Happy Talk News Covers a War
Date: 18 July 2004
By Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich article on current network news programs that he says are as farcical as fictional news show in film Anchorman; says real on-air news people are as concerned with their image and popularity and as little interested in real news as Will Ferrell's character Ron Burgundy in film; discusses change in network focus from hard news to development of morning programs in which news has become soft-edged family entertainment; photos (M)
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Metro Matters; It's the News The Way We'd Like It to Be
Date: 19 July 2004
By Joyce Purnick
Joyce Purnick
Joyce Purnick column lists news releases she would love to see but never expects to (M)
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Reporting, And Surviving, Iraq's Dangers
Date: 18 July 2004
By Ian Fisher
Ian Fisher
Western reporters have been locked down in Baghdad for months because it has been too dangerous to spend time in places like Sadr City and Falluja; with exception of few European reporters, there were few outsiders to document fighting in Najaf and Karbala between rebel Shiite Muslim cleric Moktada al-Sadr's forces and US troops; only when Iraq calms down will it become clear how well its most critical moments were covered; photo (M)
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Iran Stops Trial In the Murder Of a Journalist
Date: 19 July 2004
By Nazila Fathi
Nazila Fathi
Iran's judiciary abruptly ends trial of intelligence agent charged with killing Zabra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian photojournalist who died year ago from brain hemorrhage caused by blow to her head while in custody; court says verdict will come later; lawyers for her fmaily leave court in protest, saying court has not heard their witnesses' testimony; case has strained relations between Iran and Canada; Canada said it was recalling its ambassador from Tehran in protest after Iran refused to allow Canaidan observers to attend trial (M)
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IRAQ GIVES ORDER TO REOPEN PAPER G.I.'S HAD CLOSED
Date: 19 July 2004
By Ian Fisher
Ian Fisher
Prime Min Iyad Allawi makes conciliatory gesture to Moktada al-Sadr, ordering reopening of his radical Shiite newspaper Al Hawza, and approves American airstrike meant to pound insurgent fighters in Falluja who have been attacking American and Iraqi forces there; American soldiers' closing of Al Hawza on orders of American administrator L Paul Bremer III four months ago was catalyst for some of worst anti-American mayhem of occupation; Allawi's two actions seen as early evidence of his stated strategy for taming deadly insurgency by making concessions to fighters who cooperate and cracking down on those who do not; although American officials say airstrike in Falluja was carried out after he endorsed it, it is unclear how much influence he has with American military; he has had to walk fine line between toughness and compromise; many Iraqis, expressing outrage and humiliation at being occupied, supported attacks against American forces; Allawi is offering amnesty to fighters who did not commit serious crimes, even as he promises hard action against those who do not cooperate; photos (M)
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Ex-G.I. Accused of Deserting Arrives in a Sympathetic Japan
Date: 19 July 2004
By Todd Zaun
Todd Zaun
Charles Robert Jenkins, American accused of deserting United States Army four decades ago and fleeing to North Korea, arrives in Tokyo for medical treatment, even though he faces threat of military court-martial in Japan; American officials say they intend to prosecute Jenkins, who has appeared in North Korean propaganda films; he has been focus of intense news coverage in Japan because of sympathy for his wife Hitomi Soga; she is one of dozen Japanese who were abducted by North Korean agents in 1970's and taken to North Korea to teach Japanese language to its spies; Prime Min Junichiro Koizumi himself has appealed to Pres Bush for leniency for Jenkins so he could live in Japan with his wife and daughters; photo (M)
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The Nation; American Kabuki: The Ritual of Scandal
Date: 18 July 2004
By Jack Hitt
Jack Hitt
Mass media have been telling Martha Stewart and Kenneth L Lay stories in same terms even though their cases are very different; Watergate scandal left its harrowing imprint on nation's psyche, and media have been reenacting same story ever since; contention of author Suzanne R Garment is that Watergate established assumption that cover-up is worse than crime; photo (M)
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NEWS SUMMARY
Date: 18 July 2004
INTERNATIONAL 3-16 Conditions Worsen in Sudan Two weeks after Colin L. Powell and Kofi Annan visited the Darfur region of Sudan in hopes of arresting a human crisis, conditions are still miserable. Violence waged by militias has continued even as the Sudanese government has dispatched soldiers and police officers to the region. 1 Fire in India Illustrates Failures The number of children killed in the school fire in India rose to 90. Interviews with parents of the victims, fire officials and local residents in India suggested that the fire exemplifies how India's government fails to enforce basic regulations. 1
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NEWS SUMMARY
Date: 19 July 2004
INTERNATIONAL A3-10 Allawi Orders Reopening Of Radical Iraq Newspaper Prime Minister Iyad Allawi of Iraq ordered the reopening of a radical Shiite newspaper closed by United States soldiers nearly four months ago. The closing was a catalyst for some of the worst anti-American mayhem of the occupation. Dr. Allawi also approved an American airstrike in Falluja. A1 Terrorism Drawing Converts A growing group of converts to Islam have veered into extremism, raising concerns among antiterrorism officials on both sides of the Atlantic that the new recruits could provide foreign-born Islamic militants with invisibility and cover. A1
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Our Towns; If New Jersey News Is Bad News, at Least It's Consistently So
Date: 18 July 2004
By Peter Applebome
Peter Applebome
Peter Applebome column on mounting cases of official misconduct in McGreevey admdinistration in New Jersey (M)
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