Oh, and Some Soldier Died, Too! - NY Times And CBS Journalists Hurt in Iraq

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Anyone who pays even scant attention to the news cannot have helped but see that CBS news correspondent, Kimberly Dozier, was severely injured by one of those insidious IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that have been responsible for so many of the casualties to coalition forces and common Iraqi citizens in Iraq over the last few years.

Ms. Dozier is certainly brave enough for taking the call to go to Iraq and attempt to learn what it is like there and to file her stories from that turbulent region. There is certainly no reason to laugh at her injuries. It is also sad that members of her news crew were killed by the same explosion. We see the names of those men in every report about this incident. Cameraman, Paul Douglas, and sound man, James Brolan, lost their lives in pursuit of the story that day. Brave souls all, regardless whether you think their work is ultimately good or bad.

But, here is the problem that I have with the reports of this incident...

We are deluged with the media falling all over itself to tell us the names of these fallen reporters (whom they invariably treat as "heroes"), we are regaled on how more reporters have died in Iraq than any other conflict. We've been treated to a nice bio of Dozier, Brolan and Douglas with every report.

OK. That's fine, such as it is.

But here is how reporter Christine Hauser from the New York Times described this incident half way through her story: (For story Click here)

"The three members of the CBS team had stepped out of their armored Humvee to accompany troops inspecting a checkpoint manned by the Iraqi Army, a report on the CBS News Web site said today. They were wearing protective glasses, flak vests, and helmets when the bomb went off, killing the two CBS journalists at the scene as well as an American soldier and an Iraqi interpreter."

Notice those last 10 words?

"...as well as an American soldier and an Iraqi interpreter."

The treatment of this story smacks of self-indulgence, reeks of the media making the story about THEMSELVES instead of the conflict. And notice that we get no glowing bio of this unnamed American soldier and faceless Iraqi interpreter?

To the NY Times, it's all about the media. But, the NYT isn't unusual with this incident. Nearly every MSM outlet, print or electronic, are treating the story the same way. Many of the stories don't even bother to mention the soldier or the Iraqi who died, much less give their names.

No, it's one big pity party for the Media. Those poor, poor heroes in the media. They are dying when all they want to do is bring us the story. Giving their lives so that we might be "informed".

...Oh, and some soldier died, too.

They sure make it hard to to feel sorry for them!

-By Warner Todd Huston