Re: Daniel Pearl is NOT dead

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

>Dan B wrote--
>I also think that this story has received a disproportionate amount of news
>coverage.  There are Americans being held hostage today by terrorists in the
>Philippines and they are rarely mentioned in the news, while the Pearl story
>leads the news.  American business people are often kidnapped in third world
>countries around the world, and their stories are rarely covered by the
>national media.  I certainly wish Mr. Pearl and his family the best, but it
>seems like the media considers the lives of reporters more valuable than
>other people.

I see your point, but I must disagree.  While the media do in fact 
disproportionately cover what western countries and western journalists do, 
for me the importance of this story relates to how the media have had a 
very difficult time gaining access, as they also did during the Gulf 
War.  The military and the current administration have greatly restricted 
where journalists can go, and we get Donald Rumsfeld's spin on things more 
than we get the views of working journalists-- and no, this is not a debate 
about Bush or about the military.  It's a documented fact that the military 
control access to what is and is not reported during wartime, and yes Mr 
Rumsfeld is a good speaker.  But I think many of us were genuinely 
interested in those reporters who were trying to do the very dangerous job 
of keeping the public informed-- when 4 journalists (none of whom were 
Americans) were killed a few weeks back, it too got a lot of play, and 
deservedly so.  When Geraldo said he was going over to bring back Osama 
dead or alive, that too got some play.  Sometimes, like it or not, the 
media ARE part of the story. And the public needs to know that those who 
take on the responsibility of covering the news sometimes catch assignments 
that are neither glamourous nor safe.  It's not always about standing in 
the studio and talking about Brady versus Bledsoe.  It's not always about 
discussing the salaries of TV morning show anchors or the latest politician 
having sex with an intern.  Finding out what it happening in the war on 
terrorism is a story that affects us all.  Mr Pearl was trying to get us 
that information.  His death would send a chilling message about the 
lengths terrorists will go to prevent their identities and methods from 
being known.