Jul
17
2008
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We Rarely See the Valor Either |
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 18 July 2008 |
Headline from Bloomberg: 'Soldiers Killed in Valor, Buried in Shadows'
The column by Margaret Carlson then goes on to explain how U.S. Soldiers and Marines are buried beyond the eye of the press--and that the DoD is to blame.
I would reverse the equation: Why are there so few stories of valor in the media?
As a one-man-filmmaking crew I go to Iraq and film those stories of valor.
Why don't billion-dollar news organizations like Bloomberg do the same?
I'll tell you why. It is dangerous and difficult.
For me to tell a story of heroes in combat, first I have to be with them in combat. That means I have to be with an infantry unit at a small combat outpost, go out with them on missions and then keep the camera rolling and framed up while the mayhem that is combat happens around me.
It is much safer to sit back and have an Iraqi stringer call in the story via a cell phone.
It is much safer to stay in the fortified hotel.
It is much easier to write a column in the United States about a book you read at the beach.
The media has no interest in stories of valor, of heroism.
If they did, you would actually see some on TV news and read them in newspapers.
The media will complain that it is not economically viable. To that I say look to the right.
Hmmm. I'm closing in on beating a major Hollywood director. And I'm just one crazy dude with a camera.
The DoD may intentionally be burying Soldiers in the shadows--but the media is guilty of ignoring the valor.
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