News blogs offer a far more detailed and personal views of events than traditional media, and can provide up to the minute coverage of events from almost any given location. These characteristics make news blogs ideal for covering the ongoing conflict in Iraq as audiences desire independent sources to provide coverage of the war. (Bray, 2003) Blogs from varying authors also provide different perspectives of the conflict, such as the blog ‘Where is Raed?’, by a supposed native of Iraq, Salim Pax.
The US first deployed troops in Iraq when a dossier was released containing information about the country’s possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction in September of 2002. Since then a coalition of nations, including Australia have entered troops into the country in a bid to overthrow the rule of the oppressive dictator Saddam Hussein (a bid that has since proven successful) and end the violence in the war torn nation. The conflict has been covered by many media outlets, from TV and print media, to more obscure media such as internet radio and of course weblogs. The extent of the coverage of the event shows that the conflict in Iraq is one of the world’s most talked about issues.
Audiences wanted to see the more detailed and personal aspects of the war. They also wanted the frequently updated, on location reports that were provided by the more traditional media outlets like Television and print, without the perceived bias that some of these outlets reputably display.
The evidence of reader demand for such intimate and up to date portrayal of the conflict is evident through one particular blog called ‘Back to Iraq’. The blog was set up by Chris Allbritton a former New York Daily News reporter who in 2002 travelled to Iraq acting as a journalist. Upon his return, Allbritton set up his blog, requesting donations so that he could afford to return to Iraq, with the promise that he would report his findings publicly through the blog. The venture raised almost $15,000 and Allbritton has since been to Iraq and back twice.
The fact that most blogs in journalism remain unedited and unmoderated is one of the biggest problems associated with the use of this media and this issue is no less prevalent in blogs reporting in the Iraq war. Most of the blogs seem to have a clear bias, which is one thing the audiences try to avoid in the traditional media also. For example, ‘Back to Iraq’ and ‘Where is Raed?’ are both clearly opposed to the war. Add to this the fact that reading an unedited medium exposes the audience to the risk of stumbling across offensive content; it’s clear that while blogs are well-suited to reporting in Iraq, they are not without problems.
Because they can easily provide detailed and personal reports that are still up to the minute, blogs are highly suited to reporting on the conflict in war torn Iraq, and the fact that readers were willing to donate up to $15,000 to be provided with a news blog in the country is testament to the fact that reader’s do desire these qualities in a news source. News blogs are not without their problems however, in that they are unedited and unmoderated and are also sometimes biased. However despite these faults they are proving to be an effective and popular medium for reporting on one of the world’s most controversial issues.
Bray, Hiawatha. (2003) "Conflict on Iraq Gives Rise to Journalists' Online Diaries" Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, Mar 24, 2003. pg. 1
Halloran, Liz. (2004) "Web diarists at political convention fall short of fresh, irreverent analysis" Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, Jul 29, 2004. pg. 1.
Heyboer, Kelly. (2003) “Bloggin’ in the Newsroom,� American Journalism Review, Vol.25, Iss. 8; Dec., p. 10.
Online. http://iraqconflict.org/ Accessed on October 28, 2004.
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Matthew Prentice 22:36, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
