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http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s839894.htm

BBC chief attacks US media war coverage

The head of the BBC launched a broadside against American broadcasters on Thursday, accusing them of "unquestioning" coverage of the Iraq war and blatant patriotism.

BBC director-general Greg Dyke said many US television networks had lacked impartiality during the conflict and risked losing credibility if they persisted with their stance.

"Personally I was shocked while in the United States by how unquestioning the broadcast news media was during this war," Mr Dyke said in a speech at a University of London conference.

"If Iraq proved anything, it was that the BBC cannot afford to mix patriotism and journalism.

"This is happening in the United States and if it continues, will undermine the credibility of the US electronic news media".

US broadcasters came under attack for "cheerleading" during the Iraq conflict, with what some critics saw as gung-ho reporting and flag-waving patriotism.

In one example, a US network described US soldiers as "heroes" and "liberators".

Mr Dyke singled out Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, the most popular US cable news network during the conflict, for its "gung-ho patriotism".

"We are still surprised when we see Fox News with such a committed political position," said Mr Dyke.

"For the health of our democracy, it's vital we don't follow the path of many American networks."

Fox News declined to comment.

And the flipside...

Conservative group rates Dan Rather's war coverage ahead of Fox News Channel

The Associated Press
4/23/03 4:01 PM


NEW YORK (AP) -- A conservative media watchdog has given Dan Rather a better grade for his war coverage than Fox News Channel.

The veteran CBS anchorman has been a frequent target of the Washington-based Media Research Center, which keeps an eye out for any signs of liberal bias on television. But the group gave Rather a B-plus for his war work, while Fox News got a B.

"This is just on the war," Rich Noyes, the organization's research director, said Wednesday. "It's not a lifetime achievement award."

Their grades were based largely on how positively news organizations characterized the U.S. war effort. For example, the more credence given to stories, a few days into the war, that the American military was getting bogged down, the lower the grade.

Noyes said Fox News Channel would probably have gotten an A, if they hadn't been docked a grade for Geraldo Rivera. The Pentagon asked that Rivera leave Iraq after he outlined future troop movements in the sand. Fox's Brit Hume was the only individual to get an A.

CBS, which as a network earned a B-minus, declined to comment on Rather's evaluation. Other network grades: NBC, MSNBC and CNN got a C-plus and ABC a D-minus.

ABC anchorman Peter Jennings received an F. ABC refused to comment.