"Historic Times" Deserve Better Media Coverage, Says Prof. Kevin Howley

November 2, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "There's an old saw in the news business: Journalism is the first draft of history," notes Kevin Howley, associate professor of communication at DePauw University. In a Bloomington Alternative op-ed, Dr. Howley notes that "too often, news workers use this phrase to dodge responsibility for getting the historical record right. It's a convenient way to make claims to journalistic authority without much concern for historical accuracy, or public accountability for that matter."

With talk of sending more American troops to Afghanistan and a continuing debate over the USA's health care system, "These are historic times," the professor states. "But a closer look at mainstream press coverage in recent weeks reveals that reporters, editors and publishers are sleepwalking through history."

Howley feels media outlets are ignoring key voices in these, and other discussions. He notes, "Even last week's high-profile resignation of Mathew Hoh, a Foreign Service officer and former Marine Corps captain who quit his post over the use of military force in Afghanistan, failed to motivate the U.S. press corps to appreciate the lessons of history. Hoh believes that the U.S. occupation is fueling the insurgency and that we risk embroiling our forces in an increasingly vicious and costly civil war if we escalate the fighting and add more troops to the occupation. In response to Hoh's resignation, Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who in 1971 leaked to the New York Times the Pentagon Papers -- top-secret documents that revealed years of U.S. government deception about the Vietnam War -- observed the ominous parallels between Vietnam and Afghanistan. In a statement published by the Institute for Public Accuracy, Ellsberg said: 'I see the situation as Vietnamistan: If you put more troops in this year, the Taliban will be stronger next year. We recruit as we kill and support a corrupt, dope-dealing government. There's no way of making this government look like it really cares about the Afghan people. No foreign troops have ever carried out a successful counter-insurgency campaign in terms of actually winning over the population.'"

Howley adds, "Predictably, Ellsberg's analysis has not gained much traction in the mainstream media. Instead, reaction to Hoh's resignation, and what it might say about the prospects of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, was limited to military personnel and administration officials who have made it clear that a troop surge is imminent."

He concludes, "This willful ignorance of history does a profound disservice to the American people and further undermines the already shaky credibility of the mainstream news media."

The complete essay may be found by clicking here.

Kevin Howley is the editor of the recently published textbook, Understanding Community Media, and authored Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies. He discussed horror films with California's Contra Costa Times in a recent story.

Send this story to a friend. Share