What's going on with news agencies?

I think these whole election thingees have really sent them around the bend. They're getting pwn3d over and over again. A week after CNN founder Ted Turner compared Bush to you-know-who and FoxNews his propaganda arm, a CNN exec is claiming the US military is intentionally murdering journalists in Iraq.

Do US Troops Target Journalists in Iraq?

Davos, Switzerland from the WEF 2005

During one of the discussions about the number of journalists killed in the Iraq War, Eason Jordan asserted that he knew of 12 journalists who had not only been killed by US troops in Iraq, but they had in fact been targeted. He repeated the assertion a few times, which seemed to win favor in parts of the audience (the anti-US crowd) and cause great strain on others.

Due to the nature of the forum, I was able to directly challenge Eason, asking if he had any objective and clear evidence to backup these claims, because if what he said was true, it would make Abu Ghraib look like a walk in the park. David Gergen was also clearly disturbed and shocked by the allegation that the U.S. would target journalists, foreign or U.S. He had always seen the U.S. military as the providers of safety and rescue for all reporters.

Eason seemed to backpedal quickly, but his initial statements were backed by other members of the audience (one in particular who represented a worldwide journalist group). The ensuing debate was (for lack of better words) a real "sh--storm". What intensified the problem was the fact that the session was a public forum being taped on camera, in front of an international crowd. The other looming shadow on what was going on was the presence of a U.S. Congressman and a U.S. Senator in the middle of some very serious accusations about the U.S. military.

To be fair (and balanced), Eason did backpedal and make a number of statements claiming that he really did not know if what he said was true, and that he did not himself believe it. But when pressed by others, he seemed to waver back and forth between what might have been his beliefs and the realization that he had created a kind of public mess. His statements, his reaction, and the reaction of all in attendance left me perplexed and confused. Many in the crowd, especially those from Arab nations, applauded what he said and called him a "very brave man" for speaking up against the U.S. in a public way amongst a crowd ready to hear anti-US sentiments. I am quite sure that somewhere in the Middle East, right now, his remarks are being printed up in Arab language newspapers as proof that the U.S. is an evil and corrupt nation. That is a real nightmare, because the Arab world is taking something said by a credible leader of the media (CNN!) as the gospel, or koranic truth. What is worse is that I am not really sure what Eason really meant to communicate to us, but I do know that he was quite passionate about it. Members of the audience took away what they wanted to hear, and now they will use it in every vile and twisted way imaginable.

To me, what was said can not be put back into the genie's bottle. So here is my request as a U.S. citizen, and really only a minor, minor player in the whole WEF scheme of things: Congressman Frank and Senator Dodd, you both seem like good and honest men, and Congressman Frank especially seems like someone with a bit of courage (I'm sure Senator Dodd is brave as well). Clear up this mess, use your power and authority as elected leaders, and make transparent what really happened. You must do this to respect the 12 journalists killed and let the world know how and why. Here is another challenge, and this one is for the CNN and the BBC: What the hell happened? Is Eason right or is he wrong? Good journalism calls for digging into and revealing all of the facts (or was everything that was said in the mild part of the discussion about fair coverage and seeking the truth just verbage?).

If what Eason originally said was true, exactly what happened and why needs to become known to the American public and world at large. If it is not, it is an example of how "news" is created by the heat of the moment, without any bearing to reality. If it is true, we need to know if it was official or if it was just some random disgruntled soldiers. The dark scenario, what the rest of the world would love to believe, is that the U.S. is sinister and evil and this is just another example of Darth Bush. Is this the same U.S. that I know and love, or was this just someone accidentally becoming swept up in the anti-U.S. feeling that is all pervasive in Davos (but they love us too, especially Clinton).

The cherry on the whipped cream of this cowpie sundae was poor Abdullah Abdullah, a shining new, fresh scrubbed member of America's grand experiment to export democracy to the Middle East. Here is someone who seemed to be idealistic, full of hope and vigor. What is he thinking about all of this? What kind of role model are we presenting to the fragile new democracies of Afghanistan and Iraq? What we can do, what we must do, is show them how democracy works, and how in an open and free country the truth will get out, and those responsible will be held accountable. The U.S. makes no claims about being perfect - we only make claims that we are open enough to correct our problems, and to admit freely to ourselves and the world if we are wrong.

As a last note, I think that this article is a good pointer to the future of the news: average people, freely saying what they want, as they saw it, for anyone to see. To me, that is freedom of the press.

http://www.forumblog.org/blog/2005/01/do_us_troops_ta.html



[Edited on Feb 01, 2005 by stockula]

[Edited on Feb 01, 2005 by stockula]

hardly a new thing, they'd been killing unembedded journalists since the first days of the invasion of Iraq, and the circumstances of many incidents suggests they did it intentionally to boot.

[Edited on Feb 01, 2005 by MisterDionysos]

Maybe his check bounced and he's pissed.

Bump. This story isn't going away. The mainstream media is ignoring it, Eason Jordan is in hiding. It's going to look verrrrry bad when the live video of him making these outrageous accusations with no proof or basis of fact in front of a foreign audience comes out next week.

Number of embedded journalists in Iraq: 500
Number of journalists sent to cover Michael Jackson Case: 1000.

i pray to god that A) video of this does surface, and B) that post-super bowl hysteria doesn't swallow it up

A guy makes an accusation that gets reported on a blog and you ask "what's going on with news agencies"?

The media has been fickle with their "news" for quite some time, this is nothing new. On the flip side of the coin, after the Iraq war, when Bush claimed he had been given faulty information by the CIA, I did not see a single one of the news agencies remind the public that they had reported CIA officials complaining that Bush was trying to force them into providing justification for the war that simply was not there, before the war had started.

My point is that whether you are pro-Bush, or anti-Bush, the media has been fickle and irresponsible with their news reporting. Or as John Stewart put it, "Yellow Journalism was eventually shortened to 'journalism'."

what is the deal with immediately discrediting anything that comes from a blog. hell, half of them, including the ones on the right, pretty much cull their material from the same wire services that you read in your daily newspaper. PS: if video of this does exist (i won't get behind it until i see proof), you owe me a beer

edit: also, it was a CNN suit who made these comments, which answers your question

[Edited on Feb 04, 2005 by Koenigsegg]

You completely missed my point.

you're just trying to scam your way out of having to buy me a beer, admit it.

I can't afford beer right now.

I don't understand why you wingnuts continue to go after CNN anyhow? I'd think that Fox Lite's stock would be pretty high in your crowd right now. It's amazing to see you clamor for mainstream coverage of this "story." This is one man's opinion, and one that death certificates lend a whole lot of credibility. In a just world, you'd all be sent over there to man a camera for Al Jazeera and see for yourselves.

This is a big story any way you slice it.

If the news director of CNN claims that the US military is intentionally targeting and killing journalists, and this is true, this is a bombshell.

If the news director of CNN claims that the US military is intentionally targeting and killing journalists, and this is a complete fabrication, it's a bombshell.

But since it's pretty clear what the truth is and it paints the news media and not the US military/Bush Administration/United States in a bad light, what we see is complete indifference from mainstream media. At least, for the last few days. Compare that to the instance of a Marine General making some true statements about how some people really deserve to be shot? That gets plenty of ink.

[Edited on Feb 04, 2005 by stockula]

I would not be surprised if the US has targeted some unfavorable journalist in Iraq, after all they can always said it was just friendly fire ...

I would be.

I wouldn't be surprised if Eason Jordan ran a child prostitution ring out of his house. Sure I dont have any, like, PROOF or anything. But such accusations please my audience.

[Edited on Feb 05, 2005 by stockula]

I forgot that our military forces hold the highest moral values of any armed forces in the world... if you are naive enough to think such way, then you believe that Charles Graner did not torture the prisoners and the My Lai massacre of civilians during the Vietnam War did not happen ...

if he has proof then he should present it. if he doesn't have any proof then he deserves the scorn and ridicule of his peers. i'll withhold judgement until some kind of evidence is shown.

Ah, the amerian military are murdering journalists.

They bombed the offices of Al Jazeera twice.

The International Federation of Journalists has some interesting stuff about this including this report which asks for "independent investigations of incidents in which 12 journalists and media staff have been killed at the hands of US troops." Also see this about the US attack on the Palestine Hotel. And anyone remember the reaction after Kevin Stiles reported on the Marine that killed the wounded suspected insurgent? There were a number of death threats against him (see, for instance, this site). All things considered, I'd say it's not unreasonable to at least entertain the possibility that US forces target journalists. After all, we've seen what some (and I emphasize the word some as in saying that this is a few bad apples and does not apply to all our troops) of our soldiers are capable of in the prison scandals.

[Edited on Feb 05, 2005 by mightytoaster]

What's the connection? We were talking about journalists.

While the deaths should be investigated, there doesn't seem to me to be any obvious and/or unusual circumstances. Look at the number of friendly fire incidents. There needs to be a lot more evidence than has been shown to make any kind of statement at this point.