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Vinay says it all in his last paragraph:
VINAY MENON (in The Star)
Tribute to the dead or ratings stunt? Civic journalism or political statement?
As fighting continues in Iraq, with civilians and troops dying each day, an upcoming news program is generating controversy south of the border.
On Nightline (ABC, 11:35 p.m. tonight), anchor Ted Koppel will honour U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq between March 19, 2003 and today.
The special 40-minute program, titled "The Fallen," will feature Koppel reading the names of more than 730 dead American soldiers as photos are broadcast.
The photos, which will be displayed two at a time, were supplied by the Army Times Publishing Company‘s online "Faces of Valor" database. On-screen captions will include the soldier‘s name, age, military branch and rank.
Viewers of Nightline are aware the late night news program has been listing military casualties in an ongoing feature titled "Line Of Duty."
But tonight‘s sombre and comprehensive roll call â †which will be simulcast in New York‘s Times Square on ABC‘s Jumbotron and excerpted on its news radio station â †marks the first time a network has attempted to humanize the American cost of war by doing more than just enumerating the dead.
"While Nightline has been reporting on every fatality in Iraq and Afghanistan under the heading Line Of Duty, we realized that the casualties were on their way to becoming just numbers," said Leroy Sievers, the show‘s executive producer.
"(This) is our way of reminding our viewers â †whether they agree with the war or not â †that beyond the casualty numbers, these men and women are serving in Iraq in our names, and that those who have been killed have names and faces."
The idea for the broadcast was inspired by a 1969 issue of Life magazine that featured photos of every U.S. soldier killed in Vietnam during a one-week period.
But some critics contend tonight‘s segment is politically motivated, an attempt to sway voters against George W. Bush‘s administration and its policies, most notably, the war on terror.
Yesterday, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., which owns 62 television stations in 39 U.S. markets, asked its eight ABC affiliates to pre-empt the broadcast.
In a statement, Sinclair said: "Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for (Nightline), the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."
In response, ABC News released a statement of its own: "We respectfully disagree with Sinclair‘s decision to pre-empt Nightline‘s tribute to America‘s fallen soldiers ... (the) broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honour those who have laid down their lives for this country."
ABC might have pointed out a significant irony: Sinclair is accusing the network of having a political agenda yet some of its own senior executives have made financial contributions to Bush‘s political campaigns. Three words: pot, kettle, black.
Others have questioned the timing of the Nightline broadcast. Television "sweeps" â †a month-long period in which ratings data is closely tracked and used to determine future advertising rates â †started yesterday.
In interviews with U.S. media this week, both Koppel and Sievers denied any political motivation and bristled at the suggestion this was a ratings grab. The two were embedded with the military in Iraq last year.
During that time, there was a moment when Koppel and anchorman Charles Gibson slipped into a momentary on-the-air disagreement over the issue of showing dead soldiers.
"I don‘t think Charlie and I disagreed as much as people thought," Koppel later told the Associated Press. "We have always shown the dead for as long as I‘ve been a reporter, following certain ground rules.
"Frankly, as the standards in television in general have grown looser and looser over the years, it strikes me as the ultimate paradox that the one thing we can‘t show on television is reality."
He makes a good point.
Despite ongoing media coverage of the Iraq war, little time has been devoted to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The White House has even attempted to ban photographs containing flag-draped coffins returning to the U.S.
In the end, the misguided and self-serving criticism over tonight‘s broadcast only illuminates an American culture pock-marked with elitist cynicism, reactionary accusations and, increasingly, partisan suspicions.
To even enter into this discussion is a lively disservice to those who have served and died.
It represents navel-gazing at its most offensive. It is unseemly.
U.S. soldiers were sent to war. Hundreds will not return home. Recognizing their sacrifice by simply reading their names is the least anybody can do.
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Dead soldier roll call fans partisan outcry
VINAY MENON (in The Star)
Tribute to the dead or ratings stunt? Civic journalism or political statement?
As fighting continues in Iraq, with civilians and troops dying each day, an upcoming news program is generating controversy south of the border.
On Nightline (ABC, 11:35 p.m. tonight), anchor Ted Koppel will honour U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq between March 19, 2003 and today.
The special 40-minute program, titled "The Fallen," will feature Koppel reading the names of more than 730 dead American soldiers as photos are broadcast.
The photos, which will be displayed two at a time, were supplied by the Army Times Publishing Company‘s online "Faces of Valor" database. On-screen captions will include the soldier‘s name, age, military branch and rank.
Viewers of Nightline are aware the late night news program has been listing military casualties in an ongoing feature titled "Line Of Duty."
But tonight‘s sombre and comprehensive roll call â †which will be simulcast in New York‘s Times Square on ABC‘s Jumbotron and excerpted on its news radio station â †marks the first time a network has attempted to humanize the American cost of war by doing more than just enumerating the dead.
"While Nightline has been reporting on every fatality in Iraq and Afghanistan under the heading Line Of Duty, we realized that the casualties were on their way to becoming just numbers," said Leroy Sievers, the show‘s executive producer.
"(This) is our way of reminding our viewers â †whether they agree with the war or not â †that beyond the casualty numbers, these men and women are serving in Iraq in our names, and that those who have been killed have names and faces."
The idea for the broadcast was inspired by a 1969 issue of Life magazine that featured photos of every U.S. soldier killed in Vietnam during a one-week period.
But some critics contend tonight‘s segment is politically motivated, an attempt to sway voters against George W. Bush‘s administration and its policies, most notably, the war on terror.
Yesterday, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., which owns 62 television stations in 39 U.S. markets, asked its eight ABC affiliates to pre-empt the broadcast.
In a statement, Sinclair said: "Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for (Nightline), the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."
In response, ABC News released a statement of its own: "We respectfully disagree with Sinclair‘s decision to pre-empt Nightline‘s tribute to America‘s fallen soldiers ... (the) broadcast is an expression of respect which simply seeks to honour those who have laid down their lives for this country."
ABC might have pointed out a significant irony: Sinclair is accusing the network of having a political agenda yet some of its own senior executives have made financial contributions to Bush‘s political campaigns. Three words: pot, kettle, black.
Others have questioned the timing of the Nightline broadcast. Television "sweeps" â †a month-long period in which ratings data is closely tracked and used to determine future advertising rates â †started yesterday.
In interviews with U.S. media this week, both Koppel and Sievers denied any political motivation and bristled at the suggestion this was a ratings grab. The two were embedded with the military in Iraq last year.
During that time, there was a moment when Koppel and anchorman Charles Gibson slipped into a momentary on-the-air disagreement over the issue of showing dead soldiers.
"I don‘t think Charlie and I disagreed as much as people thought," Koppel later told the Associated Press. "We have always shown the dead for as long as I‘ve been a reporter, following certain ground rules.
"Frankly, as the standards in television in general have grown looser and looser over the years, it strikes me as the ultimate paradox that the one thing we can‘t show on television is reality."
He makes a good point.
Despite ongoing media coverage of the Iraq war, little time has been devoted to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The White House has even attempted to ban photographs containing flag-draped coffins returning to the U.S.
In the end, the misguided and self-serving criticism over tonight‘s broadcast only illuminates an American culture pock-marked with elitist cynicism, reactionary accusations and, increasingly, partisan suspicions.
To even enter into this discussion is a lively disservice to those who have served and died.
It represents navel-gazing at its most offensive. It is unseemly.
U.S. soldiers were sent to war. Hundreds will not return home. Recognizing their sacrifice by simply reading their names is the least anybody can do.
... If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
