With half of the planet glued to their television sets in an attempt to follow the

war in Iraq, isn't it amazing that all the so-called professional TV news organizations

end up with different stories while covering the same story?

If you channel surf between BBC, CNN, MSNBC, Asia News Network and France's TV5,

you find yourself wondering what's the real story.

All we need now in Phnom Penh is the English-language version of Al-Jazeera to really

spice things up. At the very least, however, thank God for the remote control.

Equally pressing is the question of why, when the Yanks were helping pull down the

statue of Saddam Hussein just near the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad on January 9 and

with around 300 journalists watching from the sidelines, CNN HQ decides to turn to

their correspondent in Jordan for an update on the situation.

The answer is simple. CNN, unlike the BBC, does not pay a dime to any voice-only

freelancers. They expect you to do it for the glory of seeing your name on the screen.

So, many reporters prefer to say they are too busy to be put on hold while CNN figures

out a way to get back to you live, or even more bluntly they just hang up.

And then there's the hapless Iraqi Minister of Information Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf,

which all channels covered uncut and ad nauseam, and who finally decided not to show

up for work. He may have decided to take early retirement, but if he ever re-surfaces

don't be surprised if the poor chap says he "was only following orders".

Sound familiar?

In the days ahead there's a few stories many viewers want to see on the Iraq saga.

First is the one where US forces rush in medicines, blood plasma and the like to

help all the innocent civilians who were wounded in the bombing on Baghdad.

A second would be seeing Saddam Hussein, assuming he is still alive, watching footage

of what his own people think of him and his 20-plus year reign of terror as it comes

crashing down.

The first would be the right thing to do and wise PR; the second is just a bit of

wishful thinking, the kind of far-fetched story idea journalists come up with to

stay ahead of the pack.

However, veteran PPP correspondent Nate Thayer is lurking somewhere in Iraq and the

idea has no doubt crossed his mind. Readers have to check out www.slate.com to see

if he's on the scent.