Frustration with CENTCOM's and the military's ability and willingness to get its message out abounded late last year.
Although I'll allow that many things get past me, I have noticed bare improvements at best out of CENTCOM since then.
One blogger in Ohio has now done something about it.
Fortunately, heroic (that IS the right word) onsite milbloggers and others on the ground in Iraq have picked up much of the slack in the meantime. I would attempt to enumerate them here, but I'm sure I'll miss many who don't deserve to be overlooked. Collectively, I believe that they have conferred a degree of balance in the war-related news in two ways.
First, much of what they are reporting would otherwise never have seen the light of day. Second, their presence, along with Old Media's proven Middle Eastern embarrassments (just a few -- fauxtography, the stage-managing Green Helmet Guy, the non-existent Burning Six, the congenitally lying Jamil "Captain Tuttle" Hussein or whoever he really is, the Ramadi airstrikes that weren't) appear to have served notice to Old Media that the accuracy of their reporters' and stringers' dispatches is being monitored, and that attempts at distortion and sensationalism are at least somewhat likely to be exposed.
But a dozen or so milbloggers (if that many) and occasional visitors scraping by on reader donations is not a permanent or complete answer. Getting more visibility for the military's take on events and developments is.
That is why I'm thrilled to report that Puddle Pirate at Brain Shavings has done something about CENTCOM's perceived (and probably actual) inattention to this matter himself:
Make that two -- and consider that "spread the word" thing partially done. Hopefully, NB readers will pass this news along.Enough dilly-dallying. I dug around CENTCOM's site, found 5 feeds, and did their public affairs work for them ... and it took me all of 45 minutes.
Those five feeds are now hooked into several search engines and feed-publicizing web services, so whenever CENTCOM posts a new item, everyone will know. Google Blog Search, My Yahoo, Technorati, Bloglines, Apple's iTunes, Syndic8, FeedBlitz ... it's all covered. You can even subscribe to any feed by e-mail, if you want.
Here are the five feeds:
Please spread the word far and wide. I'm only one voice.
Still out of reach, if I understand things correctly and read between the lines (not automatic in this circumstance): Google News and Yahoo! News.
Nevertheless -- A hearty "Well done, sir" to Puddle Pirate.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
