NEW YORK -- When the Iraq War began in March 2003, few anticipated that journalists would pay so high a price in blood and money to cover the conflict that has stretched five years and shows no sign of ending anytime soon.
Coverage of the war has cost the lives of 180 Iraqi and foreign journalists and cost the world's news organizations tens of millions of dollars a year to keep bureaus open in Baghdad and turn out war news that is, surveys suggest, at a low ebb in terms of public interest.
But even with all that, the networks say they're not willing or inclined to cut back on what they say is one of the biggest stories in American history.
"We've got 160,000 men and women who are stationed over there and in harm's way every single day of the year," said ABC News president David Westin, who returned in February from a trip to Iraq. "This is obviously a major strategic initiative for the United States, and how it will go will affect the entire region. That makes it a very important story."
ABC's correspondent in the region, Terry McCarthy, who has seen the ups and downs since the war's early days, agreed. "It's an extremely compelling story. I think the most important foreign story in the world right now, bar none," he said last week from Baghdad.
Still, the worsening economy and the presidential election have taken up the lion's share of the headlines and airtime since Jan. 1. There's much less coverage of the war than even a year ago, when it was the most closely followed news story in the first six months of 2007, according to the Pew Research Center for People & the Press. It isn't anywhere near that now, as evidenced by Tyndall Report research that said Iraq coverage totaled 61 minutes on the Big Three evening newscasts in January and February. That compared with 932 minutes for the presidential campaign on the same networks.
NBC News president Steve Capus, who spent twice as many minutes (32) on Iraq as its rivals, said the network takes seriously its commitment to covering the war and isn't cutting back resources.
"It's a commitment we owe the nation," Capus said.
Coverage of the war has cost the lives of 180 Iraqi and foreign journalists and cost the world's news organizations tens of millions of dollars a year to keep bureaus open in Baghdad and turn out war news that is, surveys suggest, at a low ebb in terms of public interest.
But even with all that, the networks say they're not willing or inclined to cut back on what they say is one of the biggest stories in American history.
"We've got 160,000 men and women who are stationed over there and in harm's way every single day of the year," said ABC News president David Westin, who returned in February from a trip to Iraq. "This is obviously a major strategic initiative for the United States, and how it will go will affect the entire region. That makes it a very important story."
ABC's correspondent in the region, Terry McCarthy, who has seen the ups and downs since the war's early days, agreed. "It's an extremely compelling story. I think the most important foreign story in the world right now, bar none," he said last week from Baghdad.
Still, the worsening economy and the presidential election have taken up the lion's share of the headlines and airtime since Jan. 1. There's much less coverage of the war than even a year ago, when it was the most closely followed news story in the first six months of 2007, according to the Pew Research Center for People & the Press. It isn't anywhere near that now, as evidenced by Tyndall Report research that said Iraq coverage totaled 61 minutes on the Big Three evening newscasts in January and February. That compared with 932 minutes for the presidential campaign on the same networks.
NBC News president Steve Capus, who spent twice as many minutes (32) on Iraq as its rivals, said the network takes seriously its commitment to covering the war and isn't cutting back resources.
"It's a commitment we owe the nation," Capus said.
- 3/18/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- ABC News will mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War with a comprehensive look at the situation on the ground.
The weeklong "Iraq 5 Years Later: Where Things Stand" will kick off Saturday and include every one of the network's platforms from TV (including "Good Morning America", "World News" and "Nightline") to online to ABC News Radio. The work is being led in Baghdad by correspondents Terry McCarthy and Bill Weir, with White House correspondent Martha Raddatz traveling with Vice President Dick Cheney in his trip to the Middle East.
McCarthy worked on the first "Where Things Stand" in 2003 as a reporter for Time and has missed only one of the seven of them. The country has changed drastically since that time, from the relative hope after the fall of Saddam Hussein to the despair with the rise of the insurgency and the sectarian violence that followed in 2006. Today, with the surge working and fatigue among the Iraqi people on war, there's more hope.
The weeklong "Iraq 5 Years Later: Where Things Stand" will kick off Saturday and include every one of the network's platforms from TV (including "Good Morning America", "World News" and "Nightline") to online to ABC News Radio. The work is being led in Baghdad by correspondents Terry McCarthy and Bill Weir, with White House correspondent Martha Raddatz traveling with Vice President Dick Cheney in his trip to the Middle East.
McCarthy worked on the first "Where Things Stand" in 2003 as a reporter for Time and has missed only one of the seven of them. The country has changed drastically since that time, from the relative hope after the fall of Saddam Hussein to the despair with the rise of the insurgency and the sectarian violence that followed in 2006. Today, with the surge working and fatigue among the Iraqi people on war, there's more hope.
- 3/12/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- ABC is planning its sixth "Iraq: Where Things Stand" reporting blitz beginning Sunday in advance of next week's progress report on the war.
"Iraq: Where Things Stand" has been a long-standing franchise for the network, which first did a series for "World News Tonight" under the guidance of the late anchor Peter Jennings in November 2003. ABC has continued the tradition with reports from ABC, BBC and NHK correspondents and the results of a poll of Iraqis about how the U.S. troop surge is viewed in their country.
It's the fourth such poll overall and the second this year. ABC News senior vp Paul Slavin said Thursday that the results show Iraqis' feelings about their country and expectations before and afterward.
"The poll kind of brackets the surge, and we're able to see how that surge has impacted Iraqi opinions and perceptions," Slavin said. The poll results will be released Monday.
The main correspondents involved in reporting the stories all week are Martha Raddatz, who last week made her 14th trip into Iraq since the war, and Terry McCarthy, who worked at Time on the first "Where Things Stand" and has since moved to ABC.
"Iraq: Where Things Stand" has been a long-standing franchise for the network, which first did a series for "World News Tonight" under the guidance of the late anchor Peter Jennings in November 2003. ABC has continued the tradition with reports from ABC, BBC and NHK correspondents and the results of a poll of Iraqis about how the U.S. troop surge is viewed in their country.
It's the fourth such poll overall and the second this year. ABC News senior vp Paul Slavin said Thursday that the results show Iraqis' feelings about their country and expectations before and afterward.
"The poll kind of brackets the surge, and we're able to see how that surge has impacted Iraqi opinions and perceptions," Slavin said. The poll results will be released Monday.
The main correspondents involved in reporting the stories all week are Martha Raddatz, who last week made her 14th trip into Iraq since the war, and Terry McCarthy, who worked at Time on the first "Where Things Stand" and has since moved to ABC.
NEW YORK -- Four years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq began and in the middle of the troop surge announced by President Bush, ABC News next week will launch its fifth all-encompassing look at what's going on in the country.
Central to "Iraq: Where Things Stand" will be the reporting of ABC News Baghdad correspondent Terry McCarthy and the release of a poll of 2,000 Iraqis sponsored by ABC News, USA Today and the German TV network ARD.
McCarthy has spent months on the package. He said in an interview Thursday from Baghdad that he was able to get to several places in the country to do reporting. He flew to the southern city of Basra with British forces because the road that they used to travel in 2003 and 2004 has become too dangerous. McCarthy flew by helicopter to the Iraq-Iran border and was able to report there without too much trouble and flew commercially to Kurdistan which, unlike the rest of the country, is easier to move around in.
ABC News' Iraqi crews traveled to Nasiryah, Najaf, Tikrit and Fallujah, which are still too dangerous to travel to for Western reporters.
"Iraq: Where Things Stand" will kick off Sunday with "Good Morning America" and get major play throughout the ABC News platforms including "GMA", "World News With Charles Gibson", "Nightline" and "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" plus the ABC News Now digital service and ABCNews.com through at least Thursday.
Central to "Iraq: Where Things Stand" will be the reporting of ABC News Baghdad correspondent Terry McCarthy and the release of a poll of 2,000 Iraqis sponsored by ABC News, USA Today and the German TV network ARD.
McCarthy has spent months on the package. He said in an interview Thursday from Baghdad that he was able to get to several places in the country to do reporting. He flew to the southern city of Basra with British forces because the road that they used to travel in 2003 and 2004 has become too dangerous. McCarthy flew by helicopter to the Iraq-Iran border and was able to report there without too much trouble and flew commercially to Kurdistan which, unlike the rest of the country, is easier to move around in.
ABC News' Iraqi crews traveled to Nasiryah, Najaf, Tikrit and Fallujah, which are still too dangerous to travel to for Western reporters.
"Iraq: Where Things Stand" will kick off Sunday with "Good Morning America" and get major play throughout the ABC News platforms including "GMA", "World News With Charles Gibson", "Nightline" and "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" plus the ABC News Now digital service and ABCNews.com through at least Thursday.
- 3/17/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.