AP disregards family’s wishes
This happened late last week; Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard, 21, of New Portland, Maine, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan. AP photographer Julie Jacobson was on the scene and snapped a picture or two of LCPL Bernard as his team mates tried to help him during his final moments of life.
Jacobson and AP recount the events at the end of the day;
Later, she showed members of his squad all the images taken that day and the Marines flipped through them on her computer one by one.
“They did stop when they came to that moment,” she said. “But none of them complained or grew angry about it. They understood that it was what it was. They understand, despite that he was their friend, it was the reality of things.”
Associated Press then tells us they talked to LCPL Bernard’s father before they made a decision to publish the photo;
The AP waited until after Bernard’s burial in Madison, Maine, on Aug. 24 to distribute its story and the pictures. An AP reporter met with his parents, allowing them to see the images.
Bernard’s father after seeing the image of his mortally wounded son said he opposed its publication, saying it was disrespectful to his son’s memory. John Bernard reiterated his viewpoint in a telephone call to the AP on Wednesday.
“We understand Mr. Bernard’s anguish. We believe this image is part of the history of this war. The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice,” said AP senior managing editor John Daniszewski.
And then the media wonder why we got so adamant when they wanted to film returning caskets from the war during the Bush Administration. The AP says that they understand, but I wonder if they really do understand.
ADDED: Thanks to 1stCavRVN11B who sent me a link to JammieWearingFool‘s version of events.
Category: Media
Well, at least AP showed all the Mohammed cartoons, right?
Right????
Right, TSO, if I remember correctly, AP was out there running the cartoons before anyone else. They’ve also led the way, running photos of school girls doused in acid, and the numerous innocent victims of Taliban death squads.
OK, really, this is about their own agenda, the wishes of the family be damned. And, the glimmer of Pulitzer for that POS “reporter/photographer”.
I haven’t commented here, or anywhere else, about this until now. I had to wait until my blood pressure came down, so I wouldn’t stroke out.
This is typical of a so-called “news organization” that has been caught, in the past, doctoring pictures to make bomb damage look worse than what it was, in order to make the Israelis look bad.
So, it’s no surprise that they would once again delve below the line of decency and decorum in order to sell a particular slant to a story. In the end, it shows them to be the scum that they are. It shows why military people are always wary of any reporters from main stream sources and why we were not in favor of the pics of our returning war dead, because they aren’t interested in “the families” wishes and never have been. They are only interested in their “story”, no matter how low they have to go.
Maybe they would feel differently if it were one of their loved ones? I doubt it, because that would meant they have morals and a conscience.
So much for cartoons that shook the world.
I also REALLY like how a NYT reporter has been kidnapped, and nary a word is being spoken. Why? Doesn’t the world deserve to know? I mean screw him right? Does his right to live supercede our need to know about what is happening?
I think fairly clearly it does, but I wonder what the justification is? Where is the line AP? I’m guessing it closely follows whatever you think can get you money or push your political point.
The National Adjutant of the American Legion put out a very interesting message to those who are Facebook members of the Legion. I wish I could link to it, and if I find one, I will do so later. However, this passage jumped out at me:
“My deep and abiding disagreement with AP in this matter stems not from the depiction of the terrible last moments of a brave Marine’s life. I have the utmost sympathies for that man’s family, and I do deeply feel their grief. What is so terrible to me about what AP has done here is to do this over the wishes of this man’s family. This removes the common decency from the equation. There are families, I honestly would have wanted mine to do so should I have fallen as such, who would accept the burden of their public grief if it meant that their country’s will to fight was bolstered. That is not a burden that every family can bear though, as we all deal with grief in our own ways. I was raised to respect the grief and burdens of others and not to intrude unduly. I was raised to support the people around me and that as much as anything else drove me to volunteer to become a soldier.
I would never fear images so much as I fear how they are used, to what ends they are deployed, and to what aims they are submitted in service to. To abdicate respect for the family involved in this heartrending situation seems to clarify that the intent cannot be to respect the sacrifices of this soldier, but rather to prey upon it to advance a different agenda and that, to me, speaks thousands of words.”
TSO Wrote: Actually, that was Demophilius, which can be read here.
I think that was the best piece he has ever written in my opinion.
This is exactly why I’m so vocal in my opposition to media embedding.
The blatant disregard for this hero’s family, the utter disrespect shown by this parasite in her efforts to push an obvious agenda are nothing short of sub-human.
I pray that both Ms. Jacobson and Mr. Daniszewski burn in hell. At least we’ll get to see it from here.
At least the Starts & Stripes was smart enough not to print the photos.
If they were so intent on running the pictures, why did they even ask? The father expressed his wishes and they did it anyways. That is total disrespect. No wonder the msm not respected in most circles.
I should proof read before I post. No wonder the msn is not respected in most circles.
It really wasn’t that good of a photo either. It was horribly out of focus and was neither dramatic or poignant. It certainly did not add anything of merit to the article. If the photographer was thinking it was Pulitizer material she was horribly mistaken.
Publishing this photo against the wishes of the family smacks of the pretentious pride of an embed who wants so desperately wants everyone to know what she saw. That her experiences in combat are so much more important than that thousands of veterans or the handful of journalists who have done the same thing as her, but without bringing shame to their profession.
The Mudstream Media, which gets much of its fodder from AP is everybit as arrogant as that Asshat of a Teleprompter reader.
Sleaze, sleaze, sleaze.
Also! NOTE! If you get an e-mail with subject line: “Photo of Nancy Pelosi Nude”; do not open it. It contains a photo of Nancy Pelosi Nude! Methinks it is being disseminated by the AP.
nuf sed
Yeah, I read it all. And this little girl was all about herself and the AP. I guarantee that had she had an ounce of decency, she would have asked herself if this were her brother, would she have published it? The answer would be an unequivocal no. Because her parents would have kicked her ass. When your kid goes to war, the politics do not matter.
The libs miss that part and squawk about “this would not have happened if it weren’t Bush’s war….” Was there a D on that kids patch and the terrorists say “oooh, let’s not shoot him, he’s a D!” Nope.
Ms. Jacobsen is a POS, and I daresay, I hope she is being un-embedded for going against DoD policy, but I won’t hold my breath.
Respect for the service and the sacrifice is what they deserve, period.
This is pure and simple selfish, callous and abhorrent behavior. If memory serves me correctly, embeds sign an agreement regarding all aspects of their assignment, including photographs they take. Also if memory serves me correctly, the agreement SPECIFICALLY says that they are NOT allowed to publish photos IF THE FAMILY OBJECTS. And his family DID object. The military made it excruciatingly difficult for Michael Yon after he broke his agreement during an ambush while embedded with the 24 – its amazing they allow him to continue his reporting.
The interview with Joshua’s Dad can be heard here:
http://thebloviatinghammerhead.wordpress.com/
Ok, while the AP and this little tramp are getting their just comeuppance, let us not forget the “newspapers” that ran the picture. What were they thinking? How absolutely low are they for running it? They should be next in the crosshairs of our ire.
I haven’t found a “newspaper” yet that ran the photo. The Bernard families home paper, The Portland Press Herald witheld the photo with this quote.
“Although the Associated Press chose to distribute a photo of Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard taken shortly after he was mortally wounded, we believe that running the photo would be in poor taste and have chosen not to run it.”
However, did find the photo over at Editor and Publisher.
Thanks for the h/t TSO.
On a side note, re: the photographer. From what I’ve been able to find out (published journals) she never expected the pictures to get published, and her initial instinct was to try to help, although there were plenty of people working on Lcpl Bernard and she (rightly) realized she’d be getting in the way. She did her job, which is to document. I don’t blame Robert Capa for taking pictures of the dead and dying on Omaha Beach any more than I’d blame her here.
I think the decision on this rests squarely on the editors and powers that be at AP, and I think their decision to go ahead and run it over the wishes of the family is the reprehensible act. Like I said, I don’t so much put this on her shoulders…she was just someone out there doing a job, which is to document. The real scumbags here are the people who decided to use the documentation to advance an agenda.
#1-I hope the father & family have a record, oral and written, of their refusal to let Jacobson & AP publish their son’s photo.
#2- I hope the father & family now sue Jacobson & AP for every penny they’ve got.
This just continues to prove & justify my abstenance from the MSM & MSN. And they all wonder why they’re losing money hand over fist as well as reader and viewers.
As for the newspapers printing the photo: unless the papers did some deep digging of their own & if the AP vetted the photo & said “it’s alright”, I can’t really see that it’s the papers fault for putting out what they thought was ok.
The MSM dares to wonder why no one gave a shit and had such harsh words when Cami McCormick was injured. This is why!
I also take issue w/ Jacobsons comment that Bernards fellow soldiers said nothing when reviewing the pictures.
DID SHE TELL THEM SHE WAS GOING TO PUBLISH THOSE PICTURES?
I highly doubt it, not to mention they were probably still shocked from the loss of their comrade.
I would really like to hear what those soldiers think of Jacobson now….
I just feel sick to my stomach over this one.