Freedom Of The Press???

[FMF DOC]

RIP Warrior


Gates: AP decision 'appalling'
Mike Allen Mike Allen
2 hrs 59 mins ago

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is objecting “in the strongest terms” to an Associated Press decision to transmit a photograph showing a mortally wounded 21-year-old Marine in his final moments of life, calling the decision “appalling” and a breach of “common decency.”

The AP reported that the Marine’s father had asked – in an interview and in a follow-up phone call — that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.

The AP reported in a story that it decided to make the image public anyway because it “conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.”

The photo shows Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland, Maine, who was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, according to The AP.

Gates wrote to Thomas Curley, AP’s president and chief executive officer. “Out of respect for his family’s wishes, I ask you in the strongest of terms to reconsider your decision. I do not make this request lightly. In one of my first public statements as Secretary of Defense, I stated that the media should not be treated as the enemy, and made it a point to thank journalists for revealing problems that need to be fixed – as was the case with Walter Reed."

“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”

The four-paragraph letter concluded, “Sincerely,” then had Gates’ signature.

The photo, first transmitted Thursday morning and repeated Friday morning, carries the warning, “EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT.”

The caption says: “In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds.”

Gates’ letter was sent Thursday, after he talked to Curley by phone at about 3:30 p.m. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates told Curley: “I am asking you to reconsider your decision to publish this graphic photograph of Lance Corporal Bernard. I am begging you to defer to the wishes of the family. This will cause them great pain.”

Curley was “very polite and willing to listen,” and send he would reconvene his editorial team and reconsider, Morrell said. Within the hour, Curley called Morrell and said the editors had reconvened but had ultimately come to the same conclusion.

Gates “was greatly disappointed they had not done the right thing,” Morrell said.

The Buffalo News ran the photo on page 4, and the The (Wheeling, W.Va.) Intelligencer ran an editorial defending its decision to run the photo. Some newspapers – including the Arizona Republic, The Washington Times and the Orlando Sentinel – ran other photos from the series. Several newspaper websites – including the Akron Beacon-Journal and the St. Petersburg Times – used the photo online.

Morrell said Gates wanted the information about his conversations released “so everyone would know how strongly he felt about the issue.”

The Associated Press reported in a story about deliberations about that photo that “after a period of reflection,” the news service decided “to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.

“The image shows fellow Marines helping Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries. He was evacuated to a field hospital where he died on the operating table,” AP said. “The picture was taken by Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobson, who accompanied Marines on the patrol and was in the midst of the ambush during which Bernard was wounded. … ‘AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception. We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is,’ said Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for AP.

“He said Bernard's death shows ‘his sacrifice for his country. Our story and photos report on him and his last hours respectfully and in accordance with military regulations surrounding journalists embedded with U.S. forces.’”

The AP reported that it “waited until after Bernard's burial in Madison, Maine, on Aug. 24 to distribute its story and the pictures.”

“An AP reporter met with his parents, allowing them to see the images,” the article says. “Bernard's father after seeing the image of his mortally wounded son said he opposed its publication, saying it was disrespectful to his son's memory. John Bernard reiterated his viewpoint in a telephone call to the AP on Wednesday. ‘We understand Mr. Bernard's anguish. We believe this image is part of the history of this war.

The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice,’ said AP senior managing editor John Daniszewski.

“Thursday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called AP President Tom Curley asking that the news organization respect the wishes of Bernard's father and not publish the photo. Curley and AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said they understood this was a painful issue for Bernard's family and that they were sure that factor was being considered by the editors deciding whether or not to publish the photo, just as it had been for the AP editors who decided to distribute it.”

The image was part of a package of stories and photos released for publication after midnight Friday. The project, called “AP Impact – Afghan – Death of a Marine,” carried a dateline of Dahaneh, Afghanistan, and was written by Alfred de Montesquiou and Julie Jacobson:

“The U.S. patrol had a tip that Taliban fighters were lying in ambush in a pomegranate grove, and a Marine trained his weapon on the trees. Seconds later, a salvo of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades poured out, and a grenade hit Lance Cpl. Joshua ‘Bernie’ Bernard. The Marine was about to become the next fatality in the deadliest month of the deadliest year of the Afghan war.”

The news service also moved extensive journal entries AP photographer Julie Jacobson wrote while in Afghanistan. AP said in an advisory: “From the reporting of Alfred de Montesquiou, the photos and written journal kept by Julie Jacobson, and the TV images of cameraman Ken Teh, the AP has compiled ‘Death of a Marine,’ a 1,700 word narrative of the clash, offering vivid insights into how the battle was fought, and into Bernard's character and background. It also includes an interview with his father, an ex-Marine, who three weeks earlier had written letters complaining that the military's rules of engagement are exposing the troops in Afghanistan to undue risk.”

[sf11b_p]

I wonder did Jacobson ask the Marines involved what they thought of publishing the photo.

... Thursday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called AP President Tom Curley asking that the news organization respect the wishes of Bernard's father and not publish the photo. Curley and AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said they understood this was a painful issue for Bernard's family and that they were sure that factor was being considered by the editors deciding whether or not to publish the photo, just as it had been for the AP editors who decided to distribute it.

Jacobson, in a journal she kept, recalled Bernard's ordeal as she lay in the dirt while Marines tried to save their comrade with bullets overhead.

"The other guys kept telling him 'Bernard, you're doing fine, you're doing fine. You're gonna make it. Stay with me Bernard!'" As one Marine cradled Bernard's head, fellow Marines rushed forward with a stretcher.

Later, when she learned he had died, Jacobson thought about the pictures she had taken.

"To ignore a moment like that simply ... would have been wrong. I was recording his impending death, just as I had recorded his life moments before walking the point in the bazaar," she said. "Death is a part of life and most certainly a part of war. Isn't that why we're here? To document for now and for history the events of this war?"

Later, she showed members of his squad all the images taken that day and the Marines flipped through them on her computer one by one.

"They did stop when they came to that moment," she said. "But none of them complained or grew angry about it. They understood that it was what it was. They understand, despite that he was their friend, it was the reality of things."

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_as/afghan_death_ap_photo

His State honored him.

Lance Corporal Bernard Remembered

by WABI-TV5 News Desk · Aug 24th 2009

Governor John Baldacci has ordered flags across Maine to be flown at half staff on Monday.

The order is to honor the funeral of a Marine from Maine who was killed in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland died on August 14th while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan.

The funeral will be held Monday morning at the Crossroads Bible Church in Madison at 10 o'clock.

[mcarey]

One more example of how the voyuers of history fail to understand that honoring our members of the US military that are fighting for their 1st Amendment rights is (should be) a patriotic duty of a free press of this nation. I could understand if it was a non-US reporter/photogrpher, but fellow Americans of the press should not dishonor a marine's families wishes / memory of their son for ratings or shock value of a story. Most people understand war wounds are horrific and gastly, the words alone tell the story and provide a record. Dishonoring the wishes of the family is the outrage, not the war against the taliban and their war against modernity (western civilzation).

[dac]

I found a random NYT blog with some of her comments. I would love to find her personal blog but haven't been able to yet.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/behind-13/

I don't think I've seen any pictures of dead Americans that weren't released by Al Jazeera. I suppose statistically there must have been but I don't remember any stories this big.

[Abu-Shakra]

I don't have a problem with her taking the photos. I do have a huge problem with her submitting the photo in to be published. Even with her and AP's "journalistic" justifications for doing so, it's out of line and completely disrespectful. How can you not respect the families request in such a situtaion???? She knew what she was doing when she submitted that photo. She knew the sensitivity of the photo. But she was thinking Pulitzer, Time Magazine, Life, AP Photo of the Year, etc. Kick that bitch out of country.

[Red Flag 1]

Originally Posted by dac

I found a random NYT blog with some of her comments. I would love to find her personal blog but haven't been able to yet.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/behind-13/

I don't think I've seen any pictures of dead Americans that weren't released by Al Jazeera. I suppose statistically there must have been but I don't remember any stories this big.

With all the people, cameras, cell phones, and www internet (not Al Gore's), very little is missed today. Photos will be published for personal profit, at the expense of victims and families. There is not a thought beyond this, IMMHO. Nice photo of her and her friends.

Would calling her home every night @ 0200 for a month equal the pain she caused to his family?

Rest In Peace LCPL Joshua M Bernard!!

Thank you for your service, and your sacrifice!!

Prayers out!!

RF 1



RF 1

[Kyobanim]

I don't think I've seen any pictures of dead Americans that weren't released by Al Jazeera.

Picture of the incident in question is right there on the front page in the picture show.

Maybe Gates should refuse to let anymore AP reporters in on ANY military related matters.

[Sigaba]

FWIW, the journal entries quoted in the New York Times blog mentioned in dac's post are available here.

A photo of Ms. Jacobson is attached to this post.

Originally Posted by sf11b_p

I wonder did Jacobson ask the Marines involved what they thought of publishing the photo.

MOO, this is a very important question.

[Pete]

Sigaba - a question.

Does she have a photo blogged anywhere of her standing with American Troops?

Just wondering? Not dinging on you but the picture shown was of her with others. Just wondering if it was your choice of a few - or that was the only one handy.

You would think somebody hangin' with America Troops would be right happy to be posting "Hey! Look at the great bunch of Americans I'm working with." pictures.

[Saturation]

The family's wishes were disregarded- completely unacceptable.

I agree death is a part of life and war (part of her justification). However the family is bearing the cost of this Marine's death & dying image being published. This should NOT be about her and her justifications - this one IS about the Marine and his family. Many photojournalists/photographers may be missing the ethics class that is intended to teach basic humanity.

May her efforts not be rewarded with any type of prize/award for photos.

[Gypsy]

Submitting the pictures against the express wishes of the family is enough of an answer for me. She's a selfish bitch.

Too bad it was the Marine that got hit.


RIP LCPL Bernard...prayers out for your family and Brothers.

[PR31C]

Originally Posted by sf11b_p

I wonder did Jacobson ask the Marines involved what they thought of publishing the photo.

I wonder if any of the other Marine's asked to have their dying photos shot/published by her.

Although, it was interesting to watch the Marines from his squad flip through the images from that day on my computer (they asked to see them). They did stop when they came to that moment. But none of them complained or grew angry about it.

It never occured to her they were still in a shocked mental state?? Could these young Marines be numb from the horrors of battle. Would she join them for beers when they get back and tell them how she discarded LC Bernard's father's wishes

she was thinking Pulitzer, Time Magazine, Life, AP Photo of the Year, etc. Kick that bitch out of country

Abu, completely agree, dreaming of the memorial that would be made from her photograph

RF 1: Would calling her home every night @ 0200 for a month equal the pain she caused to his family?

I'll join the call list, hell let's include her family, just as she did to the Marine's

[Red Flag 1]

Originally Posted by Kyobanim

Picture of the incident in question is right there on the front page in the picture show.

Maybe Gates should refuse to let anymore AP reporters in on ANY military related matters.

Great start!!

RF 1

[Red Flag 1]

PR31C,

Your time is 0205!

RF 1

[echoes]

Originally Posted by Pete

Sigaba - a question.

Does she have a photo blogged anywhere of her standing with American Troops?

Just wondering? Not dinging on you but the picture shown was of her with others. Just wondering if it was your choice of a few - or that was the only one handy.

You would think somebody hangin' with America Troops would be right happy to be posting "Hey! Look at the great bunch of Americans I'm working with." pictures.

Pete Sir,

My thoughts exactly!

IMHO, this pond-scum sucking wannabe prize-winner "journalist" needs to have her lenses stomped! I mean come on!!! WTF kind of bubble are the AP trash living in?

Guess they think All Americans are idiodts and will buy their rediculous exuse!

Rotten Bitch!

Holly