Fallen but not forgotten: Lt. Col. Greg Gadson

helen mescheryakova moscow russia — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:01:19 GMT

http://fotki.yandex.ru/tags/%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B0/users/yspenka527/view/131560?how=week&page=1
my best wishes to you and your friends

Fallen but not forgotten: Lt. Col. Greg Gadson

Gary W. Moody, Franklin IN — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:14:33 GMT

Mr. Rutherford:

Since your background and expertise is the military - and you get a lot fewer messages then Brian Williams - let me ask you: Has NBC ever acknowledged its involvement in the "Pentagon pundits" scandal? Has NBC ever committed to making the utmost efforts to steer clear of propaganda and conflicts of interest? I'm asking because NBC News is still consulting on the air with (retired general) Barry McCaffrey, who was the star of a 7 (web) page investigative article in the Nov 29 New York Times - by David Barstow, the reporter who broke the original scandal story. Why has NBC News never revealed McCaffrey's business dealings to your viewers? Don't we need that information in order to know whether or not we can trust the news source? Isn't it a matter of ethics?

From the article:

"The president of NBC News, Steve Capus, said in an interview that General McCaffrey was a man of honor and achievement who would never let business obligations color his analysis for NBC."

Mr. Capus sounds exactly like politicians, or their spokespersons, who say that "donations" never influence their votes.

Because I subscribe to the Center for Media and Democracy's weekly newsletter, I've also found out about NBC News chief legal correspondent Dan Abrams, who was featured in a Nov. 18 NY Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/business/media/19abrams.html) about his new business venture, Abrams Research, which, among other things, advises corporations on how to influence the news media. According to the newsletter report, he stated "NBC News could not have been more accommodating throughout this process."

Would you, or your bosses, please place a call to the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Hotline, have a serious discussion about both of these issues, and get back to me - and the rest of America? Thanks.

Fallen but not forgotten: Lt. Col. Greg Gadson

Crust — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:08:51 GMT

What Garry W. Moody said.

I'd add that parts of this scandal have been public for over 5 years, though they still have yet to be addressed on air by NBC. As The Nation reported in 2003:

'NBC News has yet to disclose those or other involvements that give McCaffrey a vested interest in Operation Iraqi Freedom. McCaffrey, who commanded an infantry division in the Gulf War, is now on the board of Mitretek, Veritas Capital and two Veritas companies, Raytheon Aerospace and Integrated Defense Technologies--all of which have multimillion-dollar government defense contracts. Despite that, IDT is floundering--its stock price has fallen by half since March 2002--a situation that one stock analyst says war could remedy. Since IDT is a specialist in tank upgrades, the company stands to benefit significantly from a massive ground war. McCaffrey has recently emerged as the most outspoken military critic of Rumsfeld's approach to the war, but his primary complaint is that "armor and artillery don't count" enough. In McCaffrey's recent MSNBC commentary, he exclaimed enthusiastically, "Thank God for the Abrams tank and... the Bradley fighting vehicle," and added for good measure that the "war isn't over until we've got a tank sitting on top of Saddam's bunker." In March alone, IDT received more than $14 million worth of contracts relating to Abrams and Bradley machinery parts and support hardware.'

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030421/interns

Fallen but not forgotten: Lt. Col. Greg Gadson

Major Domo — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:42:46 GMT

War, what is it good for? Lining the pockets of GE/NBC.