[Peace-discuss] A curious omission by the News-Gazette

Mon Dec 8 23:00:29 CST 2008

Well I think it's clear that you tend to give the NG the benefit of the
doubt, much moreso than I. Did you see the original article? Did you
compare the two? Why are you so quick to defend the NG?

If you were to study the two articles side by side, you would see that
there several edits. A sentence here, a sentence there, with at least one
other instance of removing material unflattering to the military. It
wasn't just a matter of lopping off the last few lines. Yet so little
space was saved. The large front-page photo could have been something like
73 or 74 square inches instead of 76 and the entire article could have
been preserved. There was another smaller photo as well. Making each of
them imperceptibly smaller would leave enough space for the whole article.
I remain convinced that whoever edited that article was biased in favor of
the military. Is it hard to accept that the NG might be biased in favor of
the military? Would you find it hard to believe that there have been other
instances of bias in favor of the military in the NG? Or that publisher
and editors might be biased in favor of the military?

I challenge you to do the actual comparison and come away from that with
your opinion unchanged.

R

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marti Wilkinson" <martiwilki at gmail.com>
To: "Randall Cotton" <recotton at earthlink.net>
Cc: <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 10:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] A curious omission by the News-Gazette

: In Journalism reporters are trained to start off a story with the
: information that is considered to be the most newsworthy. As an article
: progresses the information becomes less of a priority. So in the event
that
: a copy editor cut's off a paragraph or two from the bottom the people
who
: read the article will still get the bulk of the story.  While the N-G
may
: have had room to 'fit' in the missing paragraphs it may well be an
editorial
: standard to use large photos in order to get a visual appeal to readers.
 The
: further away an article is from the front page the less likely it will
be
: read and this is something that publishers take into consideration.
:
: In this instance, I see this as being part of a fairly common and
mundane
: editorial practice....and the News-Gazette is not unique in that
respect.
:
: Marti
:
: On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 9:30 PM, Randall Cotton
<recotton at earthlink.net>wrote:
:
: > Mention was made at last Sunday's AWARE meeting about the quite
prominent
: > story on the front page of the Commentary section of the Sunday
: > News-Gazette.
: >
: > It was a McClatchy Newspapers article about the rising suicide rates
in
: > the military. The article was somewhat unexpected in my opinion and
: > laudable on the surface. It featured the story of Sgt. Joshua Barber's
: > suicide as related largely by his wife Kelly (who is featured in large
: > compelling photos). However, it turns out the article as printed was
an
: > edited version of what was originally a somewhat larger article. In
: > particular, a very significant part of the story was omitted in the
: > snipped News-Gazette version. The following is the end of the full
: > article, describing the end of Sgt. Barber's life, when he arrived at
: > Madigan Army Medical Center (referred to as "Madigan" below). All of
this
: > was completely lopped off in the News Gazette version:
: >
: > *****************************
: > Surveillance video shows that Barber arrived at Madigan about 7 a.m.
the
: > next day and didn't get out of the pickup, according to the police
report.
: > A Madigan employee found his body two days later and called 9-1-1.
Kelly
: > Barber, who was working at the time of the discovery, was notified
later
: > that morning.
: >
: > According to the medical examiner's report, Barber had put a revolver
: > loaded with hollow-point rounds to the right side of his head and
pulled
: > the trigger.
: >
: > He was dressed in his old combat uniform.
: >
: > "He was making a statement to the military," Kelly Barber said.
: > *****************************
: >
: > It's not like the NG didn't have room to fit this in. The front page
photo
: > was exceptionally large (over 70 square inches). Did the News-Gazette
omit
: > Sgt. Barber's last desperate statement under the rug because it
reflects
: > poorly on the military? So it would appear. A google search turned up
the
: > article in 8 different places. None was missing the above excerpt.
Sgt.
: > Barber's statement is arguably the most compelling part of the story,
but
: > apparently it was left out deliberately by the News-Gazette for no
other
: > discernible reason.
: >
: > Following is the full article, taken from:
: >
: > http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=92728145
: >
: > Please read it. It's not long.
: >
: > **********
: >
: > "Do you think that God's going to send me to hell for killing innocent
: > people?" former Sgt. Joshua Barber asked his wife one day last summer.
: >
: > Kelly Barber tried to reassure her distraught husband. Nearly three
years
: > after a combat tour in Iraq, he was a shell of the loving and
fun-loving
: > man she'd married nine years earlier.
: >
: > Joshua Barber was quiet, withdrawn, constantly fighting demons he
couldn't
: > exorcise. His question reinforced her fear that he was sliding further
: > into a well of guilt and despair as she tried desperately to hold on.
: >
: > The couple had sought help from the Army and U.S. Department of
Veterans
: > Affairs, but Kelly Barber said they got caught up in red tape.
: >
: > "He just had to fight so many battles, and no one would help him," she
: > said.
: >
: > The 31-year-old soldier killed himself three weeks after asking that
: > terrible question.
: >
: > On Aug. 25, a day after his wife reported him missing from their home
in
: > Lacey, Joshua Barber drove onto Fort Lewis in his silver 2005 Ford
F150
: > pickup, a gift from his wife when he returned from Iraq.
: >
: > He parked in the lot at Madigan Army Medical Center and shot himself
in
: > the head with a revolver, one of several guns he'd taken from home.
: >
: > Barber's death is hardly an isolated case. In a nearly three-year
period,
: > more than half of the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who
: > committed suicide did so at least a year after their deployments
ended,
: > Army data show. A large number of soldiers who hadn't deployed also
took
: > their own lives. The number of suicides involving veterans ages 18 to
29
: > receiving care from the VA nearly doubled from 36 in 2005 to 68 in
2006,
: > the most recent figures available, according to the VA.
: >
: > The Army and the VA have redoubled their efforts to prevent suicides.
Both
: > have expanded services and launched initiatives aimed at suicide
: > prevention.
: >
: > The Army is hiring dozens of counselors and has developed an
interactive
: > video so soldiers can identify warning signs and help a distraught
: > colleague through various scenarios. The Army and the National
Institute
: > of Mental Health recently announced a five-year, $50 million research
: > program into the factors behind soldier suicides.
: >
: > The VA, meanwhile, is taking steps to improve its screening among
veterans
: > diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and
increase
: > training so chaplains can look for warning signs. In July 2007, it
: > launched a national suicide hot line, which receives thousands of
calls
: > each month, said Fred Blow, director of the VA's Serious Mental
Illness
: > Treatment Research and Evaluation Center.
: >
: > "The Army is doing everything possible, but you still have those who
: > choose to take their own lives," said Maj. Nathan Banks, an Army
: > spokesman.
: >
: > A cook -- and a gunner
: >
: > For Joshua Barber, the serious problems began a year after his return
from
: > Iraq.
: >
: > He had deployed with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry
Division
: > from September 2004 to October 2005. The Stryker brigade has since
: > transferred to Germany.
: >
: > Barber was a cook but found himself a gunner on missions in Iraq.
: >
: > His VA physician wrote in an assessment after his death that "it is
: > reasonable and valid to attribute his suicide to post-traumatic stress
: > disorder, particularly in light of the fact that he joined during
peace
: > time, not knowing he would be called on to serve in war. ...
: >
: > "At the point of enlistment, he probably never suspected that he would
be
: > called on to serve in a combat role," she wrote in the assessment, a
copy
: > of which was provided to The Olympian by Kelly Barber.
: >
: > Barber joined the service before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
: >
: > On Dec. 21, 2004, a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a mess
tent
: > near the Mosul airport, killing 22 people. Among the dead were 14 U.S.
: > service members, including six Fort Lewis soldiers.
: >
: > For days, Barber and other soldiers had to keep the area secure and
escort
: > federal agents around the crime scene. After his return home, he had
: > nightmares about the mutilated bodies lying everywhere, his wife said.
: >
: > "He would say that all he could remember was the smell of death," she
: > said. "That bothered him quite a bit."
: >
: > When a sniper's bullet killed his first sergeant, Barber blamed
himself.
: > He was convinced the noncommissioned officer would still be alive if
: > Barber had gone on that mission, his wife wrote in materials submitted
to
: > the government.
: >
: > Barber noted in his post-deployment health screening that he felt at
least
: > one time during his deployment that he was in "great danger" of being
: > killed. He also acknowledged that he had an experience so frightening
and
: > upsetting near the end of his tour that he felt numb or detached.
: >
: > However, the screening official concluded that Barber had "no medical
: > issues" and didn't refer him for treatment, including for combat and
: > operational stress, according to the screening, a copy of which was
: > provided by Kelly Barber.
: >
: > Her husband eventually sought private care.
: >
: > During his leave, the couple attended a concert by Weezer, an
alternative
: > rock band. Barber, who his wife said was usually "the first one in the
: > mosh pit," couldn't handle having so many people around him.
: >
: > She later recalled a camping trip where she remarked about the beauty
of
: > the surrounding mountains. Her husband said he liked the scenery,
too --
: > because there would be "good hiding places so no one would get me,"
she
: > remembers him saying.
: >
: > Medically unfit
: >
: > Barber's status with the military added to his stress. He transferred
to
: > an Army Reserve unit based in Tacoma to serve out his military
contract.
: >
: > He was required to undergo a retention physical. It wasn't until
August
: > 2007, nearly a year after he underwent the physical, that he was found
: > medically unfit to continue serving. The military deemed the reasons
to be
: > nonduty-related.
: >
: > He was given an honorable discharge in January. He was hired as a cook
at
: > Madigan, where his wife also worked. (Kelly Barber no longer works
there.
: > The 40-year-old just moved to Florida, where her family lives.)
: >
: > By spring, and after some initial delays, Joshua Barber had received a
: > disability claim from the VA for post-traumatic stress disorder and
had
: > begun receiving treatment at one of its hospitals.
: >
: > He had requested a transfer back to the active-duty ranks so he could
join
: > a Warrior Transition unit, where injured soldiers are assigned until
they
: > either can return to their regular unit or are medically retired.
: >
: > He thought receiving counseling in an environment where other soldiers
: > shared his experience with combat would aid in his treatment, his wife
: > said.
: >
: > Kelly Barber said the couple worked with Madigan officials to help
approve
: > his transfer, but there were numerous delays and no decision had been
made
: > at the time of his suicide.
: >
: > Sharon Ayala, spokeswoman for Madigan, declined to comment because an
: > investigation is pending.
: >
: > Drinking and an apology
: >
: > Early in the morning of Aug. 24, Kelly Barber awoke to find her
husband
: > watching television in the living room, drunk. His drinking had become
a
: > problem.
: >
: > She became angry and stormed back to the bedroom. Later in the day, he
: > called her at work to apologize. In one of their last conversations,
he
: > "said he loved me and he was sorry," she recalled, breaking down
during an
: > interview.
: >
: > "Sometimes I think it's my fault," she said a little while later.
: >
: > He wasn't home when she returned from work. She later discovered that
he'd
: > taken all the guns and ammunition from the home.
: >
: > On the kitchen counter, she found his cell phone and a green Post-It
note.
: >
: > "I love you. Please do not blaim (sic) yourself. Sorry," it read.
: >
: > She called police.
: >
: > Surveillance video shows that Barber arrived at Madigan about 7 a.m.
the
: > next day and didn't get out of the pickup, according to the police
report.
: > A Madigan employee found his body two days later and called 9-1-1.
Kelly
: > Barber, who was working at the time of the discovery, was notified
later
: > that morning.
: >
: > According to the medical examiner's report, Barber had put a revolver
: > loaded with hollow-point rounds to the right side of his head and
pulled
: > the trigger.
: >
: > He was dressed in his old combat uniform.
: >
: > "He was making a statement to the military," Kelly Barber said.
: >
: > **********
: >
: >
: > _______________________________________________
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: > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
: > http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss
: >
: