The unethical practice of reporters raising awareness

Morally Wrong Awareness
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 4, 2018

What is so hard about "raising awareness" of anything? Getting publicity without doing much else. It is almost as if Americans in masses woke up one morning and decided they were chosen to talk about veterans committing suicide. Did it ever dawn on reporters it was unethical to just publicize these groups?

Definition of unethical

: not conforming to a high moral standard : morally wrong : not ethical illegal and unethical business practices immoral and unethical behavior

These groups got the idea it was a good thing to do, as well as an easy one, from reporters. After all, it was reporters grabbing the headline from the VA Suicide report, that started the frenzy. It did not matter that the VA stated clearly, it was limited data from just 21 states.

Not much mattered as long as they had their headline of "22 a day" referring to the number of veterans they thought were not worth much more than that.

They may have had good intensions but had really bad information. Did they bother to read the reports? 

Americans lined up to get their tax exempt numbers and then called reporters to make sure they were noticed. Yet again, reporters did not seem to care about anything beyond whatever they were told. No questions asked.

It was so easy that soon there were over 400,000 charities focused on veterans. Yes, you read that right.

Donors who want to make contributions towards charitable programs that serve the military and veterans face an almost overwhelming volume of choices with, by some accounts, the existence of over 40,000 nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving the military and veterans and an estimated 400,000 service organizations that in some way touch veterans or service members. Even the 2013/2014 Directory of Veterans and Military Service Organizations published by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as an informational service for veterans seeking support lists over 140 national nonprofit organizations. Additionally, the number of new veterans charities has increased relatively rapidly over the past five years or so, growing by 41% since 2008 compared with 19% for charities in general, according to The Urban Institute as reported in a December 2013 The NonProfit Times article. 

You would think that with all of them working to "help veterans" there would be no veteran left waiting for anything. Then again, you have to think that reporters were actually doing their jobs.

Over and over again, they go out and cover a group claiming to be "raising awareness" and over and over again, you read how many more veterans are being failed right in that same town. 

More and more states reported a raise in veterans committing suicide at the same time there are about 5 million less veterans in the US than there were back in 1999 when the VA knew about 20 veterans committing suicide a day. Yes, again, you read that right.

Should pretty much prove that when it comes to reporters, they really don't know much at all. Next time you read about a group raising awareness in your area, contact the report and start asking them questions. You know, the same question they should have asked before they publicized the group.