Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Why Aren't Reporters Interested in the Valor of Our Marines?
This snippet, courtesy of the Sandy Ego Union Tribune, says it all:
Why? Because the national press has been a failure, that's why. Journalists out to make a name for themselves (and really, it IS all about them) don't extol the virtues of warriors. There's no glamor in that, for them. There's no Pulitzer potential. They want to be the next Bob Woodward. Not Ernie Pyle. Or even Edward R. Murrow.
After all, they don't make "All the President's Men" about a feel-good story.
Journalists want to break news. And to them, breaking news usually means embarrassing someone in power.
Major media journalism is an exercise in cynicism, cynically applied, by professional cynics.
What's more, they often do not remotely understand, nor truly respect, those who hold valor in higher regard than cynicism.
Journalists don't fear death so much as garnering a reputation among their peers for writing puff pieces.
Lovely bit of irony, that. From a Navy-Marine Corps hometown paper.
Still no mention of Brian Chontosh in the New York Times.
Marines Confront, Overcome the Crucible of Fallujah
During the encounter, journalists often asked Skiles, 43, of San Juan Capistrano, for information for their reports about the fighting, but he thought they were missing something.
"I kept thinking: What about valor? Why weren't any of the reporters interested in the valor of our Marines?
Why? Because the national press has been a failure, that's why. Journalists out to make a name for themselves (and really, it IS all about them) don't extol the virtues of warriors. There's no glamor in that, for them. There's no Pulitzer potential. They want to be the next Bob Woodward. Not Ernie Pyle. Or even Edward R. Murrow.
After all, they don't make "All the President's Men" about a feel-good story.
Journalists want to break news. And to them, breaking news usually means embarrassing someone in power.
Major media journalism is an exercise in cynicism, cynically applied, by professional cynics.
What's more, they often do not remotely understand, nor truly respect, those who hold valor in higher regard than cynicism.
Journalists don't fear death so much as garnering a reputation among their peers for writing puff pieces.
"All anyone wants to write about is our dead and wounded," he said, thumbing through military papers that included nominations for Silver and Bronze stars.
Lovely bit of irony, that. From a Navy-Marine Corps hometown paper.
Still no mention of Brian Chontosh in the New York Times.
Comments:
I started a Blog about Vietnam from some pictures I had taken while over there. Stopped at your page to get some ideas and see how others did their blogs. Stop by, take a look, leave a comment. ---Jack--- vietnam war information
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