Zurawik reflected on his work as a critic of U.S. media coverage of the war in Iraq.,”

Representatives from 14 countries in town for a Media, War and Conflict conference attended a dinnertime keynote speech Thursday night by Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawik.

Zurawik reflected on his work as a critic of U.S. media coverage of the war in Iraq. He pronounced the mainstream media's coverage of the build-up to the Iraq war a failure because they failed to be critical. He encouraged everyone present to learn a lesson from the mistake.

"The American media utterly failed us in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq," he said.

Instead of asking tough questions about U.S. military force in Iraq, Zurawik said, mainstream commercial media's priorities often shape war into entertainment. He said Fox News' "On the Brink" segments and MSNBC's countdown to President Bush's war ultimatum deadline used "promotional razzle-dazzle" to give people the impression that war is like the Super Bowl or the Oscars – something to anticipate.

Reporters who actively sought answers regarding the decision to invade Iraq may have been in the minority, Zurawik said, but they provide a model on which journalists can base future reports on war and politics.

"These people asked questions that were not frequently enough being asked," he said. "We need to issue a call to arms to never let any administration in any country to use the media like the Bush administration did in 2002 and 2003, driving support for the invasion of Iraq."

With cable news channels' gung-ho reporting and screams for blood, Zurawik said, dialogue is needed between academics and those in the mainstream media.

Zurawik cited his friend Philip Seib, Marquette professor of journalism and conference coordinator, as an example of the type of authoritative sources Zurawik uses at the Sun.

Despite the authority scholars and professors such as Seib can lay claim to, many who work in the media shy away from the world of academia, Zurawik said.

Uniting the oft-segregated worlds of the media and academia was one of Seib's goals for the War, Media and Conflict conference, which also marked the April launch of a scholarly journal he is co-editing with the same name.

"David's speech was right on the mark; it ties in neatly with the conference's goal of bridging the gap between the academic community and that of non-academics," Seib said. "These shouldn't be hostile camps. They should more than coexist, and they can learn a lot from each other."

Seib said Zurawik relies on academic sources more than other journalists, which makes him a good spokesman for the conference. Raising the problems created by members of the media during 2002 and 2003, according to Seib, is part of the conference's interest in studying public responsibility. Seib said his interest in creating the journal comes from his experience as a professor with a foot in the door of the media.

John Pauly, dean of the College of Communication, praised Seib for his work bringing together the media and the academic world, which he said can be difficult.

"There's a lot at stake, and it's been a huge tragedy," he said, referring to the mishandling of facts regarding U.S. intelligence by the media at the time of invasion. "Some people don't enjoy this work, or they get frustrated. But the world and the media need our work and our intelligence. Even small acts of thoughtfulness by journalists or scholars can actually help."

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