Now here's a topic I have been waiting for awhile.
Jacko, your salient point of having a media we deserve is a wonderous bit of hyperbole.
The media in the West works under a self anointed mandate as protectors of the truth. Well guess what, I no more trust the media than I do the government to provide me with the truth. The first casualty of war is truth, and the media has blood on its hands.
As with any other buisness, media is in competition with other outlets for consumers. This leads to inacuracies and half truths to draw readers. Stories that are not neccessarily true or accurate. Sensationalizing stories that are based on the earliest of information, which happens to be subject to the greatest change. As an example I hold out the AA Airbus crash in New York. One network had an exclusive(their word,not mine) with an "expert" who claimed within a few hours of the crash that it was obviously a terrorist action. Expert, my a$$, this guy knew less about aviation than this lowly line pilot. Appearant to anyone with aviation experience was his incorrect use of terms and knowledge of aircraft. All of this was done to get the news we all dreaded on their network first.
Just a few weeks ago jounalists were reporting that the war effort was bogged down and that a quagmire existed at the top levels of the U.S. govt as to the direction of the efforts. I guess nothing exonorates like success.
The media is aware, but appearantly not sensitive to its appearance, as it pays lip service only. A paper here in San Diego sponsered a workshop on local access T.V. addressing the question of media responsibility. The roundtable of participants was made up of jounalists only, how ironic. Not guilty of course was the outcome.
Jacko, glad to see your predictable. I had a feeling that Israel and U.S. policy would be sniped at. Out of a diccussion of the weather you would surely bring the middle East in to it. Must admit I wasn't expecting Vietnam. By the way, tet was a tactical failure spelling the end of the VC as a viable force, but a strategic success on the world stage due in no small part to the media.
A diatribe it is, but therapeutic none the less.