The media needs to wake up!

I know I constantly complain about the media, their lack of support for the troops and their misreporting from war zones. After reading complaints that radiate from the profound depths of my mind, or lack thereof, I am sure that it may become ad nauseam to some of you “Look here Martha, that old-guy vet is babbling and bitching about the media again, what’s for dinner?” Truth be told, I respect the news industry. I just don’t care for their method of sensationalism and misreporting. Worse yet, lies.

One of my primary complaints is the media misleads the truth, bends it, shapes it to the manner in which they can grasp the readers attention. Another is not even reporting what the primary story should be, in its place they report something that has no bearing what so ever on what the true story is.

Since the moment of American boots on the ground we have had reporters assigned to individual units; embedded reporters. Some have proven to be a Godsend to the troops, stories of their sacrifices, bravery and doing good for others have touched our hearts and souls. Regrettably some of these soulful reporters have paid the ultimate price with their lives. Embedded reporting is all well and good, but it places the reporters right there in the depths of the fighting; their only protection; Kevlar, a pen and a camera.

Some reporters don’t quite outright lie, they distort the truth, segueing to what they wanted to report on in the first place, something that has nothing to do with the story, but will create headlines. Example: a reporter is alongside a combat unit in the middle of a firefight, shells flying, hand-to-hand combat and the story should write itself. Discuss the events leading, the bravery, the loss, the sacrifice and the goals attained. Instead we see a few sentences of the battle then the story goes into Americans abusing prisoners in Abu Garab, which turns out to be an update to a rehash of a repeated story of which the perpetrators were already sentenced. But the reporter accomplished what they wanted; they reminded the world of an event perpetrated by a few. Sensationalism sells. On the whole, embedded reporters do not report the truth. Most of them do not even report what the story really is; they create what they want the public to perceive it is.

Many other countries are included among the terrorist hitting us in Iraq. These terrorists are not only Iraqis trying to take on the USA in a desire to return Saddam to power or create a different government in their favor. Iran is one of the primary players in the terrorist community. Do we see hard-hitting stories telling us how Iran is training soldiers to send to Iraq? Do we see behind the lines reporting on Iran at all? We see nothing.

Instead we are barraged with complaints against our troops. Allegations of war crimes committed by America. Dehumanizing abuse and constraints against religion at Guanatamo. We have Cindy Sheehan being quoted as saying, “They're committing crimes against humanity in Iraq. And we can't sit there, like what happened in Nazi Germany, and pretend this isn't happening.” Here is another of the media’s favorite Sheehan quotes, “These people are incredible liars and cowards.” What amazes me is these people are low in numbers, yet the media portrays them as the voice of America. If an Antiwar protest is taking place the media reports huge crowds.

I know for a fact of two lies. One I wrote on, the second, last year I passed a local college. Out front were about a dozen antiwar protestors, most students were heckling them and drivers of cars going by were hollering obscenities at them. During lunch I drive by and see two local television news reporters on scene. This crowd was animated, hollering, singing; I counted twenty-three students. Three of which appeared to be high school students joining the fun. While going home that evening I saw a few still putting their signs in cars and leaving, other students were still heckling them, telling them to go somewhere else. That night the news reports a massive demonstration, well supported by a large number of the community. I went off the deep end. I called both stations and went off on them. Each politely thanked me. That was it, end of story. They did not misreport, nor bend the facts; they outright lied and got away with it.

We need true reporters today, not puppets of the media. We need hard-hitting stories of the behind the scene attacks and threats against America, not the contrived, bovine excrement we are being subjected to. Come on media, wake up and join America. You don’t have to be a puppet, think for yourself, report the facts, the truth and for the sake of all the troops, report what it is really like.