Note: This op-ed piece has been written in response to Kevin Korenthal's Op-Ed piece which recently appeared in The Signal "The News You Are Not Getting From Iraq" 11/21/07 The Signal
By Cal - Mr. Korenthal, I support your suggestion that local media consider subscribing to Michael
Yon's website postings Michael Yon's website from the frontline in Iraq. I do so on three conditions:
1-These same publications also include Dahr Jamail's posts Dahr Jamail's website
from Iraq too.
2-The posts from both of these authors be clearly labeled as op-ed or editorial pieces.
3-The newspapers/publications subscribing to these two authors' dispatches should clearly inform readers as to what 'perspective' each author is presenting his information from.
The editors and publishers of any publications that subscribe to dispatches from these two authors should clearly state that the articles written by these individuals are presented as factual and accurate however, each article does present only one side of a multi-sided issue.
I am not sure if you are aware of this or not Mr. Korenthal, (but seeing that you are a professional lobbyist as well as a political activist, I find it difficult to believe that you would be ignorant of the following fact), The Weekly Standard ,the publication that you mentioned in your editorial that Michael Yon writes for, is considered an 'advocacy journalism'publication.
Its authors are not objectivejournalists or reporters.
The articles they write are meant to serve some social or political purpose.
As a result, the information contained in these articles may be factual and accurate however the facts may be presented out of context or important contradictory information may be omitted (inadvertantly or intentionally) by the authors...
This is the nature of the ‘advocacy journalism’ beast.
There is nothing wrong with advocacy journalism. On the contrary, some of the world's most influential muckrakers and investigative journalists practice this form of journalism.
However, when dealing with newspapers and news magazines-the public expects that the articles written in these publications are objective and accurate.
If you are encouraging newspapers to include Yon's writings, then Mr. Korenthal, in the interest of objectivity, fairness and accuracy, you should also be encouraging them to include dispatches from Iraq from authors like Dahr Jamail.
Jamail is an internationally-renowned independent, unembedded journalist .His dispatches have been published in the Inter Press Service, The Asia Times, The Nation, The Sunday Herald, Islam Online, the Guardian, Foreign Policy in Focus, and The Independent .
His news stories have been translated into French, Polish, German, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic and Turkish. In addition, Jamail reports for Democracy Now!, the BBC, and numerous other stations around the globe.
News reports are intended to be objective and unbiased. In contrast, advocacy journalists have an opinion about the story they are writing.
The lines line that separate news reporting from advocacy journalism and/or propaganda are very thin..
It is up to the editors of publications that subscribe to these dispatches to draw that line by informing the public as to what type of information is being presented for intellectual consumption.
In addition, the editors should be vigilant in their presentation of opposing viewpoints written by knowledgeable, and credible authors.
If the editors and publishers take their roles as members of the ‘Fourth Estate’ seriously , then they need to make certain that the proverbial thin lines that separate news reporting versus advocacy journalism versus propaganda are not crossed.
I respect Yon's reports from the field, and I respect Jamail's reports too.
The point is Mr. Korenthal, I want the opportunity to read BOTH authors' viewpoints so that I can remain an informed citizen- not a brainwashed one...
Some More News You Are Not Getting From Iraq
Nine years of the Valley’s town square · 2006–2015
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