The evolution of 'objective' war coverage

A Jan. 10 Associated Press story begins: "Nine American soldiers were killed in the first two days of a new offensive to root out al-Qaida-in-Iraq fighters holed up in districts north of he capital. ...

"The losses came as many enemy militants fled U.S. and Iraqi forces massing in Diyala" -- a lot of those guerrillas fleeing north into the province of Salahuddin -- AP correspondent Christopher Chester continues.

Read down to the seventh paragraph -- halfway through the story. There, we finally learn that our troops "killed 20 to 30 insurgents in the first two days of the operation," including some in attacks in Salahuddin province.

Now, I'm one who thinks we shouldn't be in Iraq, at all. In the end, we'll tacitly endorse some strongman who'll let us maintain a few military bases in the region -- a deal we probably could have cut with Saddam Hussein. Then we'll declare "victory" and come home.

But if the news report above had been written by the kind of reporters who covered our advance through German-occupied France in 1944, I'll bet it would have started off

NEVER FORGET

While we 1st CAV SkyTroopers were busy fighting for the Freedom of others, in the Vietnam War’s 1st Major Battle against invading NVA Communist Army Regulars,

...CBS War Reporter DAN RATHER was busy interviewing our battle WIA’s 30 miles away at Pleiku Airstrip Hospital.

The American TV audience therefore got to see them say, on CBS, how they felt that that war “Sucked.”

Instead of on scene TV Coverage of real American Heroes surviving Victoriously one of the most ferocious battles in U.S. Military History.

As CBS News TV Anchor WALTER CRONKITE, who decades later pulbically called on our 11 Southern States to secede from our Union, smiled broadly.

As we exhausted Freedom-Fighters wept.

And HILLARY was busy in college learning how to send Birthday cards to the very NVA Communist Dictator HO CHI MINH we were busy fighting.

The same HILLARY who now has WALTER CRONKITE pushing for her re-entry into our Oval Office in a new time of war with our own Freedom directly at stake right here at home.

As we 1st CAV SkyTroopers continue to weep...

...for us all.

Next time VOTE like your Freedom’s very future survival is at stake, ‘cause it is.

See:

DAVID SHAW: RATHER’s work ‘Shoddy, Slopshod’ not LIBERAL..?

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1227809/posts

Signed:..”ALOHA RONNIE” Guyer
Veteran-1st Major Battle of the Vietnam War, November 1965

http://www.lzxray.com

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm

http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm

http://www.RickRescorla.com/The%20Statue.htm

NEVER FORGET

Before the telegraph and the Associated Press, newspapers were openly opinionated and politically motivated. With the advent of the telegraph, the AP monopolized telegraphed news transmission, and in the process homogenized newspapers.
That was obviously a dangerous concentration of propaganda power, and it was challenged - but the AP blandly assured all that the AP included newspapers of all political perspectives, so it was "objective." The reality is that the AP puts priority on the latest news which exaggerates its importance. Journalism is not "objective" but self-interested, superficial, and cynical. The implications of the assumption that journalism is objective are such that the burden of proof must lie with journalists to prove their own objectivity. Which is in fact unprovable, and would be even if it were true. But in fact it is false.
The reality is that belief in ones own objectivity is the nadir of subjectivity.

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