Media interest in covering return of fallen soldiers drops

Media interest has fallen off sharply since almost 40 reporters, photographers and camera operators turned out to document the arrival of Myers’ body. At a more recent casualty arrivals, the only media representative was a lone photographer from The Associated Press.

This is really sad! All the complaints from the media about being banned from Dover, stopped from taking pictures of the flag covered caskets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and now this is the result? How can they possibly lose interest? Isn't it bad enough that they no longer cover what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan? Good Lord, too many people in this country have no clue what is happening in either country and they don't bother to find out. The media buries the stories in local papers and the national media seems more interested in President Obama's picture on a magazine with different colored swimming shorts!

Most families OK coverage of fallen soldiers

By Randall Chase - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Apr 27, 2009 11:28:13 EDT

DOVER, Del. — In the weeks since the Pentagon ended an 18-year ban on media coverage of fallen soldiers returning to the U.S., most families given the option have allowed reporters and photographers to witness the solemn ceremonies that mark the arrival of flag-draped transfer cases.

Critics had warned that military families needed privacy and peace activists might exploit the images, but so far the coverage has not caused problems.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers of Hopewell, Va., who died April 4 in Afghanistan, was the first combat casualty whose return to American soil was witnessed by the media. He was to be buried with full military honors Monday afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Most families OK coverage of fallen soldiers

Coverage of fallen should not be a debate

No part of covering the return of our fallen service members should be open to debate. It should be up to the families involved and only their wishes deserve to be respected. By that I mean it should be respected one side with the other. Families deciding they do not want their family members coffins covered by the media deserve no more or less respect than the families wishing to have media coverage. It's simply up to them. I've heard both sides of this issue and heard what others have to say but no one should ever be in any kind of position to judge them or decide for them. After all, it is their son, daughter, husband, wife, brother or sister being returned. They are the people who will grieve the most and it should be entirely up to them what will ease their pain even if it's just a little by a gesture from a nation grateful for the life they have lost in service to this nation. We should honor them all but we cannot do this by hiding them, avoiding them or denying them the right to have it covered by the media if this is what they want. Maybe, just maybe if more people witness the return of the fallen they would stop being so disconnected from the sacrifices made for what this nation asked of them.

Media covers return of fallen airman

By Beth Miller - The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal via Gannett News Service
Posted : Monday Apr 6, 2009 15:29:01 EDT

DOVER, Del. — The service of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Va., was not finished when he died Saturday in Afghanistan of injuries suffered from an improvised explosive device.

Late Sunday night, the arrival of Myers’ body at Dover Air Force Base in a flag-draped transfer case became a powerful reminder to his nation and the world of the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces and the high cost of war.

His return also marked an early watershed in the administration of President Barack Obama, a nod in favor of transparency and away from secrecy favored by prior administrations.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/gns_hero_returns_040609w/

Ban on coverage of military coffins may be lifted

Gates open to lifting ban on casket photos
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 10, 2009 16:00:34 EST

The controversial policy that bans media coverage of flag-draped caskets arriving from the war theater to Dover Air Force Base, Del., is once again being reviewed with an eye toward reversal, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

“If the needs of the families can be met, and the privacy concerns can be addressed, the more honor we can accord these fallen heroes, the better,” Gates said at a Pentagon news conference. “I’m ... pretty open to, to whatever the results of this review may be.”

Gates said he ordered the review after President Barack Obama said Monday night during a nationally broadcast news conference that the White House is “in the process of reviewing those policies.”

Gates said he has put a “fairly short deadline on that effort,” but was not more specific.

Gates, a Bush administration holdover who has served in the Pentagon’s top job since December 2006, said he looked into changing the policy a little over a year ago.

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Army forms military funeral coverage panel

Army forms military funeral coverage panel
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, September 30, 2008
ARLINGTON, Va. — Journalists will now have a say on what the media can and cannot do when covering funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.

Army Secretary Peter Geren has signed a new media policy for the cemetery that calls for the creation of an oversight board that will include representatives from the cemetery, the Army and the media, including Stars and Stripes.

The board will serve as a forum to discuss "what is working well, what needs to be improved, what needs to be addressed in the future," said Army spokesman Paul Boyce.

Boyce said the board is expected to hold its first meeting in late October, and it should meet again before Veterans Day.

"The cemetery itself personifies the respect that we all have for our veterans," Boyce said. "We want to make sure that the media are part of that process, as transparent as possible, but while also respecting the wishes of the families and the deceased."
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57767

New media policy coming for Arlington burials

New media policy coming for Arlington burials

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Aug 8, 2008 17:03:35 EDT

Conversations between Arlington National Cemetery officials and family members regarding media coverage of funerals would be strictly scripted in an effort to develop a clear understanding of the family’s wishes, according to a new draft policy being considered by Army Secretary Pete Geren.

And if family members give their consent for “limited audio coverage,” the main speaker at the service will be able to wear a wireless microphone so nearby reporters can hear the remarks.

Army officials unveiled the proposed policy in an unusual Friday afternoon roundtable with reporters and representatives of veterans groups, soliciting criticisms and suggestions to bring the policy into sharper focus. The Army secretary has oversight responsibility for Arlington.

The outsiders were invited to comment because coverage of funerals at Arlington has come under fire in recent months, sparked by a Washington Post column on the April 23 funeral of Marine Corps Lt. Col. Billy Hall that blasted Arlington officials for keeping the media out of earshot and at a disadvantageous camera angle despite the fact that the family granted permission for coverage.

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Media access to funerals allegedly discouraged

Media access to funerals allegedly discouraged

Ex-employee says Arlington official contacted families about media allowance
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Aug 5, 2008 9:58:07 EDT

The former spokeswoman for Arlington National Cemetery says the facility’s No. 2 official has been calling military families to try to talk them out of media coverage of their loved ones’ funerals, despite his denials that he does so.

Gina Gray, who was fired June 27 after 2½ months on the job, said Deputy Director Thurman Higginbotham told her in early May that he had been making such calls for about a year — while denying he did so at least three times, including once in an April 30 meeting with Pentagon reporters to discuss the cemetery’s media policy.

Gray, an advocate for a more welcoming policy for the media at the iconic cemetery, said Higginbotham also frequently asserted that many families have told him they don’t want media coverage. But after reviewing all Arlington paperwork for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001 and buried at the cemetery, Gray found that 63 percent of the families agreed to media coverage, wishes relayed through their casualty assistance officers to Arlington officials.
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Bill to allow media at military ceremonies

My two cents. Honor what the family wants and leave it at that.

Bill to allow media at military ceremonies

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 1, 2008 16:24:33 EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina congressman says the news media should be allowed to cover military ceremonies honoring troops who died while on active duty as well as the arrival of remains at military bases.

Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., said Friday that legislation he co-sponsored this week would highlight the sacrifices made by members of the military.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_militaryceremonies_080108/