From: Jasper
Remote User:
Date: 03 Feb 2005
Time: 00:14:47 -0500
Mario, ……I put my last post in the wrong place. ……A couple of days ago, a good friend of mine named Calvin Morrison called me to read an e-mail message he sent to one of the Network news organizations. Calvin is a former Marine. We think so much alike that it’s difficult for us to find something to disagree about. He wanted me to hear what he said about bad reporting of the Marines recently killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq. He knew what I thought. The news anchor called the marines soldiers. Calvin knew what I thought because of the letter I sent to NPR when a broadcaster identified the soldiers killed in Somalia as Marines. ......There is a big difference in the mission and self-identity of soldiers (Army) and marines (Navy) and the emphases placed on certain aspects of their training. A unique pride goes with being a United States Marine. A unique pride goes with being a U.S. Army soldier (a trooper). A community of family and friends back home are keenly aware of the difference. For a reporter to speak of them interchangeably in circumstances like the Marine helicopter crash in Iraq is to show that they are clueless as to what the U.S. military is doing and insensitive to the feelings of the individual casualty’s loved ones. ......Calvin and I pick up on the subtle importance of misreporting like this because of our military backgrounds. We pick up on the errors in reports about the auto industry because of our experience with the auto industry. You, Nomi and I pick up on the crap that passes for news in reports about legal cases because of our experience with the legal system and bad reporting. African-Americans were generally more skeptical of the evidence against O.J. because of their experience with police and therefore more skeptical about the way the news was reported. .......Expecting reporters to change is like expecting water to run uphill. The only way they are going to get it right is if they feel the pressure to get it right. If we can reach enough people or enough of the right people who don’t have our experience to draw on, we can make a difference. Until then, we can only keep trying and hope to do some good for you and Nomi. –Jasper