Your thoughts on Frontline’s ‘News War’
David Johnson February 13th, 2007
Part one of a four part series by PBS’ Frontline on the state of media and journalism has aired. The first installment largely focuses on how the media handled the march towards the Iraq War and the Plame affair. Frontline’s site is loaded with interviews and will eventually offer the whole series for online viewing (they’ll post the first part on Wednesday). It is a serious production on a serious topic, certainly worth discussing on many levels. Please leave a comment with your thoughts.
Adds Jason in comments: “I thought that it was very well done. A nice, balanced and in-depth look at the entire event, all the issues it raised and the history leading up to the confrontation. Though I followed the story originally, I acutally learned a lot that I hadn’t known previously. Well done, so far.”
4 Comments Add your own
1. Jason Parker | February 13th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I thought that it was very well done. A nice, balanced and in-depth look at the entire event, all the issues it raised and the history leading up to the confrontation. Though I followed the story originally, I acutally learned a lot that I hadn’t known previously. Well done, so far.
2. adm | February 13th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
The historical stuff was somewhat new to me (at that level of detail, anyway) and well presented. Earl Caldwell and James Goodale were particularly great.
Too much time on Plame (which has been done to death elsewhere, and on Frontline), not enough on how the media blew the WMD story. That, to me (a news consumer, not a news producer [usually]), is the big, big issue in media. No one’s offered a complete explanation yet. I was hoping Frontline would at least take a shot at it, but they really didn’t, beyond the usual two-sentence explanation.
3. Rick Ellis | February 13th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
I’ve had the chance to see most of it, and I think it does a pretty good job of telling a complex story in a fair and balanced way.
Part three (which focuses on the media) is probably the most relevant hour to the readers of Lost Remote.
4. Mark Moulding | February 16th, 2007 at 10:37 am
It was a fascinting programme - and I’m looking forward to the next instalment.
On a more technical note, I was very pleased to be able to watch the full progamme online outside the US - I did wonder whether it would be blocked like big-name shows.
Just an idea, though… during the show, there are multiple on-screen plugs for the website telling you about the extra aterial available online. It would be a nice idea if, after you’ve finished watching the final chapter, all those links came up on the webpage to give you easy access, and entice you to explore further.
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