Rush to Judgment: Waiting for Goudreau

Our own Rosemary Goudreau, editorial page editor of The Tampa Tribune, popped up on the Rush Limbaugh Show this week -- so to speak. Limbaugh relayed that Goudreau has received the same e-mail message a dozen times over the last year, that says:

“Did you know that 47 countries have re-established their embassies in Iraq? Did you know that 3,100 schools have been renovated? Of course we didn’t know!” the anonymous e-mailer concludes, “Our media doesn’t tell us!”

Goudreau forwarded the e-mail to Mike Silverman, managing editor of the Associated Press, and asked if there was a way to check the assertions and put them in context.

The New York Times notes: "Ms. Goudreau’s query prompted a discussion last month in New York at a regular meeting of editors whose newspapers are members of The Associated Press. Some editors expressed concern that a kind of bunker mentality was preventing reporters in Iraq from getting out and explaining the bigger picture beyond the daily death tolls."

Goudreau observes: “The bottom-line question was, people wanted to know if we’re making progress in Iraq,” adding “ ... there’s a perception that we’re not telling the whole story.”