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Casualty Reporting from Afghanistan

geo said:
Might I suggest that the subject was big across the maritimes and cenrtal/western Canada (excluding Quebec) before the deployment of Roto 4 and that Quebec's mainstream media has only just now cought up.

Geo you said that a lot nicer than what my initial thoughts were! ;D
 
Punisher_6D said:
Captain Sensible,

No.  This happened at the same time.  Once a lockdown is lifted in theatre it's free-game for all.  If the media or ISAF, or anyone beats DND releasing relevant information once this is done, then so-be-it. 

I can guarantee that this was not the case.  The lockdown had not been lifted.  End of story. Full stop
 
To add to this, I recall a member of SRC saying that they knew what was going on soon after it happened.  How?  Not obeying lockdown rules.  Don't like the rules: go home.  Full stop.
 
Thought this ironic tidbit (highlighted in red) would be appreciated, in light of the tone of the debate to this point...

Canadian reporter who survives Afghan attack to leave the war-torn country
Martin Ouellet, Canadian Press, 23 Aug 07
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070823/national/afghan_cda_journalists

A Radio-Canada reporter who survived a roadside bomb attack that killed two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter said Thursday the horrific nature of the blast is hard to describe.  Patrice Roy, 44, told reporters at the Canadian base in Kandahar that he was writing his report inside the moving armoured vehicle just seconds before the explosion.

(....)

Roy says his family had questioned his decision to go to the war-torn country, where 69 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed since 2002.  "It's difficult because, for them, it was the part of my mission that they underlined before the departure - 'Why are you going there? It's too dangerous,"' Roy said.  Shortly after the explosion Roy tried to reach his wife in Canada to let her know he was OK.

Recalling his unkept promises to his family that he would be safe and that he would not go to the front lines, Roy said he "felt terribly bad."

"I was worried for my children not to see the news this morning in Canada," he said.

Uh-huh....................
 
Radio-Canada reporter relives Afghan horror

Patrice Roy yesterday recounted the blast that killed two Canadian soldiers in an interview, translated here from French, with a CBC radio reporter
Aug 24, 2007 04:30 AM


Radio-Canada reporter Patrice Roy was sitting beside Canadian Forces medic Christian Duchesne when the armoured vehicle they were riding in hit a road mine near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Duchesne and a second soldier, Mario Mercier, were killed, as well as an Afghan interpreter. Roy suffered only shock but his cameraman, Charles Dubois, was seriously wounded and had his leg amputated below the knee.

Roy yesterday relived the horrifying experience in an interview, translated here from French, with a CBC radio reporter:


Roy: We left very early in the morning with a company whose mission was to take a mountain, or re-take a mountain. It was 16 kilometres between there and our departure point.

We were told it would be pretty light going, that they didn't think the Taliban would be listening.

But we quickly noticed that the operation would be a lot more complicated.

The Taliban started firing rockets all over the place, not directly at our vehicle because we were following behind, but at the ones ahead. So for 13 hours we drove around a village in the LAV3; we were near the mountain but couldn't go up ........

more on link:  http://www.thestar.com/Special/Afghanistan/article/249393





 
Finding out that someone you know is no longer with us by seeing their picture on the news F&&&& ING SUCKS. It isn't possible to notify everyone who knew a soldier, no matter of how close, but news organisations should respect that the families need to be notified before announcements are made - wait for the green light to make announcements.  It is just courtesy.

I do understand the distinction between saying exact names, with pictures, and giving a general statement "There was an attack and Canadian soldiers were killed, more details later".  It wont earn the news broadcaster any more money releasing the information 3 hours sooner,  and it makes a world of difference to the families.

As for the fate of the reporters who got "the scoop",  Yes turfed from the theater for sure, put the CBC on notice (the reporters didn't do it all by themselves, other people chose to run the story) informing them that another such incident and they will loose their embedding privileges.  And read their replacements the riot act.  Get a warrent officer to read them the penalties for violating the above mentioned laws. I do LOVE the RSM's "I will take this pace stick, shove it up your .... and then OPEN it" speech....   that is to say when I'm not getting it.
 
Infantry_ said:
This is what happens when people (media) doesn't wait until the CF Makes  the announcement http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=2436 Things get messed up and people jump to conclusions,

That link makes a good point - just because the R22R is over there, not every soldier is a member of that unit.  Journalists have a problem with this distinction which is similiar to their inability to tell the differentiate between a Tank, an IFV and APC.
 
I also like the fact that in the media brief they give a website Link which doesn't seem to be able to be accessed from the outside world (or it may be connect).

EDITED TO ADD

Never mind seems to work now  ::)
 
George Wallace said:
The Media today seem to flaunt a warped opinion of what the definition of Freedom of the Press is.  Yes, they have freedom to report, but they must also remember that they don't have the Right to everyone's information.  In essence their interpretation of one Freedom is an intrusion on another Freedom and contradicts those rights.  There are Privacy Laws.  There are matters of National Security.  The Press must know their bounds and abide by them.  They do not have the Right to Know everything.  They do not have the Right to Report everything.  

I think the problem here is that journalists (especially the paparazzi elements) have trouble distinguishing between when a person is a private entity and when they are a public entity.  

Persons who are 'public' (i.e. movie stars, politicians, sports figures, etc.) strive for publicity and are regarded as being unable to hide behind the concept of 'private' when most everything they do makes them 'public', i.e. Gene Simmons of KISS is so 'public' he has even put his family on a reality TV show. As an alternate example, this is one reason why Shania Twain lives in Switzerland, so that she can have a 'private' lifestyle despite a high 'public' profile which she could not do in North America.  This is also why public figures have such a hard time stopping others from writing unofficial biographies about their lives.  

Now, take the case of a 'private' person who becomes 'public', but did not actively seek a public role.  This usually occurs as a result of court cases, but can include disasters, heroic acts, or other noteworthy incidents that propell the individual into the spotlight.  Willing or unwilling, they become regarded as a 'public' figure and are subsequently regarded by the press in general as a 'public' figure, and as such, not covered by all sections of provincial or federal privacy acts (i.e. Clifford Olsen, Terry Fox, Emily Carr, Conrad Black, etc.).  Privacy would still cover private phone numbers and addresses (among other details), but the privacy of incident details or actions that others witnessed become questionable...  
 
When they post a link to correct misconceptions, they need to make sure the info in that link is accurate.  The obvious ones to me:

FROM OTHER PROVINCES (approximately 170 CF members)
(Regular Force)

· 1 Service Battalion – Halifax
...
· 2 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry – Edmonton
...
· 26 Service Battalion – North Bay
· 30 Military Police Company – Shearwater
· 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) – Gagetown
· The British Columbia Dragoons – Kelowna
· The King’s Own Calgary Regiment – Calgary
· The Ontario Regiment – Brampton
 
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