Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site ssc-vax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!wanttaja From: wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.tv,net.flame Subject: Re: MURDER of CBS News crew in Lebanon Message-ID: <572@ssc-vax.UUCP> Date: Thu, 28-Mar-85 12:22:15 EST Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.572 Posted: Thu Mar 28 12:22:15 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 29-Mar-85 01:48:19 EST References: <165@kvue.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Boeing Aerospace Co., Seattle, WA Lines: 62 Xref: watmath net.politics:8275 net.tv:2721 net.flame:9009 How in the world can you blow up an isolated incident into a government policy? Have you watch the subsequent CBS coverage of this tragedy? CBS now says that the Israeli tank was "hundreds" of meters away (based upon reports of other reporters on the scene). The car the men were driving was clearly marked as a media representative, all right... a white card, 5 by 8 inches laying on the dash of the car. How readable would that have been, 500 feet away? Could it have been recognizable AS A MEDIA ID? IF it was even seen, could it have been mistaken for a road map (lying on the dash, after all), a handkerchief, a first aid kit? Put yourself in the place of the Israeli tank commander. People have been shooting at him for days (don't flame me about whether he should have been there, line troopers don't make foreign policy), he's hot, dusty, and 500 feet way some men are crouching by a car. Both men are dressed in plain civilian clothes, the same as the adversary forces (I will not call them terrorists, as they are in their own country, fighting invaders). One man lifts something out of the back seat and places it on his shoulder. The other runs to him with a case. The first man swivels and points the object at your tank. You now have seconds to decide... is it a camera, or are you and your crew going to burn to death when an antitank missle hits you? It is very possible for a camera to be mistaken for a antitank weapon- after all, this is happening hundreds of feet away, and both devices are used similarly (shoulder held, with an assisant to load/work sound). I have news for you...all nations do not *worship* media reps. Your implied comments about media privleges reminds me of hundreds of Americans in foreign jails, saying dazedly, "But I'm an American citizen!!!" It doesn't wash. "Freedom of the Press", as guarranteed by the Constitution, ends when you leave US territory. You are at the mercy of whoever you meet. I mourn the CBS rep's deaths as I mourn any senseless death, but when you wander into a war zone... Sir, you scare me. Your deliberate attempts to sound "fair" as you slip in every dig at the Israelis is not an unknown tactic, but it frightens me to the bone to read it from media representative. What are your newscasts like? Does your station use it's power to fairly report the news, ensure justice, and protect it's viewers, or is it twisted in a way to win viewers to your own private politics? Feel free to present you politics openly, identified as an editorial, but did your newscast on this event start... "Israeli storm troopers executed two unarmed CBS reporters today..." Great power is a massive responsibility, are you using it for good or evil? ***FLAME OFF*** As a suggestion, you may want to remove the site identification from your path and .signature. Should your station ever be sued by someone, you postings could be used as evidence in court as offical statments, and I'm not sure that a standard disclaimer would help, as the courts are interested in the "mental processes" of reporters. For instance, should I post an article critical of Boeing airliners, it could be used in a lawsuit in an attempt to prove the "internal opinion" of Boeing products. Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja) "...Get the widow on the set, we need dirty laundry..."