Romenesko

Bainbridge, Ga.: It's a tragedy of course that the ABC crew has been seriously injured in Iraq--but does it warrant the "breaking news" coverage it's received? American soldiers and contractors are injured and worse every day over there and they barely get a few odd grafs. Is the heightened coverage simply a reflection of journalists parochialism, or does it give the lie to Russert's inane assertion that he and other journalists are not public figures, or both?
Howard Kurtz: It's a function of fame (although in the case of Jill Carroll, a relatively obscure stringer, it may have had to do with the tragic spectacle of a female journalist being kidnapped). Bob Woodruff is the co-anchor of ABC's evening news. Does that make him more important than all the soldiers or American contractors who are wounded virtually every day? No, of course not. But it does make him a symbol -- of the vulnerability of U.S. troops to these roadside IEDs, of the media's difficulty in covering this war. Woodruff and Vogt, of course, risked their lives precisely so they could tell the story of the war, and specifically whether Iraqi troops are able to assume more of the burden from the American forces.