Ranting Profs - IT'S ALL IN THE HEADLINE
By Cori Dauber
The LA Times yesterday published a serious article on the serious topic of low troop morale in the Army, morale low enough to even present instances of suicide. This is important news that should be reported. But <font size=4>it is the sensationalistic way that it is reported that bothers me. The headline reads, "High Suicide Rate Among Troops Found.<font size=3> But since the article also reports that
Since the war in Iraq began a year ago, 24 soldiers have committed suicide. The suicide rate for Army soldiers in the Iraq campaign in 2003 was 17.3 per 100,000, compared with an overall Army rate of 12.8 for 2003 and 11.9 from 1995 through 2002.
That rate was still below the national rate of 21.5 suicides per 100,000 for men ages 20-34, the age range of most soldiers in Iraq. (My emph.)
<font size=4>
So I could just as legitimately have written a headline
reading "Army Suicide Rate Lower Than National Average." I
suspect the parents of American soldiers opening their
morning paper might have preferred seeing that, don't you?
A more realistic headline, however, would have been, "Deployed Soldiers Have Higer Suicide Rate Than Those in Garrison." But that isn't quite as shocking, is it?
Stop trying to make the military look bad, and stop trying to make the war in Iraq look disastrous! We aren't stupid, and we know how to read a damn newspaper article. This is designed for people skimming the paper, who will just glance at a headline, and it isn't even outrageous anymore. It's saddening. |
