Cincy Enquirer "Grandma in Iraq" blog, Now ID'ed as Military Flack

[sabra]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000293.php

"Grandma" Now ID'ed as Military Flack
By Justin Rood - April 5, 2006, 1:08 PM

A couple days ago I raised an eyebrow -- okay, both eyebrows -- at a blog hosted by the Cincinatti Enquirer's online division, Cincinnati.com.

Titled "Grandma in Iraq," the blog is an unvariably upbeat diary of U.S. successes in the effort to rebuild Iraq.

It's written by a Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Suzanne M. Fournier. Except the site didn't identify her job, and Fournier appeared to have mentioned it specifically only once in the last several months.

Folks called, Editor and Publisher got involved, and now the site has changed her attribution -- it reads:


Suzanne Fournier of Alexandria, grandmother of 15, posts from Iraq. Fournier is the Public Affairs Officer for the Gulf Region Southern District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iraq.


The disclosure is nice to see. I'm still curious to hear from media ethics folks on how they think readers are served by giving a government flack access to publish directly to a newspaper's Web site.

[boobooday]

1. I study Mass Comm

And this is a new one as far as I know. Government and the Corporations have blended seamlessly into a putrid mix of propaganda.

It is a clearly deliberate deception, and a total insult to the idea of a free press.

Perhaps a recourse could come from laws against misleading advertising? That is, could these corporations who advertise that they are providers of "news" be sued for feeding the public government-issued propaganda? And what about the fact that we, as taxpayers, are actually paying for the propaganda that is represented as the products of a free press?

Media Devolution:

Model #1: TV is free, we "pay" with our time by watching commercials.

Model #2: We pay for cable, and watch commercials.

Model #3: See one and two, plus add the cost of paying for the production of pseudo news.

:wtf:

[bryant69]

2. It would depend on whether or not she was doing this

on company time or on her own. I mean she's an American citizen - she's allowed to express her opinion. Not telling people her duties over there was a bit sketchy, but it's more problemattic if she is doing this as part of her job.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[sabra]

3. I believe she did it on the "side", though it was for a media source

however, not disclosing her credentials seems pretty shady...

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Seems to me, if you're in the service you're on the job, 24 hrs/day

unless you are on leave.

IIRC, there have been soldiers that got in trouble for anti-war postings on their own time. This is the flip side of the same thing.

[bryant69]

6. Well I understand people might have different opinions on this

But thsoe anti-war soldiers shouldn't have gotten in troubles either. You don't stop being an American Citizen just because you put on a uniform. And one of the rights of being American Citizen is that you get to express your opinions.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. I quite agree. The point is, if the soldiers' down-time is not really

their own, how can they claim that hers is?

[bryant69]

8. It's a matter of consistency - I understand

And you are right, on that score. But being consistently right is preferable to being consistently wrong.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. "A little consistancy is all I ask!"

Tom Stoppard - Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead

[theHandpuppet]

4. Well, at least she's doing her bit to curb population growth

I'm not sure how that qualifies her as a journalist, but we ARE talking the Cincinnati Enquirer here.

[BurtWorm]

9. Here's the grandma's own confession

Let me take one minute to address a question that was raised today regarding my blog. I work for the US Army Corps of Engineers, they pay my salary and I volunteered to come over here as their employee to officially represent and communicate Iraq reconstruction work completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

This blog is done on my own time, I've tried to give you a personal view of what I've observed here, the people, the land and reconstruction activities. Apparently some people are unhappy that I am communicating with you directly, because they are challenging that I haven't informed you that I am a public affairs officer and my job is to work with the news media and American public.

I've explained my job with the Corps several times in my blogs. If I have misled anyone, I sincerely apologize, that was clearly not my intent. I believe the American taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are being invested in Iraq and I believe my current job puts me in a unique position to provide personal observations since I have traveled the Southern provinces of Iraq for the past eight months.

The Enquirer has decided to open this blog to comments from anyone who wishes to post comments. I appreciate their openess and willingness to support freedom of expression.



Communicate to whom? To readers of the Cincinnati Enquirer? :eyes: