Military news on Page 1
I can be sure when we cover local news about Iraq or the military that someone will complain.
Feature stories about a soldier returning from Iraq or about two siblings enlisting in the Navy are going to elicit complaints that we’re glorifying the military to show our support for the war in Iraq. One such thought was posted on the Eyes and Ears forums this week.
“… I suggest you should change the name of your paper, really, to Monroe Military News. Weren’t we bombarded the last couple of days with military this and military that? I really don’t think Mondays’ article about siblings going into the Navy deserved to be front page headlines. Couldn’t the editors find something a little more news-worthy? I guess you’re still trying to push Mr. Bush’s illegal war.” See entire thread here.
Meanwhile, virtually every time we cover an anti-war protest - such as on Page 1 today - we draw criticism from others. How dare we put those unpatriotic images on the front page? We’re giving comfort to the enemy.
People on both sides want to believe that we’re either anti-war or pro-war, anti-Bush or pro-Bush, anti-left or anti-right. They’re looking for any sign of how we lean.
Frankly, I’m sure there are individuals in our newsroom who are opposed to the war. I know there are others who support U.S. involvement in Iraq and want us to stay as long as necessary. Without polling the newsroom, I’d guess the percentages are about the same as in the general population.
But that’s not how we make news decisions. The No. 1 question we ask ourselves over and over is, “How many readers would be interested?” There are other factors, of course. “Is it important?” “Will it touch peoples’ lives?” “Do we have a reporter or photographer available then? “Have we covered a similar story recently.” “How does it fit with the other news of the day?”
The brother and sister enlisting in the Navy may not have been a Page 1 story 5 years ago, as it was Monday. Neither would a soldier returning home from service visiting his son at school, which was on Page 1 Tuesday.
But today we’re in a war - a deadly war. Our soldiers and sailors are dying at the rate of nearly 100 a month. That makes two members of a family enlisting together a lot more compelling. How do you suppose their mother feels? Proud? Frightened. I suspect both.
How do you think that father and son felt when they hugged for the first time in nine months? Strong emotions like those are what make good news stories. We can all relate. We care, whether we support the war or not.
We also don’t apologize for covering war protests on Page 1. Surveys tell us that most Americans agree that we should remove our troops from Iraq and let them settle their own civil war. Events like Wednesday’s protest may only draw a dozen people, but they represent the views of many.
Every war protest won’t be on Page 1. That depends on many factors, as I mentioned above. And the same goes for military feature stories.
But as long as our nation’s at war, those stories are more likely to rise to the top of the “are readers interested” meter.