Iraq War coverage
In my Sat. column, I beg journalists to keep the Iraq War on the front burner. There’s nothing partisan about supporting the troops. All public figures, including journalists, should talk about the troopsHere’s what KOA radio anchor Steffan Tubbs’ explanation of why he signs off his broadcast with, “Remember the troops.”
I try every day to end Colorado’s Morning News with “remember our troops” simply as a minor way of reminding people that as we go about whatever, there are tens of thousands of people in Iraq and Afghanistan (and around the globe) in uniform fighting and serving us. I do this as completely non-partisan as possible. I was embedded in March of 2006 with the 4th ID in Iraq and came back with an entirely new respect for servicemen and women. It doesn’t matter if you’re pro-war, anti-war, Pro-Bush, anti-Bush, it is a fact that they’re serving. In an all-volunteer force. The least the deserve is the respect from all of us. And to not be forgotten.
That’s why I say what I say. It really is that simple.
Rocky Mountain News Managing Editor Deb Goeken explained her newspaper’s goals in covering Iraq deaths that have link to Colorado. The daily, which won a Pulitzer for a story about a Marine officer who notifies family menbers when a Marine dies, has produced some outstanding coverage Colorado’s connection to the Iraq War. The Denver Post, the other daily in Denver, has also done a good job finding local angles on the war. The following is Goeken’s response to my questions about coverage of Colorado Iraq deaths:
Jason, We try to write about all Iraq deaths with Colorado connections, starting with soldiers and Marines who are from Colorado and extending to all soldiers based at Fort Carson. If a soldier or Marine is from Colorado, and has family still living here, we view it as especially newsworthy. In the case of a Fort Carson-based soldier, we make every attempt to contact their family and to write their life stories as completely as possible. We also try to cover all the memorials at Fort Carson, either ourselves or with coverage from the Gazette. The memorials are always touching, and our photographers have shot some extraordinary photos at the memorials. (As you know, we covered the memorial service for Major Andrew Olmsted, who had blogged for us about his front-line experiences in Iraq.) And, yes, we do as a policy try to cover all funerals of Colorado soldiers, unless the family specifically requests privacy. We honor those requests.