"The ubiquity of the Internet means that for the first time in communications history all sides in a conflict can project their views to the outside world. It is probably no exaggeration to say that every force in every conflict in the world has a Web site. Partisan propaganda dominates online pages related to conflicts," writes On-line Journalism Review contributor Andrew Stroehlein in an article examining websites that focus on various conflicts in Asia and Europe. Large Western media outlet are no exception to biased reporting, writes Stoehlein.

News organizations protested a U.S. military decision to prevent journalists inside Afghanistan from witnessing the transfer of American soldiers wounded by an errant B-52 bomb. The restrictions on the journalists, the only media so far allowed to accompany and cover U.S. forces based in Afghanistan, are a troubling example of the "lack of direct contact with American forces who've actually participated in the war," said Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post.

According to the PR trade press, PR giant Burson-Marsteller helped create the hype surrounding the unveiling of the Segway Human Transporter on December 3. B-M scored big media hits for the scooter-like vehicle nicknamed "Ginger" and its inventor, Dean Kamen. The 65-pound motorized vehicle appeared in the New York Times, and Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson each gave "Ginger" a spin. Kamen, who has already made millions on his medical device inventions, raised about $90 million for the start-up of Segway.