Editor,
This is in response to Colin Donoghue's column in Monday's Daily Lobo, "Mass media fails public," that claims that the media is, for the most part, right wing and biased. I have trouble seeing it that way at all.
While there are plenty of right-wing political commentators and conservative-owned media groups, it seems to me that, if anything, the news that seems fit to share with the hungry public is anything but.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent invasion of Iraq, there has been an overload of harsh criticisms of our current government and President Bush. It seems to be the general public opinion that our invasion of Iraq was based on lies and deceit, driven by multinational corporations that are in bed with the government. Even assuming that the preceding is accurate, what about the good things that are happening to Iraq and it's people? The following is a list of positive influences that I have not seen any coverage on by our so-called biased media:
Forty-seven countries have re-established their embassies in Iraq.
In Iraq, 3,100 schools have been renovated, and 263 new schools are under construction.
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The Iraqi police force now has over 55,000 active officers, with five academies that produce 3,500 officers every 12 weeks.
Ninety-six percent of children under 5 years old have received the first two rounds of their polio vaccine.
4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by October.
The Baghdad stock exchange opened June 2004.
Those are just a few of the positive changes, as reported on the Department of Defense Web site, that have gone relatively uncovered in the news.
While I agree that our media system isn't perfect and does not always demonstrate the best ethics in the world, Donoghue's article is off-base. There is definitely a bias there, but not where Donoghue asserted.
Ben Mills
UNM student
