It's been five years in Iraq and now 4,000 Americans dead, but news coverage has "plummeted" across television and newspapers, down to one-fifth of what it was last summer, according to the people who study these things. Let's dig a little deeper, along with the Times, and figure out why everyone is so bored with Iraq even though it's an important and tragic war. Some starting points from the Times' script doctors: the story arc is all wrong, there's no big lottery to get excited about and other big shows like The Biggest Economic Depression and The Amazing Racial Election are stealing all the ratings.

Alex Jones at Harvard tells the Times: "In a conventional war, like World War II, there's dramatic change, a moving front line, a compelling narrative." But Iraq is all about insurgents, who are hidden and widely dispersed.

Plus there's no draft, therefore there's less drama. "People were sent against their will [to Vietnam], and many more Americans were killed," Jones told the Times.

Also, everyone is talking about the election and the economy so there's no room for war news. Combat zone journalism is expensive, anyway, what with all the killing and kidnappings. You basically have to hire your own little security army, which is why the Times is spending $3 million a year in Iraq. And it's not like publishers are flush with cash right now. They used to clamor for chances to embed reporters with military units; now the Defense Department can't give those slots way.

Happily, the death rate for American troops is down to about one third of what it was a year ago. But that's not good for ratings, apparently.

Still, there is an American dying in Iraq every day, on average. How to get people interested again? Maybe send the "unscripted drama" producers, aka reality television guys, instead of some of the news guys. Stateside, they are already developing a show about detention and torture, after all. Factionalism, the oxygen of reality television, is in Iraq in abundance. Or don't even leave the base: just airlift in a minor celebrity like, say, Paris Hilton, scatter camcorders among the troops and you're golden.

At least then people would be watching crap TV regularly interrupted by reminders of the war instead just plain crap TV.