While many UW-Madison students and community members participated in protests last week to mark the Iraq War’s fifth anniversary on March 19, there also existed a feeling that Americans generally have lost interest in following war coverage.
Miles Kristan, Campus Area Peace Coalition and Campus Antiwar Network member, was an organizer of five days of political rallies in and around the state Capitol. The five days of protest were in honor of each year of war.
“All of the protests were very effective, but we could have definitely used more people out there,” Kristan said. “I think it’s a problem of apathy. Many people agree with protesting the war but don’t do anything about it.”
Kristan and a group of about 150 protesters marched around the Capitol on Wednesday, continuing into the Madison office of U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wis., where they were forced to leave when Kohl sent in the U.S. Homeland Security Department. No arrests were made, but Kristan said he was disappointed Kohl would not talk to his constituents.
In a speech at the Pentagon on Wednesday, President George Bush acknowledged the ongoing disputes about the Iraq War.
“Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning and whether we can win it. The answers are clear to me … this is a fight America can and must win,” Bush said.
Kristan said he hoped more people will become involved in campus anti-war protests, because voting for a new president is not enough.
“People think that Bush is going to be out of office soon and magically the troops are going to be home,” he said. “Voting is not enough, and we all have to get involved.”
However, as the war in Iraq hit the five-year mark, getting involved is something that fewer Americans feel compelled to do, according to James Baughman, director of UW-Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“There are some indications that Iraq has become a less violent place, and if it’s less violent it becomes less newsworthy,” Baughman said.
He also said media coverage of the war has gone through different phases, with a current overall decline.
“Audiences have expressed anger at news media coverage in Iraq, claiming it is too negative, and not stressing the positives. Americans are blaming the messenger instead of the tactics,” he said. “I really believe the core reporting that’s going on is unbiased, and I think where the biases creep up is with the people back home.”
Both Baughman and Kristan agreed the Iraq War is definitely a focus of the 2008 presidential election this November.
“My advice is make yourself read the coverage,” Baughman said, “People will watch SportsCenter and they’ll know who’s seeded third in the NCAA … that kind of temptation didn’t operate 30-40 years ago.
“Make yourself read the whole story, not just the report. That’s the problem nobody wants to talk about, and they end up blaming the press.”
