Military & News Media

A few days ago I read an item that brought to mind past thoughts related to how the news media covers different aspects of society. This item was about a group of U.S. Marines returning home after a year’s duty in Iraq, with some having completed a second tour of duty. They arrived at a local air center and were taken to a Marine center where they were greeted by their family and friends. Missing from this event was the news media. They were apparently notified about this homecoming, but must have felt that this was not newsworthy. A large percentage of Americans may disagree with this conflict or war, however you want to classify the military campaign, but the country needs to pay more attention to these men and women as they return home. These members of the different branches of the military are involved in something they believe in and are putting their lives on the line. They do represent, serve, and protect the American public and even if they are volunteers, they are still our military. The media gets so involved in ratings wars that they seem to forget about covering news that could be important to the public. The news stations are too involved in sensationalizing the murder or other crimes along with giving away a car in order to obtain that top rating. Certain network news anchors do try to include a feel good story and I applaud them for taking those steps. I realize that society is burdened with tragic news every day, but it would be acceptable to include some good news stories.