Reporting Official Positions on Iraq

Analysis:

This article addresses three different topics all pertaining to Iraq. The first topic is about the 2000th US soldier killed in Iraq. This issue is presented entirely through the perspective of the US Military. The Newsreader reads a quote from a US military spokesman who says “the number is an artificial mark on the wall set by people with ulterior motives”. These “people with ulterior motives” are not identified in the story, or are their perspectives put forward.

The next part of this story is about a West Michigan soldier killed in Iraq. This is reported in a straight forward manner, with only the barest details provided.

The third segment is again reporting the US military’s perspective, stating that the military is expecting more violence. Also reported is that the constitution was approved by a narrow margin. Not reported in this piece, or in any other WZZM news broadcast up to the airing of this story, is the fact that there were numerous reported irregularities with the Iraq referendum vote.

Story:

Newsreader #1 – The Chief spokesperson for the US led coalition in Iraq is urging reporters not to make too much out of the latest death toll. It now has reached 2000. An army sergeant wounded by a roadside bomb last week has died in Texas over the weekend. Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boyland says the number is an artificial mark on the wall set by people with ulterior motives. He says the two-thousandth death is as important as every other person that gave their lives.

Newsreader #2 – Another West Michigan soldier is now listed among the dead in Iraq. The Department of Defense today announced staff sergeant Vincent Summers of South Haven was killed on October 15th when a terrorist bomb blew up near his combat vehicle. Four others also died in that attack. The soldiers were assigned out of Fort Benning Georgia. He is the sixty-second Michigan soldier to die in Iraq.

The US military in Iraq is bracing itself for increased terrorist attacks like this one yesterday in Baghdad. They say now that officials have declared the country’s new constitution ratified violence will likely increase. National elections will take place in about two months. The constitution was approved by a narrow margin with the Sunni population nearly able to defeat it. Sunni’s are mostly in support of the insurgency and many were loyal to Saddam Hussein.

Total Time: 1 minute 15 seconds