In a Memorial Day column, David Carr of the New York Times complains about a
U.S. military rule requiring that embedded reporters "obtain a signed consent
from a wounded soldier before the image can be published. Images that put a
face on the dead, that make them identifiable, are simply prohibited."
Why is it so important to show images of hurt and dead Americans? A fellow
Timesman gives away the game:
James Glanz, a Baghdad correspondent who will become bureau
chief for The New York Times next month, said that although
he and others had many great experiences working with the
rank-and-file soldiers, some military leaders seem determined
to protect something besides the privacy of their troops.
"As the number of reporters there dwindles further and further
because of the difficult conditions we work under, the kind of
work they are able to publish becomes very important," Mr.
Glanz said. "This tiny remaining corps of reporters becomes a
greater and greater problem for the military brass because we
are the only people preventing them from telling the story the
way they want it told."
Hmm, we thought the job of a reporter was to tell stories, not to prevent
others from doing so. Furthermore, is it even possible to imagine a Times
correspondent saying his job is to prevent the enemy from telling its story?
And here's an example of the kind of journalism the Times's Baghdad bureau
produces. This is from a news account, also in yesterday's Times:
On Sunday, American troops freed 42 Iraqi prisoners from
what military officials described as a Qaeda hideout northeast
of Baghdad. Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman,
said some of the captives appeared to have been tortured.
The raid was part of a security effort involving 3,000
additional troops sent to Diyala, a violent province north
of the capital with a mixed population of Sunnis and Shiites.
Colonel Garver said the hideout had been found because of
a tip from an Iraqi, and that all 42 freed prisoners were
receiving medical care.
"Some of the rescued stated they had been suspended from
the ceiling," he said. "Some of them stated they had been
there for four months. One young man stated he was 14
years old."
This is a good story, one that points up the brutality of the enemy and the
bravery of American servicemen. Given Glanz's ideas about the press's role,
you almost have to wonder how reporter Damien Cave managed to sneak it into
the paper.
Well, here's how: The passage we quoted above was paragraphs 11 through 13 of
a story titled "Roadside Bombing Kills 2 More G.I.'s in Iraq."
The story is not accompanied by a picture of the two dead soldiers' bodies. Do
you wish it were?
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