The ghost of Eason Jordan lives on
Rathergate.com
Note to the mainstream media: When one of your own finds itself in a deep ethics hole due to slinging accusations without truth, don’t grab the shovel and start digging one for yourself.
Apparently, Newspaper Guild - Communications Workers of America President Linda Foley picked up the torch from former CNN news chief Eason Jordan to again accuse U.S. troops of deliberately targeting journalists in Iraq. Jordan’s unsubstantiated claims created a firestorm resulting in his resignation.
But unlike Jordan’s comments February at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the recording of Foley’s comments Friday in St. Louis is available. “The Point,” a commentary segment produced and carried by Sinclair stations, aired a portion of the tape. WorldNetDaily and The Point’s websites (click on the Point archives piece called “Words That Cause Grave Harm) both carry transcripts:
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“Journalists, by the way, are not just being targeted verbally or …ah, or… ah, politically. They are also being targeted for real, um…in places like Iraq. What outrages me as a representative of journalists is that there’s not more outrage about the number, and the brutality, and the cavalier nature of the U.S. military toward the killing of journalists in Iraq.”
“They target and kill journalists…uh, from other countries, particularly Arab countries like Al -, like Arab news services like Al-Jazeera, for example. They actually target them and blow up their studios with impunity…”
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Yes, journalists die in Iraq — it’s a war zone. People die, and sometimes it’s for no other crime than being in the wrong place or zigging when they should have zagged. But once again, we see someone in a position of journalistic authority — the Guild-CWA represents 35,000 media workers — making accusations withoug proof.
For obvious reasons, I vehemently oppose the intentional shooting of non-combatants — talk about heads rolling in the military! But I also oppose civilians entrusted with delivering us the news violating principles and spouting off unsubstantiated rumor, innuendo or suspicion. That’s why at least 15 people died in Afghanistan because of one sentence in Newsweek.
Perusing their website, I came across this April 8 press release imploring President Bush to investigate “the record number of deaths among media staff covering the war in Iraq.”
So, Foley’s remarks on Friday must mean that the investigation has concluded and she has the proof she needs. That means she’s obligated to share it. And I mean proof. Yes, I’m sorry that an M1 Abrams tank lobbed a shell into the Palestine Hotel, killing two journalists and wounding three (a summary of the Pentagon’s investigation can be found here).
globalsecurity.org
But I want proof of intentional malice. I want a video of a general signing his name to an order with “kill those lib newsies” splashed in 36-point boldface type across the top.
If there is no evidence, as I suspect is the case — maybe it’s just me, but people with rock-solid cases don’t punctuate their accusations with “um,” “ah,” etc. — Foley needs to either apologize or step down.
If this endless cycle of media self-debasing keeps up — baseless accusations, innuendo, forged memos — are people going to care when a journalist gets killed for any reason? If we make our profession any more reviled, our readers are going to come after us.
If you feel like asking her what she has resembling proof (I am sending a message and will post any response I receive), Foley’s address is lfoley@cwa-union.org.
mailto:lfoley@cwaunion.org
UPDATE: More on this as it develops from The Blue State Conservatives and Rodger Morrow. Greg Pierce of The Washington Times also picked up on it. (links below)
UPDATE 2: For giggles, here’s the e-mail I sent to Ms. Foley:
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Dear Ms. Foley:
It has come to my attention that you told an audience Friday in St. Louis that the U.S. military is “targeting” journalists in Iraq for death. A partial transcript of the recording of your comments has popped up on several credible Web sites.
As a journalist myself, I abhor the idea of military personnel ordering and carrying out orders to harm reporters. But I also abhor people in the news business making said accusations without proof. Your comments essentially boiled down to an accusation — “targeted” does not leave much room for interpretation.
Yes, journalists are dying in Iraq. But are they being intentionally singled out?
I am asking for what proof you have that this is going on. As a soldier as well as a journalist, I similarly would be disgusted if people in my honorable profession were shooting at people who could not shoot back. But I heard this before from Eason Jordan, who also had absolutely no proof that combat troops are intentionally putting journalists in their crosshairs.
As I say on my blog, if we keep making these unfounded accusations, will people care anymore when a journalist gets killed in the line of duty? We have little prestige left to squander.
So please, back up your statements with proof, or retract your statements. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Kevin P. Craver
Rathergate.com
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