Note this baptismal font...
Posted on 01/30/2006 4:58:03 AM PST by Kaslin
NEW YORK - ABC News led its broadcasts with its own journalists in the news: anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman had been seriously injured by a roadside bomb while reporting in Iraq.
Woodruff, the new co-anchor of "World News Tonight," and Doug Vogt both suffered head injuries, and Woodruff has broken bones. They were flown Monday to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, and the network said their families were at the hospital Monday.
"They're both very seriously injured, but stable," Col. Bryan Gamble, commander of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in western Germany, said Monday. He said the two men were heavily sedated, and under the care of the hospital's trauma team.
Their body armor likely saved them, "otherwise these would have been fatal wounds," Gamble said.
Woodruff and Vogt, an award-winning cameraman, were embedded with the 4th Infantry Division and traveling in a convoy Sunday with U.S. and Iraqi troops near Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad.
They were standing up in the hatch of the mechanized vehicle, exposed when the device exploded. An Iraqi solder also was hurt in the explosion.
"Doug was conscious, and I was able to reassure him we were getting them care. I spoke to Bob also and walked with them to the helicopter," said ABC senior producer Kate Felsen, who had been working with Woodruff for the past two weeks.
It was another dose of bad news for ABC News, still recovering from the cancer death of Peter Jennings in August. Woodruff, 44, assumed Jennings' old job anchoring "World News Tonight" with Elizabeth Vargas earlier this month.
"Bob and Doug were in Iraq doing what reporters do, trying to find out what's happening there up-close and firsthand. All of us are mindful of the risks and the dangers," Vargas said Sunday night in a closing note.
Woodruff, a father of four, has been at ABC News since 1996. He grew up in Michigan and became a corporate lawyer in New York, but changed fields soon after a stint teaching law in Beijing in 1989 and helping CBS News during the chaos of the Tiananmen Square protest.
Vogt, 46, is a three-time Emmy award-winning cameraman from Canada who has spent the last 20 years based in Europe covering global events for CBC, BBC and now exclusively for ABC News. He lives in Aix-en-Provence, France.
ABC said that at the time of the attack both men were in an Iraqi vehicle — considered less secure than U.S. military equipment — to get the perspective of the Iraqi military. They were aware the Iraqi forces are the frequent targets of insurgent attacks, the network said.
Dozens of journalists have been injured, killed or kidnapped in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, was kidnapped by gunmen Jan. 7. She was among 250 foreigners who had been taken captive in the country since the U.S. invasion; at least 39 of those foreigners were killed.
The most visible among the U.S. TV reporters was David Bloom of NBC News, who died from an apparent blood clot while traveling south of Baghdad on April 6, 2003.
The Blooms and Woodruffs were known to be close friends, and when NBC News executives had to tell Bloom's widow that her husband had died, they made sure Woodruff's wife, Lee, was there to offer support.
Woodruff spent three days in Israel last week reporting on the Palestinian elections, and was to have been in Iraq through the State of the Union address on Tuesday, according to ABC.
ABC News' Jim Sciutto, who is covering the war in Iraq, said of Vogt: "He's the cameraman we all request when we go to the field because he's so good, a fantastic eye. He's won so many awards for ABC."
On CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, anchor Bob Schieffer abandoned his commentary to wish Woodruff and Vogt well. "It just hit us all like a lightning bolt because we've all been there," he later told The Associated Press.
NBC "Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams said he had been in touch with Woodruff's family and is praying for the families of both men. "There is no way to cover the story in Iraq without exposure to danger," he said.
ABC said that at the time of the attack both men were in an Iraqi vehicle — considered less secure than U.S. military equipment
It's even worse than that; they evidently were standing up outside on the back of the vehicle, in something described like the bed of a truck.
They were both wearing customized armor. The others in the vehicle were not injured, except for one Iraqi who hurt his fingers (I believe).
I believe the Iraqi vehicle was actually of Russian make. As for bias in the statement, I don't see it. It was an Iraqi vehicle, and it is indeed considered less secure than U.S. military equipment.
They chose that vehicle to get the reporting perspective.
The injection of that bias is expected. The MSM is also emphasizing that he was in the lead vehicle.
Obviously the next question the MSM will be raising is "Why did the Army make him get into that lead Iraqi vehicle." The subtexts are (a) the Army made him get up there and (b) the Army is supposed to protect a reporter's safety.
It'll be interesting to see whether they asked to get into the lead vehicle in order to get better footage.
Note this baptismal font...
Yeah, somebody's gonna photoshop out the tattoo and accuse our guys of waterboarding.
Why is this story getting so much more traction?
I hate to be cynical but lately I cant help it. Mr. Woodruff is a seen as a hero.... 24/7 coverage of the brave and courageous duties these reporters have. YUCK. I wish our soliders got there due time, instead they are seen as "war criminals", etc. We live in bizzaro world.
Bob Woodruff, I didn't find a photo of the cameraman.
"ABC Anchor, Cameraman at German Hospital"
If they both work at ABC, why didn't they take them to 'General Hospital'?
{ba-ba-bum!}
Woodruff, the new co-anchor of "World News Tonight," and Doug Vogt......
I've never seen them on TV. I have no bad thoughts about them so I hope they get fully healed, with the help of the Author of our universe. The main story to me is that when everything turns to shit look who took care of these two guys. Our military hospitals and the wonderful people working there. Who evacuated them to an Iraqi hospital and then to our very fine military hospital in Germany? Has to be military transport with ABC paying for it
Nope. Looked like a statement of fact to me.
They got more than scratches. I haven't heard how serious the head wounds are, but they've been in surgery and are coming to Walter Reed.
they CHOSE to go along
Yes, they chose to go along and personally, I'm thankful that reporters do chose to go along, even though I often don't like the bias of their reporting (I don't know anything about Woodruff's biases). I think war zones would be a LOT worse places if journalists were not there with paper and cameras reporting on what they see.
It's a real stretch to find bias in that statement.
This unfortunate incident only goes to prove that the insurgents are not interested in getting the Americans out of Iraq, they are interested in defeating the elected Iraqi government as well.
"Why is this story getting so much more traction?"
Because Woodruff is nationally known. That's all.
If you get mugged on the street, word spreads among those who know you, who offer their concern, help, and support.
When someone famous gets mugged on the street, those who "know" him, even from afar, are interested and, if well-bred, are concerned.
When my dad died, the community who loved him responded. The obit in the local paper was lovely.
When (insert name such as Rehnquist, Lennon, pope, etc.) died, the whole world was told and responded.
Were they better men than my war-hero father? Unequivocal no. They were just better known.
That's it. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Doesn't matter how Freepers feel about the MSM. We should speak and act with compassion and class.
>They should have been sent to a civilian hospital in wherever once they were stable enough to be moved ie out of IRAQ.<
You are letting your bias get in the way of common sense.The only way to evacuate them fom a military hospital in Iraq is on military aircraft.They go to Germany not New York City or Washington.The Drs. in Germany are the most skilled in the world at dealing with war casualties.When the armed forces except them as inbeds they owe them protection and care equal to that afforded our troops.
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