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BBC correspondent Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza last month. It's generated some outrage from western journalists, but even more from those in Palestine. Reuters reporter Nidal al-Mughrabi discusses the Palestinian response to Johnston's abduction.
The war of images took another step forward this month when the U.S. military announced the creation of its own YouTube channel. Army Major Armando Hernandez explains why the Pentagon is bringing the fight to the enemy and to the small screen.
The Iraq war is 4 years old, and the American body count still climbs. This week, Brave New Foundation launched the Iraq Veterans Memorial, an online tribute by friends and families of those killed. Jim Miller discusses memorialization in the YouTube age.
Military hearings are underway for 14 high-value terror suspects at Gitmo. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be hearing their stories – reporters are banned from the proceedings. The Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg describes “combatant status review tribunals,” one of the sole sources of information from Guantanamo Bay.
Heads are rolling in the wake of The Washington Post’s expose
of deplorable conditions at Walter Reed. But Salon's Mark Benjamin has been writing variations
on the Post’s story for years. He discusses the media’s newfound interest
in wounded vets.
Read Mark Benjamin's ongoing coverage here.
The psychological trauma of war isn’t new, but the diagnosis is. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” was coined in 1980, and gave the medical establishment a way to understand the struggles of returning soldiers. PTSD expert Dr. Matthew Friedman explains how changing the phrase helps change the suffering.
Conscious of pre-war parallels, the press proceeded cautiously last week as it reported on possible Iranian involvement in the Iraq war. Columbia Journalism Review's Michael Massing explains why he thinks the coverage still came up lacking. And The New York Times' Michael Gordon defends his handling of the story.
Criticize Israeli policies, and you’re likely to be tarred an anti-Semite. At least that’s what some say has been happening more and more lately. Are mainstream Jewish groups really squelching debate? We ask J.J. Goldberg, editor of The Forward.
