Glenn Reynolds posts a link to an article about how fears of the terrorists in Iraq are keeping journalists from accurately reporting on the state of things over there. From DefenseTech:
The abduction of 28-year-old Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll in Baghdad on Jan. 7 has had a profound effect on the city’s Western press corps. More so than ever, unembedded media in Baghdad are fortified in a handful of besieged hotels that are under constant surveillance by insurgent groups. Few Western reporters ever leave these hotels, instead relying on local stringers to gather quotes and research stories. And some reporters are finally throwing in the towel, forever abandoning this relentless and unforgiving city. . . .
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Barry Johnson has some sound theories about the insurgents’ media strategies. While stressing that he “can’t speak for insurgent groups,” Col. Johnson says these strategies “boil down to influencing the media environment ... to get attention away from progress.”