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Topic: Letters Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 6/13/2006 6:15:45 PM
Title: USA Today vs. "traditional" papers
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From CESAR SORIANO, Baghdad correspondent, USA Today: Timothy McNulty's column on the media's coverage of Iraq makes for a compelling read. But comparing USA Today's Page 1 coverage of Iraq with "traditional" newspapers is like comparing apples and oranges.

The very nature of USA Today's design and layout limits us to running about three front page articles per day, versus about six 1A stories in other newspapers. Those other papers also have larger staff in Iraq. To somehow suggest that USA Today or other media care less about Iraq coverage based on a byline count is wrong and an insult to the brave U.S. and Iraqi journalists and staff who risk their lives everyday to bring the news to our readers.

For the record, USA Today has maintained a Baghdad bureau since beginning of the war, currently headed by Rick Jervis. A quick search of our archives reveals USA Today has published a total of 433 articles in 2006 that mention Iraq in the headline or lede. (I did not examine the relevance of each entry). This includes breaking news, enterprise, news features and "Life in Iraq," our weekly feature examining a snippet of Iraqi experiences. The numbers do not include USATODAY.com's exclusive online content such as "Dispatches from Iraq," Kimberly Johnson's blog covering military life at the front lines.

That said, ALL journalists in Iraq have persevered under the most dangerous and grueling working conditions in the world. I don't disagree that coverage of Iraq has dropped since 2003 for the reasons McNulty states, not to mention massive budget cuts and staff limitations affecting the industry. But rather than comparing byline counts or arguing over who was first with what scoop, journalists and media organizations should be working together to improve overall conditions that will allow for even greater and more-diverse coverage of the situation in Iraq.

Finally, to all the Chairborne Rangers advancing the vast "negative media" conspiracy from the safety and comfort of their parents' basements: If you think you can do better, I've got a spare bed in the Baghdad bureau. [Permalink]

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