Sycamore's Interactive War Diary - Page 4

slang · 03-30-2003, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Elspode
I mostly saw Arnett's little foray into the Iraqi media as major sucking up to the powers that be (for now).

Ditto. He wanted to complete his coverage instead of being detained or jailed.

elSicomoro · 03-31-2003, 08:41 AM

NBC/MSNBC ends relationship with Arnett.

To be discussed later...

juju · 03-31-2003, 03:27 PM

This is the blog of a reporter in Iraq. Looks promising.

http://back-to-iraq.com/

edit - found a nice description of the site on warblogging.com:

Christopher Allbritton, the Internet's first very own war correspondent, has gotten his Syrian visa, he reports on Back To Iraq. He is currently in Ankara, but will be departing for Syria — and then the Syrian-Iraqi border — tomorrow morning.

Chris is travelling to Iraqi Kurdistan to report on the war in an independent fashion, outside the controlling influence of the US Army or major media organisations. His trip is entirely funded by his readers, who have so far donated more than ten thousand dollars. Panisonic, Motorola and other companies have donated equipment such as a laptop and satellite telephone.

Chris e-mails reports from the field to those who have donated, and those reports then get posted to his weblog. He hopes to be in Duhok or Erbil in northern Iraq by tomorrow night.

Uryoces · 03-31-2003, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Griff
if Blair can drag Bush kicking and screaming to a workable Palestinian solution, I'll get over it.

If anyone can pull that off, they win a ceegar!

wolf · 03-31-2003, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sycamore
NBC/MSNBC ends relationship with Arnett.

To be discussed later...

Come on ... if nothing else, losing three jobs in one day is impressive.

(he probably would have been okay if he had failed to editorialize).

elSicomoro · 03-31-2003, 09:55 PM

The Peter Arnett employment situation goes a little something like this, from what I understand: He works for some online media group, and was hired to do stuff through that group for National Geographic Explorer. Since all of NBC's folks left Baghdad, and he was still there, and b/c of the relationship with MSNBC and the NGS, he started reporting for MSNBC (and subsequently for NBC). So basically, MSNBC/NBC decided not to show his coverage anymore, and he was subsequently let go by National Geographic.

I wrote an e-mail to Kojo Nnamdi today for his show (though it wasn't read...damnit!), and it basically went like this: What he did wasn't the smartest thing to do; however, I don't think what he did was necessarily inappropriate. He offered a unique perspective on the war, and it's a shame that this happened. Furthermore, the folks at NBC should be ashamed for doing an about face.

Now, having said that, I understand why NBC pulled the plug. The network itself is number 1, and the cable news network is number 3. No reason to ruin your top spot, and dig yourself deeper into a pit at the same time.

If anything, journalists will be more careful in what they say and to whom they say it. While that might not be a bad idea right now, I'm not sure that's such a good thing in the long run.

If George W. Bush can figure out the Israel/Palestine situation, he gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It's that simple.

That indy journalist better be careful, lest he wind up like the guy from ITN.

Hey, I heard that Geraldo was embedded over in Iraq for Fox, and apparently he got in some shit over possibly revealing a location. Anybody else hear that?

Elspode · 03-31-2003, 10:39 PM

CNN is reporting that Arnett has been hired by that venerable bastion of yellow British journalism, the Daily Mirror.

He must really be proud. At least, he is quoted by The Mirror as saying he is proud to be working for them. Seems he has always admired the paper.

I like it too, especially those headlines about Princess Di back in the day. After all, I never would have known she was pregnant by some Arab guy if it hadn't been for them.

russotto · 04-01-2003, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sycamore
What he did wasn't the smartest thing to do; however, I don't think what he did was necessarily inappropriate. He offered a unique perspective on the war, and it's a shame that this happened. Furthermore, the folks at NBC should be ashamed for doing an about face.

Arnett wasn't canned for what he reported. He was canned for editorializing in an interview with Iraqi TV; he was making propaganda for the enemy, not reporting news. Unless it turns out the man had a pistol aimed at his back, he got what he deserved.

warch · 04-01-2003, 03:18 PM

I agree with russotto. Arnett was making, not reporting news. He looked to me like a weasel trying to kiss ass to stay in town.

Geraldo, I love to hear him get grief, was apparently diagraming military locations in the sand for viewers. I heard the division he was with drove him to the boarder and dropped him off. Good riddance.

elSicomoro · 04-01-2003, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by russotto
Arnett wasn't canned for what he reported. He was canned for editorializing in an interview with Iraqi TV; he was making propaganda for the enemy, not reporting news. Unless it turns out the man had a pistol aimed at his back, he got what he deserved.

I know he wasn't canned for his reporting. I was merely commenting (in my e-mail to Kojo Nnamdi) about the perspective Arnett was providing in his news reports.

The way I see it, who the fuck really cares what Peter Arnett says to Iraqi TV? Negative comments and media coverage thus far haven't hurt public opinion. And he was reporting for a network that's pulling in *guesstimate* maybe 20-30% of news watchers overall in the US. Besides, it's not like it was Walter Cronkite.

In addition, I don't see that much difference between him saying what he said on Iraqi TV, and what other reporters/anchors do when they go on the late night shows. All in all, I think it was just a bad decision on Arnett's part, made at the wrong time.

Last I read (it's been a slow news day, it seems), Geraldo was lashing out at MSNBC, saying they were responsible for the rumors.

elSicomoro · 04-04-2003, 09:57 AM

Time for a humor break...too much war will make you sound like Shepps.

From CBC Saskatchewan, "The Extra Hour."

elSicomoro · 04-04-2003, 09:59 AM

Peter Arnett's apparent first column for the Daily Mirror

Elspode · 04-04-2003, 10:33 AM

Good Lord...what a crappy writer Arnett is!

"The troops are in the country and fighting there way up here. " (fighting *there* way up here? Please.)

"Optimists in the Pentagon talk about an internal coup. BNut who would have had believed Umm Qasr would hold out for six days? " (*Who would have had believed*? There's a tongue twister for you)

His sentences are short and lousy, not tight and concise. He whines, he is petulant, and he truly seems amazed that he was fired. I used to have some respect for Arnett, but no more. What a doofus. I imagine that he is dictating his reports over the phone to a semi-literate copywriter, and thus the usage errors and typos (quality control is non-existant these days in just about every industry, methinks), but if he's going to write for a newspaper, he needs to stop delivering his commentary like he had a camera stuck in his face.

He an Geraldo should get together over drinks or something, but neither one of them is apparently smart enough to know what to order.

Griff · 04-04-2003, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Elspode

His sentences are short and lousy, not tight and concise. He whines, he is petulant, and he truly seems amazed that he was fired.

In short he's perfect for tv.

elSicomoro · 04-05-2003, 09:53 PM

Geraldo is back in Kuwait...I saw him on Fox today.

I wonder if Arnett actually "wrote" that column...given that that article was released on Tuesday, it's possible that he gave it over the phone and it was transcribed by someone else.

He's apparently still in Baghdad...here's today's article.

03-31-2003, 08:41 AM	#47
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	NBC/MSNBC ends relationship with Arnett. To be discussed later... Last edited by elSicomoro; 03-31-2003 at 08:44 AM.

03-31-2003, 03:27 PM	#48
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	This is the blog of a reporter in Iraq. Looks promising. http://back-to-iraq.com/ edit - found a nice description of the site on warblogging.com: Christopher Allbritton, the Internet's first very own war correspondent, has gotten his Syrian visa, he reports on Back To Iraq. He is currently in Ankara, but will be departing for Syria — and then the Syrian-Iraqi border — tomorrow morning. Chris is travelling to Iraqi Kurdistan to report on the war in an independent fashion, outside the controlling influence of the US Army or major media organisations. His trip is entirely funded by his readers, who have so far donated more than ten thousand dollars. Panisonic, Motorola and other companies have donated equipment such as a laptop and satellite telephone. Chris e-mails reports from the field to those who have donated, and those reports then get posted to his weblog. He hopes to be in Duhok or Erbil in northern Iraq by tomorrow night. Last edited by juju; 03-31-2003 at 03:56 PM.

03-31-2003, 10:39 PM	#52
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	CNN is reporting that Arnett has been hired by that venerable bastion of yellow British journalism, the Daily Mirror. He must really be proud. At least, he is quoted by The Mirror as saying he is proud to be working for them. Seems he has always admired the paper. I like it too, especially those headlines about Princess Di back in the day. After all, I never would have known she was pregnant by some Arab guy if it hadn't been for them. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

04-04-2003, 10:33 AM	#58
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Good Lord...what a crappy writer Arnett is! "The troops are in the country and fighting there way up here. " (fighting there way up here? Please.) "Optimists in the Pentagon talk about an internal coup. BNut who would have had believed Umm Qasr would hold out for six days? " (Who would have had believed? There's a tongue twister for you) His sentences are short and lousy, not tight and concise. He whines, he is petulant, and he truly seems amazed that he was fired. I used to have some respect for Arnett, but no more. What a doofus. I imagine that he is dictating his reports over the phone to a semi-literate copywriter, and thus the usage errors and typos (quality control is non-existant these days in just about every industry, methinks), but if he's going to write for a newspaper, he needs to stop delivering his commentary like he had a camera stuck in his face. He an Geraldo should get together over drinks or something, but neither one of them is apparently smart enough to know what to order. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

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03-31-2003, 09:55 PM	#51
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	The Peter Arnett employment situation goes a little something like this, from what I understand: He works for some online media group, and was hired to do stuff through that group for National Geographic Explorer. Since all of NBC's folks left Baghdad, and he was still there, and b/c of the relationship with MSNBC and the NGS, he started reporting for MSNBC (and subsequently for NBC). So basically, MSNBC/NBC decided not to show his coverage anymore, and he was subsequently let go by National Geographic. I wrote an e-mail to Kojo Nnamdi today for his show (though it wasn't read...damnit!), and it basically went like this: What he did wasn't the smartest thing to do; however, I don't think what he did was necessarily inappropriate. He offered a unique perspective on the war, and it's a shame that this happened. Furthermore, the folks at NBC should be ashamed for doing an about face. Now, having said that, I understand why NBC pulled the plug. The network itself is number 1, and the cable news network is number 3. No reason to ruin your top spot, and dig yourself deeper into a pit at the same time. If anything, journalists will be more careful in what they say and to whom they say it. While that might not be a bad idea right now, I'm not sure that's such a good thing in the long run. If George W. Bush can figure out the Israel/Palestine situation, he gets the Nobel Peace Prize. It's that simple. That indy journalist better be careful, lest he wind up like the guy from ITN. Hey, I heard that Geraldo was embedded over in Iraq for Fox, and apparently he got in some shit over possibly revealing a location. Anybody else hear that?

04-01-2003, 03:18 PM	#54
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	I agree with russotto. Arnett was making, not reporting news. He looked to me like a weasel trying to kiss ass to stay in town. Geraldo, I love to hear him get grief, was apparently diagraming military locations in the sand for viewers. I heard the division he was with drove him to the boarder and dropped him off. Good riddance.

04-04-2003, 09:57 AM	#56
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Time for a humor break...too much war will make you sound like Shepps. From CBC Saskatchewan, "The Extra Hour."

04-04-2003, 09:59 AM	#57
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Peter Arnett's apparent first column for the Daily Mirror

04-05-2003, 09:53 PM	#60
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	Geraldo is back in Kuwait...I saw him on Fox today. I wonder if Arnett actually "wrote" that column...given that that article was released on Tuesday, it's possible that he gave it over the phone and it was transcribed by someone else. He's apparently still in Baghdad...here's today's article.

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