The entire mainstream media is a mass of hypocrisy

[phanatic]

Man, oh man, aren't they congratulating themselves over keeping it a secret that an NYT reporter was kidnapped by the Taliban:

David Rohde, a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban, escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan

Comments

[seawasp]

The "Ethics in America" series was the cornerstone teaching aid for the Ethics course I took in graduate school. I have very positive memories of that series (and now that you've reminded me, I'm going to see if I can order it).

I'm fine with EITHER Wallace's OR Jenning's position -- if, AND ONLY IF, they're absolutely consistent with it. I would, if I were a commander in a military situation, want to know which position someone had, of course.

My personal position is that I have a responsibility to the people escorting and protecting me FIRST before my constituency/public waiting for news.

[boffo]

What you fail to understand is that the New York Times reporter is part of the Political Caste, and therefore more important than mere humans.

[m_fallenangel]

I pretty much agree across the board.

That said, I'm surprised and disappointed at Wallace's position. He is, after all, a U.S. Navy vet. I'd have expected different.

[phanatic]

I'm not disappointed with it. I think the colonel's reaction is fair (as did Wallace) but we *need* reporters who elevate the importance of a legitimate story above all else. Instead, we get mass fellatio.

[m_fallenangel]

As a trained journalist, myself, I have to respectfully disagree. Yes, there is a duty to the story, but there are duties that outweigh that. If you see a car zooming toward a crowd of people, do you whip out your camera or do you yell for people to get out of the way.

In this hypothetical, I would have to see myself as an American first and a reporter second, even if it meant losing my beat.

[pasquin]

And when a hitman comes to get Wallace, I'll be sure to capture it on video. Upload it to Youtube and make millions. Hey, I'm just an objective bystander - not my job to stop crime, just to make money off it.

Fucker. Journalism is not a vow of assholery.

[firstashore]

I'm actually fine with Wallace's position. That sort of journalism serves a necessary function.

I agree. If it's an issue a reporter thinks he/she will have trouble with, he/she should simply not embed with troops likely to come into contact with his/her own country's troops.

But it is a very necessary function. If the word gets out that the journalist betrayed the troops he was embedded with, we lose access to a vital source of independent information about the conflict.