Yon says Rolling Stone committed ‘literary crime’; boycott called for

The US Report ^ | 31 March 2011 | Kay Day

[Crush]

War correspondent Michael Yon said Rolling Stone magazine committed a “literary crime” and he’s called for a boycott of advertisers in the publication long associated with the entertainment business.

The magazine also does sporadic investigative journalism about issues like the foreclosure epidemic, a piece that was well-written and documented.

On other occasions the magazine does political hit jobs. Yon’s criticism was sparked by a cover story ‘The Kill Team: How US Soldiers in Afghanistan Murdered Civilians for Sport.’

The story is lengthy and at times the editorializing overpowers fact. For instance, on the RS home page on the Web, the title is juxtaposed with photos—in one, two soldiers sit against a wall, one with a weapon in hand. In another, there’s a photo of a motorcycle and the legs of a man on the ground. The motorcycle photo is slugged ‘Motorcyle Kill.’

The story relates details about soldiers who allegedly killed a civilian in Afghanistan but the motorcycle kill occurred in an area away from the civilian killing.

The Military Justice Gazette has an update. Three soldiers faced various charges including murder. One who pled guilty has been sentenced already. Charges have been referred against another soldier whose court martial date has not been set. The court martial for the soldier identified as the “alleged mastermind” is in progress and resumes April 4. The MJG story refers to the trials as the ‘5th Stryker Brigade Cases.’

In the RS article, there is no use of the term “alleged,” a media term used to distinguish between a crime that has been prosecuted and a case where there has not been a resolution of charges. This provides a means of transmitting to the reader the presumption of innocence until a trial and sentencing are completed.

Coincidentally Yon..

[Crush]

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[Mr. Mojo]

Hard to believe anyone still reads that rag. Been about 30 years since RS has been even the slightest bit relevant. ...or entertaining.

[Bitsy]

Hummm, taking pages from the John Kerry Viet Nam Handbook?

[wbarmy]

I cannot imagine one person who knows more about Afghanistan and Iraq then Michael Yon. he should have got multiple awards for his photographs and articles from the front-lines. In a fair and just world, Presidents would be calling him for advice.