Editor and Publisher Online, 3/24:
Creators Syndicate writer Norman Solomon is dismayed with the cheerleading approach many U.S. newspapers are taking in the initial days of war. And the media columnist said the practice of “embedding” journalists with U.S. soldiers is partly to blame.
“Embedding means the journalists covering the U.S. war on Iraq are ‘in bed’ with the military,” said Solomon, explaining that the system can lead to reporters losing objectivity as they bond with troops.
“If journalists are going to embed themselves with U.S. troops, they should also embed themselves with Iraqi families,” he told E&P Online Friday. “But it’s obviously better to be on the sending rather than the receiving end of missiles.”