MESSAGE TO MEDIA: “BUSH” DOES NOT EQUAL “U.S.”, “SADDAM” DOES NOT EQUAL “IRAQ”

At a time when we need caution, not sensationalism, moderation, not inflammatory rhetoric, the media in almost every country are guilty of playing into the hands of extremists by a simple journalistic device called personification . To report that “U.S. warns Iraq to disarm or face the consequences ” when they mean “Bush warns Saddam to disarm or face consequences ” is irresponsible and misleading. It implies that Americans agree and fully support their President on every issue regardless of how long it has been since he was elected. It implies that the Iraqi people have full control over their dictator and his actions. I know journalists have always done this: it makes headlines shorter and punchier. But for the sake of saving a few letters of ink, a few milliseconds of air time, at the cost of accuracy and moderation, it is, in 2003, simply inexcusable.