Claim: Journalist Geraldo Rivera commented (regarding the war in Iraq) that "reporters don't report buildings that don't burn."
Status: True.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004]
The Buildings That AREN'T Burning In Iraq "They have a saying in the news business," Geraldo Rivera related this week. "Reporters don't report buildings that Are we losing some soldiers each week? Yes. Is there some frustration in the public about electricity and waterservice? Yes. Are some Saddam Hussein loyalists throughout the land, making trouble? Yes. Has this opened a window for some terrorist mischief? Yes. But that's ALL we hear. No wonder the country is in a mixed mood about Iraq. If you hear about the buildings that are not burning, though, it is a different story indeed. Rivera is no shill for George W. Bush. But Bush, Condi Rice and Colin Powell together could not have been as effective as Geraldo was Thursday night on the Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes program. "When I got to Baghdad, I barely recognized it," he began, comparing his just-completed trip to two others he made during and just after the battle to topple Saddam. "You have over 30,000 Iraqi cops and militiamen already on the job. This is four months after major fighting stopped. Can you imagine that kind of gearing up in this country? [Rest of article here.] |
Origins: The piece quoted above is a reproduction of an editorial by Mark Davis (a talk show host with radio station WBAP/Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas) published in the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram on
Geraldo Rivera saw Iraq first-hand as he accompanied the
At 12:14 a.m. Eastern Standard Time [on
Rivera was then expelled from Iraq (or voluntarily exited the country in order to avoid being expelled), but he soon returned (some sources maintain he never actually left, others that he was simply escorted across the border into Kuwait temporarily) after "admitting his mistake and receiving additional training from the Pentagon."
Last updated: 14 September 2007
Sources: