Making War Coverage a National Community Project

[Reporter]

Sending a reporter into harm's way is a risky business. We appreciate help and assistance from our community and from other Americans who want to see real stories about real people serving at war.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem-News.com reporter Tim King is preparing to visit Baghdad, Iraq in late March for four to six weeks to cover the Oregon Guard at war. This will be Tim's second trip overseas to cover the combat operations of Oregon's civilian soldiers. He will also cover operations of the U.S. Army's historic 10th Mountain Division at Kirkuk, Iraq.


Americans at large seem to have lost interest in Iraq and in spite of the fact that tens of thousands of our soldiers go on fighting and in some cases, dying there, the demand for war coverage at the American networks has never been lower.


Groups like the conservative Media Research Center say FOX News is more fair when it comes to war coverage, but Portland's local FOX affiliate which carried Tim's work from Afghanistan during the winter of 2006/07 has declined to carry the Iraq coverage of Oregon's soldiers.


Unfortunately for the Oregon National Guard, Portland, Oregon's TV stations share a seemingly equal level of disinterest when it comes to Iraq. It appears as though it is up to the Internet and new media outlets to make up the difference.


Oregon's soldiers in particular, have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan in some cases multiple times, in an attempt to feed the machine set into motion by our federal government.
Setting out to secure the necessary resources for a journalistic mission of this nature during the Vietnam War was only a fraction of the challenge for journalists, as the nation remained glued to combat reports on TV for the duration of the war. But coverage can make a war unpopular and so the trends affecting the Iraq War are different.


If this bothers you and you support our men and women in uniform who are fighting in Iraq, then help us accomplish this trip with a high degree of success by pitching in with our list of needs that won't be accommodated or offset through one of our local stations.



If you think you have a few bucks to share with another Marine who is now covering the Army and everyone else at war in Iraq, then please visit the story and use the PayPal link: http://salem-news.com/articles/febru..._4_2-24-08.php



Semper fi,
Tim King
Salem-News.com

[gunga55]

good luck Tim keep us posted

[Reporter]

Thanks much for the good wishes, I hope it influences other fair minded reporters and media groups to do the same. Our people are doing a good job, I am anxious to show it to people and will keep everyone posted. Departure still looks like around the end of this month.
Thanks, Tim

[gunga55]

I checked Tims site he ships on April 1