Dismantling MSM's defense of criticism of Iraq coverage

Cori Dauber points out the straw man used by the MSM to defend their coverage:

Don't Blame the Press, Ever, For Anything

The fact that Iraq is a violent place is being used by the press as blanket defense for every aspect of their coverage. Essentially they make two arguments: it's so violent that many reporters have died, so if there are any problems, it's because it's so hard to cover well -- whatever we can do, we do -- and there's so much violence, how can you possibly be thinking at this point it matters if we cover the opening of another school or hospital?

She points out that the problem with the first argument is that it fails to address the central point of the terrorism -- to affect coverage by the news media. The failure of the media to acknowledge that terrorists are using them results in slanted coverage. The second is simply a blatant straw man.

The whole post is worth reading.