign
affairs.