More nonsense from the west coast’s leading newspaper, the LA Times. This time, they are going after Michael Yon. Reader DR Tucker alerted us to this profile of Yon,
Lone Gun in War Reporting
Michael Yon’s blog made him a hero among backers of the effort in Iraq. As his profile grew, so did debate on the quality of his work.
While a New York Times reporter found Iraqi security forces struggling with dishonesty and internecine rivalries, for instance, Yon described the same forces as having great promise.
“Amazingly, these Iraqis continue to load up in those little trucks and go to work, knowing the odds are that they will, sooner or later, get shot or blown up,” Yon reported of the Iraqi police in October.
“The only true martyrs I’ve seen in Iraq are these men, ordinary in most respects, who step forward and put everything on the line for the idea of Iraq.”
As Yon’s profile grew, so did disagreements on the Internet about his work.
Oh dear, he disagreed with a New York Times reporter? Off with his head! He must not know what he is talking about!
Read the whole thing here.
If you are so moved, let the reporter know what you think of his story by emailing him at james.rainey@latimes.com.
I’ve read enough Patterico to know that this type of story is in-line with the LA Times coverage of the entire war on terrorism.
Do you recall from last spring that Italian communist journalist who was released by the throat cutters after the Italian government paid a bribe, er, ransom. After her release, on the way to the airport, she claimed the US soldiers unjustafiably fired at her car, killing one of its passengers.
So how did the LA Times cover that story? By omitting key details that exonerated US troops and and including every bit of anti-US information they could find.
Here’s Patterico,
L.A. Times editors have doubled down. They have yet again suppressed evidence that U.S. soldiers were justified in shooting at the car carrying Giuliana Sgrena to a Baghdad airport.
A Reuters story filed Saturday morning states on page two:
“CBS news has reported that a U.S. satellite had filmed the shooting and that it had been established the car carrying Calipari was traveling at more than 60 miles per hour as it approached the U.S. checkpoint in Baghdad.”
Todayâ??s L.A. Times reprint of the article edits out that passage, which suggests that there is definitive proof that the car was speeding â?? a critical issue in the controversy.
Anyone else feeling that sense of déjàvu?
The LA Times agenda driven coverage is not confined to Iraq alone. They continue to deceive and report half-truths in their coverage of the NSA wiretap scandal, in coverage of domestic oppoenents of the war, and in the debate over pre-war intelligence.
And who can forget that this is the same paper that proudly published a recent column by the ultra-obnoxious Joel Stein in which he proudly declared “I don’t support the military.”
Warriors and wusses; Column by Joel Stein
I DONâ??T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.
Iâ??m sure Iâ??d like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If youâ??re wandering into a recruiterâ??s office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.
Like most agenda driven old-media dinasours, the LA Times circulation is tanking. Here is their ‘plan’ to fix things, according to CEO Dennis J. FitzSimons,
While net paid circulation and revenue still declined, editorial innovations and marketing programs are making a positive difference.
I have a suggestion, stop insulting your readers intelligence, stop editorializing in news columns, stop publishing columns that proudly proclaim their disdain for the US military. That would truly be an innovation for an American big city newspaper.