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Media Coverage of Violent Deaths in Iraq: An Opportunistic Capture-Recapture Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Anne Siegler ,
Leslie Roberts ,
Erin Balch ,
Emmanuel Bargues ,
Asheesh Bhalla ,
Corey Bills ,
Elizabeth Dzeng ,
Yan Epelboym ,
Tory Foster  and
Latressa Fulton
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Anne Siegler*
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Leslie Roberts
Affiliation:
Associate Clinical Professor of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Population and Family Health, New York, New York, USA
Erin Balch
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Emmanuel Bargues
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Asheesh Bhalla
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Corey Bills
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Elizabeth Dzeng
Affiliation:
Student, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Yan Epelboym
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Tory Foster
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Latressa Fulton
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Meghan Gallagher
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Juan David Gastolomendo
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Genessa Giorgi
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Semhar Habtehans
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Jennifer Kim
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Blake McGee
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Andrew McMahan
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Sara Riese
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Rachel Santamaria-Schwartz
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Fiona Walsh
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
Jessica Wahlstrom
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
John Wedeles
Affiliation:
Student, Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
*
aes2169@columbia.edu
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Abstract

Introduction:

Western media coverage of the violence associated with the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq has contrasted in magnitude and nature with population-based survey reports.

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which first-hand reports of violent deaths were captured in the English language media by conducting in-depth interviews with Iraqi citizens.

Methods:

The England-based Iraq Body Count (IBC) has methodically monitored media reports and recorded each violent death in Iraq that could be confirmed by two English language media sources. Using the capturerecapture method, 25 Masters' Degree students were assigned to interview residents in Iraq and asked them to describe 10 violent deaths that occurred closest to their home since the 2003 invasion. Students then matched these reports with those documented in IBC. These reports were matched both individually and crosschecked in groups to obtain a percentage of those deaths captured in the English language media.

Results:

Eighteen out of 25 students successfully interviewed someone in Iraq. Six contacted individuals by telephone, while the others conducted interviews via e-mail. One out of seven (14%) phone contacts refused to participate. Seventeen out of 18 primary interviewees resided in Baghdad, however, some interviewees reported deaths of neighbors that occurred while the neighbors were elsewhere. The Baghdad residents reported 161 deaths in total, 39 of which (24%) were believed to be reported in the press as summarized by IBC. An additional 13 deaths (8%) might have been in the database, and 61 (38%) were absolutely not in the database.

Conclusions:

The vast majority of violent deaths (estimated from the results of this study as being between 68–76%) are not reported by the press. Efforts to monitor events by press coverage or reports of tallies similar to those reported in the press, should be evaluated with the suspicion applied to any passive surveillance network: that it may be incomplete. Even in the most heavily reported conflicts, the media may miss the majority of violent events.

Keywords

capture-recaptureconflictepidemiologyhealthhuman rightsIraqIraq Body Count (IBCmedia coveragemortalityreported deathswar
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , August 2008 , pp. 369 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2008

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