Why every active, retired, and veteran service member needs to hold the media accountable

Sgt William Biggs — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 12:34:18 -0400

I just got into a rather short and quick exchange with the my local newspaper, the Orange County California Register, concerning an article they recently wrote about a military veteran. My issue? When discussing crimes committed by former servicemen and servicewomen, why is it necessary to make note of their service?

That particular article’s headline was, “Man pleads guilty to cutting up his Dana Point girlfriend in Panama, leaving her remains in backpack.” The OC Register then tweeted this headline as, “Former Marine pleads guilty to killing Dana Point's Yvonne Baldelli in Panama.”

You and I both know it, and we have both seen it. A woman kills a family in a drunken car accident. You instantly have my attention, and I am willing to read the article. But more often than not, the headline will identify if it was a former Marine, a decorated war hero, or a three time Iraq veteran who killed family in a PTSD- or alcohol-induced accident.

Is the extra information excessive? To me, it is.

I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that the media is obsessed with gaining page views and clicks. If you haven’t noticed this is occuring, you probably aren’t reading your local news enough. My proposition to all of you is to read your local news and, if this behavior bothers you as it bothers me, to let them know it. Write letters demonstrating how the action of one service member should not constitute a negative image on the whole - when it is appropriate.

If it’s mentioned inside of the article with rationale, then I have no problem with their service being included. If the first thing you read is a diatribe about military members, their predisposition towards violence, and a picture of them from twenty years ago toting an M16-A2, and it bothers you as much as it bothers me, then speak up! Every time I see these articles, I cringe and wait for someone to ask me if I know them personally. I understand that we are held to a higher standard and I am proud to say that 99% of us maintain that standard. We all feel it when one of our flock messes up. Pride runs deep in the armed forces, and nothing needs to be said that could enhance our collective sense of responsibility and guilt.

It’s a small and less-than-damning example, but it does what it needs to do. It puts the honor, courage, and commitment of our services on display by stating a former member is accused of a horrific crime. If they are guilty, let them burn. I say again, let them burn. I just wonder how many jobs that offender had in between the Marine Corps and now that could have just as easily been used to identify them. I am still waiting for a “Former Customer Service Representative kills friend after being away from company for 20 years.”

I ask that everyone, past and present military, take the time to think about how our honor, courage, and commitment can be easily siphoned off in order to generate a titillating piece. We may not all agree on much of anything, but none of us wants our service to be tarnished, and we must take a stand when it is.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Apr 25 at 2016 1:14 PM

CSM Richard StCyr — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 13:14:05 -0400

I think many in the media dislike the service and that dislike bleeds through in their reporting. Personally I don't blame the reporters, I blame our education system that takes every opportunity to poke a finger in the eye of America and portray the US as an expansionist, repressive, war mongering beast set loose on the world from grammar school through college. Forget the fact that the US military liberated countless millions from tyranny and oppression in the World Wars and oversaw the implementation of the reconstruction programs, or the fact that the only outfit on the world scene that can currently respond enforce on short notice with enough assets to actually render meaningful aid is the US Military. So in my opinion until we as a group can get civics classes back on track with a proper balance of education on the pros and cons of our nation and military's contributions to the betterment of the nation and world; we're stuck with the slanted reporting.

Response by Cpl Jon Westbrook made Apr 25 at 2016 1:25 PM

Cpl Jon Westbrook — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 13:25:41 -0400

I hear you brother, especially as Marines. We hear this nonstop during our service, don't be the guy that shames the Marine Corps. I'm going to go off on a rant right quick.

The truth is, that the media in this country today has more in common with MTV than it does with the news. EVERYTHING is about ratings. Its pretty sad when a Ron Burgundy movie can literally paint a vivid and realistic snapshot of when the media stopped reporting current events and started selling the news. I mean were talking about a multimillion dollar industry here with ties to lobbyists and corporations, they sell what fits the narrative and fills their pocketbooks. I mean, even the white house correspondents are hand picked based on their previous reporting, which means they are inherently selected for their political affiliations. Everything is networked, coordinated, and controlled. Frankly, the media is a freaking cancer.

Worse yet, newspapers have gone severely downhill. They've gone from mainstream, middle of the rode news articles to fringe papers declaring an allegiance to either the far left or the far right. I live in Northern Virginia and I read the Washington Post, and honestly the crap they put in there is nothing but slander and libel, and hardly qualifies as news in the first place, its more opinion than anything else. And I'm guessing that they aren't far off from the Orange County Register in the political spectrum.

It sucks, but there honestly isn't much we can do except vote with our views and dollars. But in the meantime I agree that opposing opinions need to be heard. There needs to be balance, unfortunately since most people cant handle reading information that doesn't fit their worldview the opposing opinions are rarely printed and if they are its in a slanderous and mocking way.

Response by TSgt William Meyer made Apr 25 at 2016 1:28 PM

TSgt William Meyer — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 13:28:31 -0400

I don't think they just identify the military when choosing the title for their article, cops, firemen, doctors , all seem to get the same attention. It's just a way for them to get someone to read the story.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Apr 25 at 2016 1:28 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 13:28:52 -0400

Two words..."eye catching". The media is trying to sale a product. The media needs ways to draw in people's attention. The military is looked at as a group of highly trained yet lethal population with the capability of causing a lot of damage. Just look at the the first few minutes of the movie "ConAir". In that movie, a former Army Ranger is involved in a fight where one of the attackers that started the fight with the Ranger is killed by a hit to his nose from the Ranger. In the scene where the Ranger is sentenced, the judge makes a comment about due to his service, the Ranger had to be held to a higher standard than normal laws. That part of the movie makes me mad. It paints a picture of Veterans as a population of out of controlled killing machines that rather than being thanked for their service should be placed in a special fenced in yard.

This sort of idea extends to today in our media. When people see "Former [insert branch] did..." people stop to read it. It draws in their attention and the media just gained another hit on their website that probably would not have happened if they did not include the statement about the person's service record. You see the same from people that hold or once help positions as Executive Director or other roles of authority. Does including that fact have any burden on what the person is excused of doing, no, but again the media is a business.

Response by SGT William Howell made Apr 25 at 2016 2:24 PM

SGT William Howell — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:24:30 -0400

The rules of reporting have changed forever with the internet. Nothing needs to be vetted. Everything is persuasive in trying to sway a reader to the writers point of view. I am sure that if the Founding Fathers saw what a load of crap that the news spits out now the 1st Amendment would have been wrote a little different. When the New York Times and STAR use the same format it is time to just hang your head and cry.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2016 4:08 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 16:08:18 -0400

Yes, there does appear to be a pattern of the media bringing up someone's service history and implying that it contributed to their actions. It's not right at all to make up a story from an incomplete picture.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Apr 25 at 2016 6:18 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:18:03 -0400

Two words... "yellow journalism". The bastion of poorly trained journalists. Most come from colleges where they are indoctrinated rather than educated. Vilifying those who serve ranks high on their propaganda agenda.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2016 6:35 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:35:30 -0400

you dot talk to media without public relations advice period

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2016 6:41 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:41:49 -0400

I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, I absolutely see the point being made and agree that those types of headlines can build a false impression about the entire veteran population. But on the other hand, has anyone complained about headlines like "Former Marine apprehends Convenience Store Robber" or "Former Marine saves drowning child"? It's the flip side of the same coin. In both cases, the stories play on an aspect of military service. In one, the fact that military people are trained to kill people. In the other, the fact that military people also are courageous and willing to risk their own life to save others.

So I don't know if we can really say to the press, hey, highlight our service for positive stories but not for negative ones.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Apr 25 at 2016 11:18 PM

SGT Richard H. — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 23:18:17 -0400

It happens all the time, and not just to the military. How many times have you seen an article called out race when doing so contributed nothing to the article? Let's face it: "White kid shoots black kid" is nothing more than a way of making "kid shoots kid" more incendiary. (With the exception of cases where it actually is racially motivated of course.)

Response by CPO Greg Frazho made Apr 26 at 2016 1:04 PM

CPO Greg Frazho — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 13:04:10 -0400

I support freedom of speech, Sgt. Biggs, as I believe you do. What I don't support, as I believe you don't either, is proclamation by implication: former military = bad person. A crime is a crime is a crime. As you say, if they're guilty, they need to be punished and in most cases I think they will be. That said, you've identified what I'd call is an implied distrust or deliberate generalization by the media of former military members, one that seems to be growing, particularly after several years of so-called progressive politics. You're right to assume we need to watch our backs. Warrior class is becoming increasingly ostracized by a less-than-valient mass media and, to a degree, mainstream society.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Apr 27 at 2016 1:27 AM

Capt Mark Strobl — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 01:27:05 -0400

Sgt William Biggs - One word: Ratings. The more copies of the article that can be sold translates into job security for the "journalist." I'm pretty confident that if anyone here on RP got involved in a crime our service record would make a great add to the article.

Response by MAJ Raymond Haynes made Apr 29 at 2016 1:38 PM

MAJ Raymond Haynes — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 13:38:46 -0400

The Orange County Register has a long and honored history of having a hard-on for the Marine Corps. Back in the 1980's when MCAS El Toro and MCAS Tustin were in full swing, the real estate that the bases sat on was prime property. The paper tried everything to close them down, noise, pollution, crime, dangerous airplanes overhead. Every time a Marine got a parking ticket it was front page news. Looks like things have not changed much.

Response by SFC Alfred Galloway made Jul 1 at 2016 1:28 PM

SFC Alfred Galloway — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 13:28:43 -0400

The whole goal of media is to sell a story, the more sensational the headline the more people who will view it. When you add in hyperbole and half-truths you get slanted and skewed stories.

News media on average puts out only 5-10% fact in the stories the rest is the reporters slant on it, sensationalizing the issue in order to sell themselves and the story. We have lost old time journalism where journalists would report the story with facts then shut up, and let you decide. Now its tell the story, tell you what to think and people blindly drink it up as fact without actually examining what was written.

We the people should hold the news media accountable for what they report, however sadly the media isnt accountable and the justice system wont hold them accountable for stretching the truth to outright lies.

I refuse to read a VOX, SALON.com story as you cannot respond to the idiocy of what they spew as being fact, and believe me read a story on their sites they present the topic as FACT rather than journalism

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Jul 5 at 2016 8:57 PM

SSG Trevor S. — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 20:57:59 -0400

I wonder if we should start writing op-ed pieces that identify the object of our angst as a "career civilian"? As an example, outside of any chain of command:
Career Civilian Will Face Defamation Suit
Marilyn Mosby, lifetime civilian, will face a defamation law suit brought by two of the officers who were allegedly wrongfully charged in the Freddie Gray case. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-gray-officers-sue-mosby-20160525-story.html

Two officers in Freddie Gray case sue Marilyn Mosby for defamation

Two officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray are suing Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Response by SGT Eric Knutson made Jul 29 at 2016 10:04 PM

SGT Eric Knutson — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 22:04:57 -0400

well, to me, and I have had a few run ins with the media as well, the fact that the mainstream media is so far to the left, their liberal agenda shows through in everything they do. They hate us as their political masters hate us and everything that we stand for, DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY. They are the ultimate at narcsacisim (sp) as opposed to we who believe in selfless service. Therefore I only watch the local and that just for the weather reports, or a little of the local things going on and nothing else.

Response by Sgt Javier Romero made Jan 6 at 2022 6:26 PM

Sgt Javier Romero — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 18:26:58 -0500

you bring up a valid point and I agree.