High spirits, sorry sights

Whenever the coverage turns to civilian injuries, deaths, BBC and CNN anchors turn coy: ‘‘We are not in a position to confirm these’’ is the standard riposte. As BBC’s Hunt from Doha explained on Friday, when asked about a cluster bomb falling on a village near Baghdad airport, the coalition spokesmen ‘‘avoid those kind of questions’’. They’re there to jolly along their men with ‘‘inspirational tracts’’.

Inspirational tract: TV channels provide their own inspirational tracts. One is to persuade the world that the Iraqis are delighted to see the coalition. On Friday, CNN turned its eye away from the Baghdad airport long enough to catch a few young Iraqi men splashing about in the sea (lake?). Were they happy to see the Americans, the correspondent inquired? The brief translation of their reply suggested they had contained whatever joy they felt.

Soldier, soldier: Civilian casualties may cause the media discomfort but this is how Walter Rodgers witnessing the 7th Cavalry assault on Baghdad airport described the death of over 400 Iraqis in uniform: the Americans had ‘‘just cut them down,’’ as they would dead wood.

Doctoring the coverage: The soft focus approach was typified, Friday, by CNN’s medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta. He came to the camera straight from operating on a little girl shot by American troops (because the ill-mannered taxi had refused to stop when nicely asked). We saw Gupta doing what he described as ‘‘the morally right thing’’. The girl died. But that wasn’t the point of the story.

Baghdad airport: Late Thursday night, BBC announced the arrival American troops at Baghdad airport. Next morning, DD said Saddam Hussein airport had been ‘‘secured’’, but CNN said, ‘‘they were battling for control of the airport’’. Had they taken it or not? Iraqi Information Minister Sahaf, who exists only in his own imagination, dismissed the advance as ‘‘an illusion – they are nowhere, really’’. The way he tells it to his people (Iraq TV), the entire coalition operation is a chimera shimmering in the sands of time. This led DD’s Satish Jacob from Baghdad to say its citizens were in for an almighty shock when they learnt the Americans were much closer than Sahaf misled them.

Tanked up: We don’t doubt the Americans have secured the airport. Yet, Friday morning’s footage from Walter Rodgers ‘‘live’’ CNN coverage merely revealed tanks — static tanks, moving tanks, shooting tanks. Who’s to know their location?

Best video clip of the day: The entry of American troops into a Hussein palace. Never mind the palace was deserted, never mind they found nothing more incriminating than moving curtain and ‘‘documents’’. They had been there, done that (BBC). In the green vision light their helicopter looked no more dangerous than a flying ant, but it might bite Saddam.

WMD: We’re nervous wrecks. Each day, we are told to expect them. On Wednesday, CNN claimed that American troops advancing on Baghdad had worn their gas masks ‘‘anticipating’’ the use of WMD. On Thursday, BBC’s Hunt thought ‘‘now (was) the time’’ for Saddam to use his chemical weapons, though he added, ‘‘there is no evidence to show he would’’. Then when?

Don’t go away: During the first few days of the war, CNN and BBC refrained from crass commercialism in deference to the noble cause. This week , however, the ads are back for cars, mobile phones — and Atlas Jewellery.