The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

The student news site of Guilford College

The Guilfordian

War Coverage Needs to Report All Sides

The Guilfordian is one-sidedly covering the news of the invasion of Iraq
In the issue on April 4, 2003, a staff writer published a summary about the news of the Iraq invasion campaign. While it is appreciated that the Guilfordian strives keep the students up to date on the current global issues, it is nonetheless really disturbing that we see an official article published by Guilfordian staff completely adhering to the Pentagon’s media viewpoint about the war.
In the article titled “War on Iraq Persists Despite International Concerns,” the staff writer mentioned that Najaf (a Southern Iraqi city) was captured by the coalition and the troops were welcomed.
While I cannot completely reject this viewpoint, I can neither agree to it as the sole truth because I know that there are other versions of truth that are equally acceptable.
Nobody at Guilford or in The Guilfordian is a first hand witness to what’s going on in Iraq, so nobody has the right to choose a version of truth as “true,” especially in a news summary that is supposed to be balanced and unbiased, quoting all possible sources.
Arab, European, and international news agencies gave a different view on what’s going on in Najaf.
Al-Jazeera news channel interviewed the civilians in Najaf, who protested the humiliation and the bad treatment they received under the Anglo-American forces occupation. An Iraqi civilian says he witnessed coalition troops sexually harassing Iraqi women during “body inspection.” Many civilians were left without shelter after the coalition forces destroyed their houses, even though they say they were no resistance in the area.
CBS, which is an American TV network, shows pictures of Iraqi civilians protesting the coalition forces in southern Iraq. Many civilians were cut off from food and clean water for days, and they were clearly blaming the coalition forces for this.
AFP, an international news agency, reported that rather than supplying aid for famine-endangered areas in Iraq, the coalition forces are relying on the food from the agricultural villages south of Najaf and in southern Iraq – a blatant contradiction to the claims of the coalition and the Pentagon that it is supplying medical and food aid to Iraqi civilians.
While I don’t approve or dismiss any of the versions of truth, including the Pentagon one, I believe that balanced news coverage should include all points of views.
Real global awareness doesn’t mean just listening to news from all around the globe, but also comprehending, comparing, and understanding it.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

The Guilfordian intends for this area to be used to foster healthy, thought-provoking discussion. Comments are expected to adhere to our standards and to be respectful and constructive. As such, we do not permit the use of profanity, foul language, personal attacks, or the use of language that might be interpreted as libelous. Comments are reviewed and must be approved by a moderator to ensure that they meet these standards. The Guilfordian does not allow anonymous comments, and requires a valid email address. The email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments.
All The Guilfordian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *