Letter: News media bows to president

Monday, July 18, 2005 | 8:48 a.m.

Fifty-two Londoners die in a terrorist attack and half the world goes into mourning, flying their flags at half-mast, earning large front-page headlines in our nation's newspapers and dominating all television newscasts.

Four days later, 48 innocent citizens are killed in terrorist attacks in Iraq and we might be lucky to read about it on Page 3.

Was this disparity in news reporting caused by President Bush's effort to manage the news when he states that the press is only concentrating on the bad news out of Iraq? Perhaps we are feeling ashamed that we Americans have brought the terrorist fighting to Iraq instead of fighting them on our shores, as President Bush so proudly announces. Perhaps we don't value Iraqi lives as we should.

I hope that none of our news media are succumbing to White House pressure. A free flow of information is critical to an informed citizenry.

I don't have the answer but I'm sure this disparity is not lost on the average Iraqi. After all, President Bush's latest reason for attacking Iraq was to spread democracy to their country.

WILLIS R. EICHEL