Independent war correspondent Michael Yon made favorable comments about some mainstream media correspondents in Iraq.
Michael’s thoughtful dispatch from Iraq compared the wartime environment in which Ernie Pyle wrote to the environment in which today’s war correspondents struggle to survive.
He made the point that journalists in previous wars might have spent long tours with combat forces and they don’t do that now. That doesn’t mean good journalists are gone. There are plenty of those, but mostly they are somewhere else, or they only come to Iraq for quick tours.
Michael had praise for NBC correspondents Brian Williams and Richard Engle who were clearly concerned about accurate reporting. He mentioned other journalists who are doing a good job of reporting and suggested that it is time for bloggers to stop attacking mainstream media war coverage and start offering alternative sources.
Michael suggests that instead of looking for mistakes in coverage, the common cause might be better served by well-informed bloggers searching all sources for the reports that get it right and driving readers to them.
Michael has the ability to capture the experience of soldiers at war
and makes the ugliness of war painfully real. He cares about the men
whose lives he describes.
Michael’s dispatches are now being featured on Fox News. This one is well worth reading.