Two Page 1 items in Stars and Stripes, both featuring attractive women, have stirred up some controversy. In Stripes’ June 8 Europe and Mideast editions, what in the business is called a teaser, or reefer, bore a picture of Paris Hilton with the headline: “That was quick: Hilton leaves jail.” On June 6, Europe and Mideast Page 1s carried a teaser showing former Air Force Staff Sgt. Michelle Manhart posing for a calendar photo, wearing what looked like a bikini but really was body paint. Stripes and many other papers and television networks had produced coverage of both women in the past. These latest entries in Stripes drew complaints.
On media bashing (some of it justified)
Posted June 18th, 2007 by Dave MazzarellaAn interesting comment arrived a few days ago in regard to my June 13 column in this space about the U.S. military being disinclined to get involved in politics. Sent by Dave Hamilton June 14, the comment took up the issue, again, of the performance of the media in a democracy -- ours.
Dave referred to a speech in which Tony Blair lambasted the press. He agreed with Blair's complaint that commentary was sneaking into what should be straight news. That bothers me too; I see more of it on TV and in the news magazines than in newspapers.
Column: Quite a coup that U.S. military ‘stays in the barracks’
Posted June 13th, 2007 by Dave MazzarellaRecently I attended, as a guest, the annual congress of the International Press Institute (IPI) in Istanbul, Turkey. The IPI is a worldwide network of editors and publishers dedicated to the cause of press freedom. Naturally, there was quite a bit of discussion about democracy — which countries practice it and which do not — because you can’t have freedom of the press without it.
