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Mediaman asks the media, was Jessica Lynch a
media creation?
24th July 2003
I
was astonished to see that for some time today, Washingtonpost.com
had the Jessica Lynch homecoming as its main story,
complete with a large color photo. It's true, Jessica's
story does garner eyeballs, as America searches for
an affirmation to emerge from the Iraq rubble. Where
have you gone, Jessica Lynch, our nation turns its
lonely eyes to you ... My take on this affair is that
the media have been playing up the story with a journalistic
hook of 'is this really a story or a media creation
by the military?,' but nonetheless the end result
is more flag-waving coverage that satisfies our post-9/11
hunger for patriots and heroes, real or imagined.
JD
Lasica
Senior Editor
Online Journalism Review
http://jdlasica.com/blog
24th July 2003
Basically,
the entire Jessica Lynch story is fictional.
You'd
certainly never know it from watching American TV
news (which, unfortunately, is where a majority of
Americans say they get their information), but almost
none of what you've heard about her is true.
What
happened is that she and a few others from her convoy
veered off path and her Jeep flipped over. She was
taken to a hospital where she received as much care
as they could provide given their meager resources.
The Iraqis TRIED to return her to the Americans but
the ambulance she was in was shot at so they had to
go back to the hospital.
Soon
after, American forces stormed the hospital grounds.
The Iraqi doctors said that it looked like a Hollywood
movie. They couldn't figure out why they were being
attacked as they are a medical facility. She was turned
over without incident to the Americans--no surprise
given that they had already tried to return her.
The
initial story about her having been shot repeatedly
and all that was totally untrue and was retracted
by the press (without asking how the story got started
in the first place). Essentially, she screwed up and
is being treated like a hero.
Recently,
when her family was asked about what happened to her,
they told the press, "We're not allowed to talk
about that."
Not
allowed by who??
Why
would her family not be allowed to talk about their
own relative?
Perhaps
someone is afraid that they would tell the REAL story?
As for Lynch herself, she says she has amnesia and
doesn't remember the entire incident. Convenient.
Hey,
if you'd like a few really good "alternative"
websites to keep up with what's going on politically
in the U.S., try these: buzzflash.com
bartcop.com mediawhoresonline.com
fair.org Buzzflash
has very good links to stories every day.
Bob
Pagani
Publisher
Cranky Media Guy
www.crankymediaguy.com
Mediaman sourced the following information from
Media Channel
- 25th July 2003
DID
WE SAVE THE WRONG SOLDIER?
Media
Channel's contributor Jackie Newberry writes: "On
CNN the other night, or maybe it was Peter Jennings,
there was a report about a soldier in the same company
who was killed. His parents were upset that he wasn't
getting the attention that Lynch was. According to
them, the Lynch story that
came out was actually about him. It apparently went
out over bad phone lines and "he" was mistaken
for "she". The shootings and stabbings [in
the Lynch myth] were actually all related to this
young man. He bravely fought off the Iraqi attackers
and lost his life in the process. It hasn't been picked
up by the press, until this report. And the military
has done a sorry job about bringing it to anyone's
attention."
The
following from Instapundit.com
- 29th May 2003
Was
she shot or stabbed?.....
Links:
WorldNetDaily.com
- Spin behind Jessica Lynch Story?
CNN
- BBC correspondent defends Lynch documentary
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