It's not realistic to expect the mainstream media to devote time to human-interest stories when "the majority [of war] is about violence," said Barbie Zelizer, a journalism professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication.
I think that Barbie misunderstands the frustration. There is no shortage of human interest stories about this war, but most seem to fall into three categories...
1. The suffering of Iraqis
2. The incompetence or unreliability of the ISF
3. Hapless American serfs forced into military service because they had no other options in life, in spite of the limitless opportunity in the US, who inevitably suffer traumatic emotional damage because they were used as pawns in an immoral war

This story, which is apparently regarded as a human interest story (hostage rescue = human interest?), reveals a situation that does not toe the line for one of the themes above. It actually contradicts those themes. Thus it rankles those in the media/academia bubble. I wonder if Barbie knows anyone who is "supportive of this war" or, for that matter, anyone who voted for Reagan in 1984.