If you flip on the news, one of the first stories is likely to be about Iraq. Usually, it plays out quite like a Mad Lib; you just get a few different words inserted each day. For example: “Today in Iraq, (insert number here) U.S. and coalition soldiers were (killed and/or wounded) in a (gunfight or roadside bomb) in the city of (name of an Iraqi city/town).” Then they list the number of insurgents, innocent civilians and Iraqi police officers who were killed as well. Not exactly bright and cheery, is it? Then again, most wars are not.

As the media reports it, we are led to believe the situation in Iraq is a spiraling disaster, leading to nothing but death and chaos. Certainly, there is much death and chaos present in that country, but is that really all that deserves reporting? I think it is good to inform us of the price this war is costing us in lives and other resources, but when it comes to informing us of positive news from Iraq, the media falls short.

In a society where we expect the media to be objective and unbiased, it would seem the media has taken the responsibility upon itself to inform us only of negativity. According to a report by the Media Research Center in October of 2005, network coverage has been overwhelmingly pessimistic and continues to grow even more so. Sixty-one percent of news stories on regular programming have been negative or pessimistic, while only 15 percent have been positive. The rest were somewhat balanced and neutral.

In addition, the same report found a great number of stories about troop misconduct — 79 articles — while there were very few — 17 articles — about heroic deeds or help offered to the Iraqi people by U.S. and other coalition soldiers.

It’s not as if there is nothing positive to report. There are many figures and stories related to positive outcomes of the war which remain absent from mainstream media. Untoldiraq.org is just one example of many Web sites that make an attempt to promote these positives. Many of the statistics it provides include major advancements in the care and education of the Iraqi citizens, which represent general social improvement since the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime. For example, the health care budget is 15 times greater than it was under Hussein and women’s role in government has increased significantly, according to this Web site.

And then there are stories about our troops. While the media shocked us with the stories of the mistreatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib by a few soldiers and the rape and murder of a girl and her family, it seemed to ignore the countless tales of heroism lived out every day by other troops, many of them our ages. No doubt, the former deserve their place in the news, but the latter have just as much bearing.

It is undeniable that in the same time period in which news coverage of the war has become increasingly negative, evident in the aforementioned Media Research Center report, public support for the war has waned. Some may deny that these two facts are directly connected, but I feel there is an obvious connection between the two. One of the reasons support for the war has waned is because U.S. citizens see no hope in this crisis. We see no positive effects coming from our efforts. Maybe if the stories of lives changed or saved by the removal of Saddam Hussein and the continued efforts to remove instability were told, people might find a little bit more hope.

Without hope, Iraq will become just what the media depicts it to be.