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June 17, 2004
Unfair and Unbalanced Reporting
Here's an editorial written by LCpl Oscar Gonzalez for the Chevron at MCRD-San Diego:
If you haven’t heard about the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, then you must have been in a cave for the past month and just recently emerged. Unless, of course, you shared that cave with Osama bin Laden.It seems that these days all the media giants ever talk about is how bad things are going for the military in Iraq. The media have framed events in ways to make the American public feel like things in Iraq are going terribly wrong. Every time the president or the defense secretary speak about developments in Iraq, the media emphasizes on negative quotes and keeps repeating the same thing, over and over. But the most disturbing thing of all is that we never hear about service members going above and beyond the call of duty, performing incredible acts of heroism, and putting their lives in harm’s way to protect their fellow troops and accomplish the mission.
In a recent article by John D. Banusiewicz from the American Forces Press Service, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said, “I suppose that for whatever reason, people seem to think that news isn’t news unless it’s bad news … because that’s essentially what’s getting reported.”
That is exactly what’s happening right now; the media is painting a biased report of the war while ignoring other sides deserving of national attention. Recently, two Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, received the naval service’s second highest award for heroism. Capt. Brian R. Chontosh and PFC Joseph B. Perez were awarded with the Navy Cross; the last Navy Cross awarded was during Desert Storm in February 1991. To earn a Navy Cross, a commendable act must be performed in the presence of great danger or at great personal risk and must be performed in such a manner as to render the individual highly conspicuous among others of equal grade, rate, experience, or position of responsibility.
Another thing most people haven’t heard about is the story of Cpl. Jason Dunham, a Marine from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, who was recently nominated for the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for heroism. If awarded the medal, Cpl. Dunham would be the first service member to receive it since it was last awarded posthumously to two soldiers in Somalia in 1993. But apparently this doesn’t deserve national media coverage; after all, the only thing Dunham did was jump on a grenade so his body would absorb the explosion and save his fellow Marines.
There are countless more newsworthy stories of troops who go above and beyond the call of duty and more stories concerning the construction of new hospitals and schools. All of these things are examples of what we as the public are not hearing about from the media giants.
Whatever the reasons the news media have for keeping the public in the dark should not excuse them from showing the American public another set of pictures: those of their fellow Americans who gave more than demanded for
their country.
Posted by Deb at June 17, 2004 09:41 AM
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Deb Conrad at Marine Corps Moms is getting it right. She's got another link to an interview of the phenomenal war reporting of Robert Kaplan -- who has an excellent piece in The Atlantic Monthly -- and some great Pyle... [Read More]
Tracked on June 17, 2004 11:19 AM
Comments
In regards to Lcpl Gonzalez: Thanks devil dog for the feed back of what is happening over there. As a former marine myself from desert storm, I truly admire the men and women that are serving today. In a way I truly envy your time of service. I envy the fact that you have a true mission to protect the USA. In short you get to kick a$$. - I truly enjoy reading actual accounts from Marines on the ground in country. I have to agree that our media is doing a horrible job and is really dividing this country with bias reporting. Those who seek the truth will find it... sadly too many in this country simply let some smuck on TV do the thinking for them. I rely on the men in women that are fighting the fight.
To all those serving - thank you - God bless and Gods Speed. Come home safetly and know that there are still many true Americans that support them and the mission.
Semper Fi
KC
Posted by: KC at June 17, 2004 09:23 PM
yes i read the whole thing at work and i was telling every body but they dont know what it like to be a marine give him the medal of honor he was a marine
Posted by: Ben Cardenas at June 23, 2004 07:50 AM
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Posted by: qwewq835ACBE7 at November 21, 2011 04:24 AM