Zogby released a new poll measuring the public's (dis)satisfaction with the news coverage of the Iraq war...

According to a new survey released today by The Poynter Institute and funded by The McCormick Foundation, three-quarters of respondents (75%) state that they are well informed about the war, and more than half (60%) indicate that they have seen at least one memorable story about the war's impact at home. The survey's publication coincides with a three-day conference at The Poynter Institute entitled "Covering War at Home."

Conducted by Zobgy International, the online survey measures the public's satisfaction with coverage of the Iraq war and included 8,683 adults that were representative of the U.S. population.

This was the most notable finding, at least in my mind...

The public wants more stories about the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people

When asked about the news coverage of the Iraq war, most (80%) say the coverage has been fair or poor. When respondents were asked to pick what coverage they would like to see more of, stories about the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people were the two most chosen (68% each), followed by stories about returning soldiers (58%), stories about how war has impacted communities here in the U.S. (57%),

and news about areas in Iraq where there is not regular conflict (56%). Casualty reports (32%) were the least chosen area of coverage.

Why is it that the two categories most people want to hear about, the Iraqi Govt. and the Iraqi people, is the least covered. Another notable finding...

Television, Web sites are the top destinations for news about impact

A third of all respondents (33%) say they learn about the impact of war at home through television, while 28% say they learn about it through Internet sites. Fewer (12%) say they learn about the impact of the war at home via newspaper or radio. Men (32%) are more likely than women (24%) to say they learn about the impact of war at home from Internet sites.Nearly all survey respondents, 90%, indicate they are active consumers of news.

Woo-hoo, web sites beat out newspapers and the radio, and, are almost on a par with TV! Thank you, thank you very much...!

I couldn't agree more with what the director of the study had to say...

"This survey gives journalists and newsroom leaders a chance to reflect upon what the public wants to know about the impact of the Iraq war at home. It also reflects the acceleration of the need for journalists to deal with multiple ways to tell their stories, as the Internet is a key platform for consumers to learn about the conflict and the impact,"says Howard Finberg, director of interactive learning at The Poynter Institute.

Will the MSM really pay attention? I doubt it, but, it is a wake-up call...

Now, a couple of odds and ends I'd like to cover...

This article mentions the fact that Maliki met with the Iraqi Supreme Leader of Shiites, al-Sistani, yesterday.

Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible - a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.

The edicts, or fatwas, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani suggest he seeks to sharpen his long-held opposition to American troops and counter the populist appeal of his main rivals, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

But - unlike al-Sadr's anti-American broadsides - the Iranian-born al-Sistani has displayed extreme caution with anything that could imperil the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Hmmm... Imagine that! Support Maliki but encourage resistance to the 'occupiers'... I smell a rat!

A senior aide to the prime minister, al-Maliki, said he was not aware of the fatwas, but added that the "rejection of the occupation is a legal and religious principle" and that top Shiite clerics were free to make their own decisions. The aide also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sssh... Maliki can't denounce the 'occupiers', they're the ones' who installed him and prop him up! This certainly doesn't bode well for Maliki either...

In perhaps another sign of al-Sistani's hardened position, he has opposed disarming the Mahdi Army as demanded by al-Maliki, according to Shiite officials close to the cleric.

Disarming the Mahdi Army would - in the views of many Shiites - leave them vulnerable to attacks by armed Sunni factions that are steadily gaining strength after joining the U.S. military fight against al-Qaida.

"Al-Sistani would love Muqtada (al-Sadr) to disappear but he will not break the community by openly going against a popular Shiite cleric," said Vali Nasr, an expert on Shiite affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. "If he orders militias disbanded and a car bomb again kills many Shiites, he will be held responsible."

Maliki seems to be caught between a rock and a hard spot...

In unrelated news, I found this rather amusing...

"Soldiers In Afghanistan Free To Commence Bonkin'"