Amost since the invasion of Iraq, there has been controversy over the media's coverage of the war. As casualties mounted -- both of U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians -- reporting from the field and from Washington seemed steeped in pessimism. The military complained that reporters were ignoring or downplaying whatever good things were happening on the ground.

Although there may not have been much to cheer about, there did at times seem to be a herd-mentality feeling to what the media were saying. Nothing was seen to be going right.

Now there appears to have been a turnaround, thanks to the military successes of the "surge" under Gen. David H. Petraeus. There is a lot of uncertainty over whether the Iraqis can match the military successes with political ones. But the coverage has been more positive. The change is captured in this article by Thom Shanker in The New York Times' Jan. 7 issue.

The military's new outlook on the media's job is summed up in the article by the director of communications for the Multinational Force-Iraq, Rear Adm. Greg Smith:

"I think there was a period time in the past in which reporting was behind reality. Today, that gap between perception and reality has closed, if not completely."

Here is the complete Times piece, offered as recommended reading.