Iraq war TV coverage 'sanitised'

Concerns have been raised about media coverage of the Iraq war

British television broadcasters gave a "sanitised" view of the Iraq war, according to a BBC-commissioned study.

It said reporters travelling with coalition troops avoided showing graphic images, in keeping with the culture of British broadcasting.

As a result media coverage excluded the ugly realities of war, it said.

The study, which canvassed the views of reporters and public, was conducted by the Cardiff School Of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies.

The report is to be unveiled by Mark Damazer, deputy director of BBC News at a media conference in Budapest.

It expresses concerns about the role of reporters on the ground - known as "embeds" - during the conflict.

Reality

"The coverage seems to take us closer to the reality of war, and yet excludes the ugly side of that reality," says the report.

Viewers surveyed also commented on the "sanitised, almost 'fictional' quality of embedded reports, bringing a 'made-for-TV' version of war into their living rooms".

The study found that the media in general tended to favour the pro-war government version of events over more sceptical accounts.

For example, nine out of 10 references to weapons of mass destruction during the war assumed that Iraq possessed them.

And while reporters mostly met with a mixed response from civilians, "broadcasters as a whole tilted towards a depiction of the Iraqis as enthusiastic about the invasion".

On the other hand, embedded journalists were generally able to maintain their objectivity, and their reports were often found to be more reliable than military briefings.

"Nor did we find much evidence to support claims that embedded reporting added significantly to the abundance of rumours and misleading reports during the war," the report added.