The war in Iraq and why the media failed us /

Also author of Casualty of War: The Bush Administration's Assault on a Free Press (CH, Sep'02, 41-0601), Dadge (International Press Institute, Vienna) here faults US media for failure to report the facts of the Iraq war. Supporting his argument with an imposing array of data, the author cites as mitigating reasons for this inept performance jingoistic patriotism, self-censorship, "subtle" pressures from the Bush administration, and an inability to confirm intelligence information. The bottom line: the Fourth Estate failed in its fundamental role to inform the American people fully and fairly of the facts of the nation's venture into invasion and war. Dadge points out that the press has been derelict before--in the Spanish-American War, WW I, and Korea--but he argues that never before has an administration managed to control news on such a scale. The efforts of the Bush ideologues were abetted by the press itself, which was muted by self-inflicted credibility problems and timidity to voice dissent and criticism. The author's prescription for improvement: the media must adopt a "new skepticism for government" and return to journalism's basic tenets, independence and accountability. Otherwise, a growing "public apathy" will further erode First Amendment rights in the US. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. L. Harrison University of Miami