MEDIA REACTION WAR WITH IRAQ; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 000604 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS IRAQ PD FOR SMITH, PINESS AND ROOKARD NAC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: IZ PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION WAR WITH IRAQ; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "Coverage of Iraq war raises questions" the government-controlled daily "The Herald" dedicated its March 25 editorial to urging journalists, especially those from the electronic media, covering the United States-led war against Iraq to be impartial. Excerpts: ¶2. ". . .The Americans were very angry about the showing of the U.S. POWs on the world's television screens, although quiet about live footage of Iraqis actually surrendering and not quite being POWs until that surrender had been officially accepted. So while technically the American journalists were just legal while the Iraqi authorities were in breach of the Geneva conventions, the tiny difference is immaterial to those who were photographed. ".It has already become obvious that the U.S. and British television coverage of the invasion of Iraq is far more one-sided than most editors of those television networks would desire. It has also been noticeable that the written reportage from the great news agencies, both those based in `coalition' countries and those outside, has been far more analytical and made far more effort to try and see the larger story." SULLIVAN