Does the media (at large) reflect or dictate public opinion?

[Kitsune]

Where did you get the narrative that it was a crowded event?

Foxnews article detailing the streets flooding with cheering people of which I don't remember seeing any pictures. Soldiers kissing babies? Men running around in their underwear? Good lord, what a party that must have been! All of Baghdad must have been outside celebrating! And again, the article does not lie one bit, but it gives the strong impression that the crowds were huge. Initially I was under the impression that the crowds around the statue celebrating were very large, just as a lot of people did. Ask anyone around you if they remember the statue coming down and then ask them how many Iraqis they remember cheering and celebrating around it. I just asked a co-worker who responded, "I remember a lot. A thousand?"

Many people think the media is skewed left while many say it is skewed to the right. I think its skewed for hype, regardless of the buttons it pushes in you in order to get you to buy or watch it. In fact, right now a lot of people are under the impression that the Iraqis completely hate us and that we should, in no way, continue to be in Iraq. But a mere one-thousand people (out of an entire country) with RPGs, bombs, and rifles who have a dislike for the United States can easily give anyone that impression when you see it piped through a camera set to scary narration.

But man, does that stuff sell.