WITH THIS WEEK‘s court-martial of Specialist Sabrina Harman, the press is once more dredging through dishonor among soldiers. By contrast, honor is soon also to be reported, marking a whole other side to the disgusting prisoner-abuse scandal in Iraq.
On Monday cameras will focus on Sgt. Joe Darby, the story’s original whistleblower (below right) as he receives a special John F. Kennedy ”Profile in Courage” Award.
It was Darby who first slipped a CD of the damaging Abu Ghraib photographs to an Army investigator – initially anonymously, though he later came forward.
Darby’s indentification by the media led to him being labeled “traitor“ and “turncoat.” His family have recently been living under government protection. They had their house windows smashed, along with the predictable but shocking death threats. So Darby will be taking an unaccustomed step into the limelight at the JFK Library – doubtless with mixed feelings.
His citation, though, is clear. Caroline Kennedy says: “Our nation is indebted to Joseph Darby for standing up for the rule of law that we embrace as a nation.“
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KEEPING SOURCES anonymous is a perpetually thorny issue for journalists.
With scandals or security matters it is understandable – indeed it’s often essential for an effective, independent press.
But the use of unidentified sources has reached epidemic proportions. The New York Times, whose internal committee on restoring credibility issued its report this week, wants its reporters to use anonymity sparing)y.
Executive Editor Bill Keller promises he’ll soon devise “an implementation plan that goes beyond exhortation.” He’d do well to adopt a suggestion from the Times’ own Public Editor, Dan Okrent, that would require reporters to write: “This reporter GRANTED anonymity because …”
Taking responsibility like this would make the numbers of needlessly nameless simply “plummet,” says Okrent.
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IT’S HILARIOUS how the New York Post’s frantic efforts to damage the Daily News appear to have achieved the exact opposite result. With some With some sharp attack headlines like “SCRATCH’n’STIFF!”, the Post took the News to task for the faults in its numbers contest that failed to deliver winnings.
Cards for the “Scratch ‘n’ Match” game come with the News’ Sunday edition. And according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation’s latest report, the News has increased Sunday sales by 4.1%, now reaching over 835,000 readers.
Meanwhile the Post itself has lost 4% on Sundays, dropping to 427,000 readers. Maybe readers crossed over to see what the fuss was about.
Speaking of circulation . . . I must pass on the latest from The Media Audit. It assesses amNewYork at a daily readership of 529,700 – the biggest slice of whom are under 35 years old, and who skew heavily toward having a college education and higher earnings.
