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

[Brussel Morton K.]

It has seemed to me a fairly consistent policy of the N-G to glorify  
and protect the military, in editorial commentary as in news stories.  
And the behavior in the article at issue is consistent with that  
policy. It is not new, but it's more than irritating.  --mkb


On Dec 8, 2008, at 11:00 PM, Randall Cotton wrote:

> 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
> : >
> :
>
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