Journalists in Baghdad

Journalists have been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism in the last couple of years, especially since the beginning of the Iraq war, for being either too cushy with the present administration in Washington or for being too critical of the same. While some of it is deserved (CBS, Newsweek needed to apologize for not vetting sources, FoxNews & "Talon News" needed to explain their unprecedented access to officials) much of it is not. The press, for all its warts, still does one helluva good job providing information to the rest of us who sit in our comfortable armchairs reading about wars in Iraq, genocide in Darfur, AIDS in Africa, druglords in Afghanistan, etc. It's good to be reminded of this from time to time, which is why I was really struck by an excellent article in the May issue of The Atlantic Monthly by their Iraq correspondant, William Langewiesche. It's a very non-politicized piece about the simple pleasures and trials of residing in Iraq and trying to provide coverage for an audience half a world away, both physically and mentally. Just read it. You'll be doing yourself a favor.