Posted on Jan 7, 2018
‘Learn his name first’: The politicizing of military widows is touching a nerve
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And the Washington Post repurposes the pictures ... for its own purpose. IMV, this current round of using military casualties for political purposes began with opening up returns to Dover AFB to the media. It was expanded by candidates using Gold Star families during the 2016 presidential campaign. I feel for the families that have been exploited ... but also recognize that some families have sought the publicity, either because they thought it brought recognition to their loved one ... or because it contributed to a political position in which they believed. There are many photos taken in public every year that get spread across the media. Photos taken in a graveyard open to the public are not personal photos ... they are public photos of a personal event. There isn't and shouldn't be (IMV) any protection for that.
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LTC (Join to see)
The truth of my criticism of the WaPo can be found way, way, way down at the end of the article where it says "This post was updated to correct the definition of a Gold star family." Even with that, the article still leaves the impression that Jenn Budenz and her son are a Gold Star family when they are not. Though Andrew Budenz deployed three times to Iraq and Afghanistan, he died in a motorcycle accident near his California base in 2013. The WaPo state that in the article, but conflate it with an irrelevant (now that they've corrected their definition) mention of Gold Star families. Every time I think journalism has found the bottom, a new hole opens up and a so-called journalist falls into it.
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