INTERVIEWS

Interview I: PFC Patrick Nekeronic

Private first class Patrick Nekeronic had experienced the presence of the media while he was overseas in Iraq. Patrick is now twenty-three and a Bowling Green native, and will be returning to the university this spring.

According to Patrick there was a large amount of media workers that would follow him and his fellow soldiers through the ordeal overseas and it was not often when you could not find someone with a camera in there hands. There were some that would come and go and a few that would stay for weeks at a time just following them, setting up camp and trying to take in as much as possible to report back home. Private Nekeronic mentioned that there was really never a time that a reporter got in their way or caused any sort of interference. In fact, Patrick had never seen or heard of any civilian interference. Patrick talked about one guy that he got to know very well, whose name was Tony Petro. Petro was reporter that was following Patrick's unit for quite some time and it ended up that the two of them happened to vacation in the same spot. Although not at the same time it still gave them something to talk about. Also it gave this reporter a chance to see war in a soldiers eyes.

The majority of the time there was no real inconvenience caused by all the reporters. Usually they would try to stay out of the way as much as possible. The major inconvenience was when they would mess up the rhythm of the group by a flash going off or them talking to each other. "We were told to act as if know one was there and to not let them interfere with anything and that wasn't a real problem." Most of the times when you ask them to stop something they would do it, unless it was their cameras when they were broadcasting. These guys had a job to do and they are trying to it to the best of their ability and they did try to get the best footage possible, but when it came down to it they would yield to the U.S. soldiers and let them do their job. For Patrick, his experience with the media on the frontline was more so a positive experience!

Interview II: Anonymous ROTC Member

An interview with an anonymous ROTC Private here at Bowling Green State University believes that there is not enough coverage on the War in Iraq. Several times he mentioned that the coverage of the war is not a reflection of what is really happening over there. "The media is not showing the good things our armed forces are doing." When asked about what he thought about reporters in the war zone and their so called adequate reports, he responded in the manner that they are just out there to get a story. "Journalists who are over there need to be controlled because such events as Geraldo's could have been prevented had his story been reviewed before broadcasting it." This ROTC member also mentioned that the U.S. Forces are not too happy with Mr. Rivera. One thing we found quite interesting was that this Private said that he feels the stations that are twenty-four hour news stations are just broadcasting stories to have something to talk about, whereas CBS, NBC, ABC, ect. Is doing a better job broadcasting because they get right down to the nitty gritty of what is happening.

When rapping up the interview with this gentleman, one particular thing he said caught our attention! "Violence sells and keeps ones attention." He however feels that America is not being shown the good and positive acts our troops are doing in Iraq and the media is just telling its viewers action stories that keep their attention. The last thing the he said was, "I wish they would show more of our soldiers doing public good instead of who died in what gun fight." It was a very touching yet eye-opening interview!

Interview III: Sergeant Andrew Rayman

As a group we had the privilege of communication access to a Sergeant who is currently full filling his duties in Baghdad, Iraq. Sergeant Andrew Rayman is a member of the 1st Armored Division and has been in the army for five years and is currently experiencing first hand, his very first war. When discussing the media on the frontline and what he thought about the mass media coverage of the war he had more than a mouthful of comments.

"News network producers do not look for the good in the actions of the soldiers; they look for some cause of discontentment." SGT. Rayman discussed how the media in this war have more freedom and privileges than what the media had during the Dessert Storm. Back then the media was controlled of what could be said and they were kept together and what the journalist witnessed, and reported on was controlled by the military. "Now in the war with Iraq, the media has a semi-controlled atmosphere that they work in. The media is allowed to have a lot more access to operations, planning, incidents and results. This in turn gives them more of a chance to influence public opinion in their report." SGT. Rayman discussed in more details of the process that occurred for the media to have more freedom when broadcasting and reporting on the War in Iraq. He feels that our media does not do an adequate job on reporting and does not tell or show the good our soldiers are doing over there! "The breaking story is not the fact that the military has improved living conditions for the people of Iraq; it is the story that is told about the mistake a soldier made in which a police officer died. What the media doesn't tell the viewers is that there are many people in Baghdad that the soldiers see with weapons and a soldier has to decide quickly if this person with the weapon is hostile." He too agreed with the other two gentlemen we interviewed that the media does not show the good our soldiers are doing over there!

Sergeant Rayman told us a story of how a U.S. soldier was punished for a mistake using deadly force. "When this happens the media calls this justice. Punishing a U.S. soldier for trying to do their duty and protect the liberties that everyone in the states gets to enjoy on a daily basis." When ending the interview SGT. Rayman was asked if he agrees with having media on the frontline to give coverage. "I think it is important for the U.S. to see what is going on and what is taking place, but the media needs to get their act together and report all of the U.S. forces action both good and bad. The media tells half the story and what half they tell is all about casualties, bombings and the mistakes of our own soldiers, to me I see that as backstabbing those who are risking their lives to save others." The interview with Sergeant Andrew Rayman was very insightful and gave a more rounded perspective of someone who is on the frontlines fighting for our country and how he felt about our mass media's coverage.

The media has been covering war since day one. Some say that it is good because it gives information to the public and exercise their freedom of speech. The negatives of the war are that too much information is given out to the public, children see things that they should not, and it is everywhere so that it is hard to escape it. Children are exposed to the war coverage and it could have traumatizing effects. We spoke with soldiers that are or have lived in the war and with some of the media on the frontlines. They believed that the media was not infringing on their rights to fight and agree with the media broadcast. However, one soldier in particular did not agree with what they are showing as mentioned in the article.