In the commentary, Marshall suggested the news media "were somehow complicit" in the death of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

"This assertion is unsupportable by fact and wholly uncalled for," wrote ASNE president Peter Bhatia, executive editor of The Oregonian in Portland. "I can see no failure in the coverage or any reason at all to accuse the media of harming the situation or to write, as you did, that you feared the media had some responsibility for ‘killing our troops.’ "

In the commentary, Marshall also wrote that media coverage gives a "falsely bleak picture" that "weakens our national resolve, discourages Iraqi cooperation and emboldens our enemy."

"There is, frankly, no real case to be made that the most important stories are not being told." Bhatia responded in the letter. "Absolutely, there is progress being made on some fronts. And there is no question our troops have made and are making valiant contributions to both the stability and rebuilding of the country. There is also no question that this conflict is costly in lives and dollars. All of those things are being reported substantively by our nation’s newspapers."

The full text of the Marshall commentary is available at http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=4978 . The full text of the ASNE letter is available at http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?id=4979.

ASNE, founded in 1922, with about 800 members, is the main organization of the directing editors of daily newspapers in the Americas. The organization is leading efforts to increase diversity in America's newsrooms, bolster media credibility and improve high school journalism.

For more information, please contact Kevin Wilcox, communications director, at 703/453-1132 or kwilcox@asne.org.