U.S. reporting too simplified?

Media outlets in the U.S. tend to oversimplify the stories they report, according to a mass communication expert at the University of Georgia speaking to a group of journalism students today.
Dr. Tudor Vlad, who was a reporter in Romania during and after the fall of the communist regime in the country, spoke to the students on a variety of subjects including the far-reaching effects of U.S. media around the world.
“When you have 30 seconds on television, it is easiest to just find the good and bad guys and tell what’s going on,” he said.
Vlad used the example of the first few weeks of news coverage during the Iraq War, during which he claimed that the media put forth a consistent message of patriotism and unquestioning loyalty, and actually reminded him of communist propaganda. Instead of a government-enforced ideal, however, U.S. media is driven by ratings, Vlad asserted.
The oversimplification of such complicated issues as regional conflicts can have quite a damaging effect, Vlad said. When it happens, media organizations in other countries that base their news on U.S. reports have tend to compromise the accuracy of the information to an even greater degree, resulting in misinterpretation and confusion.
Although this type of reporting runs rampant, Vlad claims that solid, in-depth journalism still exists, though it may not be as easily accessible. “You have to dig a little deeper to find that type of reporting,” Vlad said.