Maybe it’s because I saw the incredible documentary, “No End In Sight,” last night that I’m particularly sensitive, but it struck me as strange that the catastrophic synchronized bombings in northern Iraq yesterday, which were the deadliest since the war began, received such little coverage. They have already taken the lives of 250 people, and that number is expected to climb, possibly to 500.
It’s likely that the lack of clear information played a part in the low visibility of the bombing stories. The region where the massacre took place is remote and, unlike in Baghdad, there were no reporters or stringers on the ground for first-hand reporting. But, still, did the story merit being placed on A6 of both The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, and page 4 of USA Today. Only The Washington Post deemed it worthy of front-page news.
I just had to wonder, for the hundredth time, if we’ve stopped seeing the Iraqis – or if we ever really saw them to begin with. Do these numbers mean anything to an American audience? Clearly, editors at some of our most important papers didn’t think so.
Gal Beckerman is a former staff writer at CJR and a writer and editor for the New York Times Book Review.