OUR ILLUSTRIOUS MEDIA
I received an email from a friend who tipped me off to a story in the New York Post about the media coverage of the death of President Reagan. Apparently, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw think that the media has over-covered the story. According to Rather:

"There is other news, like the reality of Iraq," said the "CBS Evening News" anchor. "It got very short shrift this weekend."

I have to say, I do agree with Dan on that one. The problem is that when they do report the news from Iraq, they tend to miss the stories that don't show the administration in a bad light. It's no accident that the number of Americans who know who Lynndie England is dwarfs the number who know who Chief Wiggles is. England's story is more sordid than the Chief's, but there is no doubt that his efforts will have a more lasting effect on the Iraqi people than England's. Negative stories play better, and the Reagan story is one of optimism and triumph over adversity.

While the coverage of President Reagan's death may be a bit much, there is no denying that he had a major impact on America and that he is held in high regard by many. That may be the real point of contention for Dan & Co. I think Reagan's successes still bother them to no end. I don't recall hearing any such complaints about the wall to wall media coverage of the death of JFK Jr. I remember one of the cable networks showing the ship that buried his remains at sea going back and forth, back and forth for what seemed like forever. No comments from the media about that one. Kennedy was the son of a Democratic icon. Reagan was an icon of the "extra chromosome right wing".

My advice to the "big media" types out there is to just zip it and gut it out. This too shall pass. America will mourn the loss of a great man. Many will praise him and his achivements. Eventually, we will move on because that's what he would want us to do.

Then, Dan, Tom, Peter and friends can get back to reporting on Iraq. Heck, they may even give Chief Wiggles some more coverage. Unless, of course, more Lynndie England pictures turn up.

(Thanks to DS for the heads up on this story)