Posted on Apr 25, 2016
Why every active, retired, and veteran service member needs to hold the media accountable
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I just got into a rather short and quick exchange with the my local newspaper, the Orange County California Register, concerning an article they recently wrote about a military veteran. My issue? When discussing crimes committed by former servicemen and servicewomen, why is it necessary to make note of their service?
That particular article’s headline was, “Man pleads guilty to cutting up his Dana Point girlfriend in Panama, leaving her remains in backpack.” The OC Register then tweeted this headline as, “Former Marine pleads guilty to killing Dana Point's Yvonne Baldelli in Panama.”
You and I both know it, and we have both seen it. A woman kills a family in a drunken car accident. You instantly have my attention, and I am willing to read the article. But more often than not, the headline will identify if it was a former Marine, a decorated war hero, or a three time Iraq veteran who killed family in a PTSD- or alcohol-induced accident.
Is the extra information excessive? To me, it is.
I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that the media is obsessed with gaining page views and clicks. If you haven’t noticed this is occuring, you probably aren’t reading your local news enough. My proposition to all of you is to read your local news and, if this behavior bothers you as it bothers me, to let them know it. Write letters demonstrating how the action of one service member should not constitute a negative image on the whole - when it is appropriate.
If it’s mentioned inside of the article with rationale, then I have no problem with their service being included. If the first thing you read is a diatribe about military members, their predisposition towards violence, and a picture of them from twenty years ago toting an M16-A2, and it bothers you as much as it bothers me, then speak up! Every time I see these articles, I cringe and wait for someone to ask me if I know them personally. I understand that we are held to a higher standard and I am proud to say that 99% of us maintain that standard. We all feel it when one of our flock messes up. Pride runs deep in the armed forces, and nothing needs to be said that could enhance our collective sense of responsibility and guilt.
It’s a small and less-than-damning example, but it does what it needs to do. It puts the honor, courage, and commitment of our services on display by stating a former member is accused of a horrific crime. If they are guilty, let them burn. I say again, let them burn. I just wonder how many jobs that offender had in between the Marine Corps and now that could have just as easily been used to identify them. I am still waiting for a “Former Customer Service Representative kills friend after being away from company for 20 years.”
I ask that everyone, past and present military, take the time to think about how our honor, courage, and commitment can be easily siphoned off in order to generate a titillating piece. We may not all agree on much of anything, but none of us wants our service to be tarnished, and we must take a stand when it is.
That particular article’s headline was, “Man pleads guilty to cutting up his Dana Point girlfriend in Panama, leaving her remains in backpack.” The OC Register then tweeted this headline as, “Former Marine pleads guilty to killing Dana Point's Yvonne Baldelli in Panama.”
You and I both know it, and we have both seen it. A woman kills a family in a drunken car accident. You instantly have my attention, and I am willing to read the article. But more often than not, the headline will identify if it was a former Marine, a decorated war hero, or a three time Iraq veteran who killed family in a PTSD- or alcohol-induced accident.
Is the extra information excessive? To me, it is.
I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that the media is obsessed with gaining page views and clicks. If you haven’t noticed this is occuring, you probably aren’t reading your local news enough. My proposition to all of you is to read your local news and, if this behavior bothers you as it bothers me, to let them know it. Write letters demonstrating how the action of one service member should not constitute a negative image on the whole - when it is appropriate.
If it’s mentioned inside of the article with rationale, then I have no problem with their service being included. If the first thing you read is a diatribe about military members, their predisposition towards violence, and a picture of them from twenty years ago toting an M16-A2, and it bothers you as much as it bothers me, then speak up! Every time I see these articles, I cringe and wait for someone to ask me if I know them personally. I understand that we are held to a higher standard and I am proud to say that 99% of us maintain that standard. We all feel it when one of our flock messes up. Pride runs deep in the armed forces, and nothing needs to be said that could enhance our collective sense of responsibility and guilt.
It’s a small and less-than-damning example, but it does what it needs to do. It puts the honor, courage, and commitment of our services on display by stating a former member is accused of a horrific crime. If they are guilty, let them burn. I say again, let them burn. I just wonder how many jobs that offender had in between the Marine Corps and now that could have just as easily been used to identify them. I am still waiting for a “Former Customer Service Representative kills friend after being away from company for 20 years.”
I ask that everyone, past and present military, take the time to think about how our honor, courage, and commitment can be easily siphoned off in order to generate a titillating piece. We may not all agree on much of anything, but none of us wants our service to be tarnished, and we must take a stand when it is.
Media
Accountability
Leadership
Pride
Command Post
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 17
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Two words..."eye catching". The media is trying to sale a product. The media needs ways to draw in people's attention. The military is looked at as a group of highly trained yet lethal population with the capability of causing a lot of damage. Just look at the the first few minutes of the movie "ConAir". In that movie, a former Army Ranger is involved in a fight where one of the attackers that started the fight with the Ranger is killed by a hit to his nose from the Ranger. In the scene where the Ranger is sentenced, the judge makes a comment about due to his service, the Ranger had to be held to a higher standard than normal laws. That part of the movie makes me mad. It paints a picture of Veterans as a population of out of controlled killing machines that rather than being thanked for their service should be placed in a special fenced in yard.
This sort of idea extends to today in our media. When people see "Former [insert branch] did..." people stop to read it. It draws in their attention and the media just gained another hit on their website that probably would not have happened if they did not include the statement about the person's service record. You see the same from people that hold or once help positions as Executive Director or other roles of authority. Does including that fact have any burden on what the person is excused of doing, no, but again the media is a business.
This sort of idea extends to today in our media. When people see "Former [insert branch] did..." people stop to read it. It draws in their attention and the media just gained another hit on their website that probably would not have happened if they did not include the statement about the person's service record. You see the same from people that hold or once help positions as Executive Director or other roles of authority. Does including that fact have any burden on what the person is excused of doing, no, but again the media is a business.
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I think many in the media dislike the service and that dislike bleeds through in their reporting. Personally I don't blame the reporters, I blame our education system that takes every opportunity to poke a finger in the eye of America and portray the US as an expansionist, repressive, war mongering beast set loose on the world from grammar school through college. Forget the fact that the US military liberated countless millions from tyranny and oppression in the World Wars and oversaw the implementation of the reconstruction programs, or the fact that the only outfit on the world scene that can currently respond enforce on short notice with enough assets to actually render meaningful aid is the US Military. So in my opinion until we as a group can get civics classes back on track with a proper balance of education on the pros and cons of our nation and military's contributions to the betterment of the nation and world; we're stuck with the slanted reporting.
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Two words... "yellow journalism". The bastion of poorly trained journalists. Most come from colleges where they are indoctrinated rather than educated. Vilifying those who serve ranks high on their propaganda agenda.
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MSgt John McGowan
CAPT Jack. Sir do you really believe they train them. I think they missed to truth part of the school.
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