HELP! WANTED: "Good News" stories from the war.

[horselady]

I met with Sean Hannity today (host of America's 2nd most popular radio talk show and co-host of Hannity & Colmes of FOX NEWS TV). Because he is always complaining that the media only reports the bad news stories coming out of Iraq/Afghanistan and about our military, I asked him would he read the good stories on the air if I could provide them? He said, "Yes, definitely, please send as many as you can and I will be happy to read them."

So, if I may appeal to you first, can anyone here please tell me the best way to get these stories?

I know there are some in the Marine Inspirational Stories forum
but is there a better place to get
access to a lot of these stories, such as on the USMC official site?
Obviously I am not limited to only Marines stories but theirs would
naturally be my first choice. The stories don't have to be long
and they don't have to be limited to stories of great heroism. Those of a
personal nature, a moment in time, such as a small Iraqi child handing
a flower to passing Marine, or Marines helping to get a school or hospital
open to the joy of local people, or "thank you America" signs being held up
as a convoy passes by, etc. would be great human interest stories.
Virtually anything that demonstrates how much success our military is
actually achieving would make for wonderful copy which Sean would
be honored to convey to his large audience.

I can't find all this by myself, so if you could direct me to the best
places, websites, or people who could help me with this endeavor,
I would be very grateful.

My email is: HOOFPRINT4@excite.com

Thanks,

Bonni

[ChristianMedia]

Email Hannity at hannity@foxnews.com . Send a copy to Brit Hume at special@foxnews.com cavuto@foxnews.com John Gibson at myword@foxnews.com and heartland@foxnews.com



http://www.usmcmuseum.org/graphics/ProdImages/08_450.jpg

[horselady]

There is an actual Topic over this, on the Leatherneck.com Boards.

Are Marine Inspirational Stories and Frontline Stories the ones you mean?

[horselady]

Email Hannity at hannity@foxnews.com . Send a copy to Brit Hume at special@foxnews.com cavuto@foxnews.com John Gibson at myword@foxnews.com and heartland@foxnews.com



http://www.usmcmuseum.org/graphics/ProdImages/08_450.jpg

Thanks for the addys. For now, I'm going to stick with Hannity as I
have spoken with him personally and anything I send to him will
not have to go thru the usual channels and "assistants" but directly
to him.

[ChristianMedia]

I know them all. They use my work almost daily. They always want good stuff from Marines. They wuv us... The program 'Heartland' was my idea.
:marine:

[horselady]

I know them all. They use my work almost daily. They always want good stuff from Marines. They wuv us... The program 'Heartland' was my idea.
:marine:

That's great! But I don't want to be redundant sending him what you've already sent them before. Is there any way to coordinate this? Or can you
tell me which stories they have already used, if you have access to
that information? I don't think it's a problem if Hannity uses stories that
Brit Hume & others have already used, but he might want to be first to air a story, so it isn't seen as old news. As far as I'm concerned there are so few
of these stories being broadcase, I don't think it would be overkill to have them repeated by more than one host. But then again, newspeople's egos are
involved which often makes them want exclusives or at least the first
shot at a story.

As mentioned, I'll be working primarily with Hannity for now, although there are other hosts at WABC Radio that who would be anxious to have the stories as well, I'm sure. But since Hannity has the most exposure (radio and TV),
I want him to have first dibs.

Thanks for you help.

[ChristianMedia]

>>I don't want to be redundant sending him what you've already sent them before.<<

It's not redundant, they use their email boxes for segment ideas. You might be amazed to see your email used as genesis for an entire segment. Be brief, review the draft, provide links. Get to the point.....Better yet, give up now, the email you refuse to send them would never be of use anyway.


http://www.strangemilitary.com/images/content/116214.jpg

[horselady]

>>I don't want to be redundant sending him what you've already sent them before.<<

It's not redundant, they use their email boxes for segment ideas. You might be amazed to see your email used as genesis for an entire segment. Be brief, review the draft, provide links. Get to the point.....Better yet, give up now, the email you refuse to send them would never be of use anyway.


http://www.strangemilitary.com/images/content/116214.jpg

Don't worry, I'm a writer in the advertising business and am
quite used to telling stories that are limited to 30-second segments.
65-word commercials, and often no more than a headline. In my
ad agency, I used to be known as the "axwoman" because I could
slice the heart out of anyone's copy, and still get the point across.
http://bestsmileys.com/paranoid/1.gif

[ChristianMedia]

Tell them Ron Hinton (aka Christianmedia) sent you. I've worked with them for years.
:p

[horselady]

Tell them Ron Hinton (aka Christianmedia) sent you. I've worked with them for years.
:p

I sure will. And thanks for your input.

http://bestsmileys.com/textinbubble1/25.gif

[spike7451]

This one is'nt Marine but it's a good read.It's a blog of a British Army soldier in Iraq.
www.hubbyiniraq.blogspot.com

[horselady]

This one is'nt Marine but it's a good read.It's a blog of a British Army soldier in Iraq.
www.hubbyiniraq.blogspot.com

Thanks spike. It is a good read, but a bit over my head and that of most civilians who make up the talk radio audience, not to mention the talk show hosts who will have the final say on what gets on-air. I've found several
stories around this site that have potential but will need some editing
prior to submission. So many, in fact, I've not even had time to look at
what the Army may have to offer. Naturally, the Marines will be my
primary focus, moreso than ever now, in light of the ravenous mainstream media
who are attacking the Haditha Marines story like sharks to the smell of blood in the water.

One story that stands out in my mind is the one of the little Iraqi girl
who sat down in the road to prevent a US convoy from running over
a mine she had seen some insurgents planting in the road. That story
didn't get anywhere near the attention it deserved and it was exactly
the kind of story that goes right to the heart of Americans desperately
looking for any bit of news that shows the many Iraqis who really are
thankful that our troops are there. I know this story made the front
pages of every military news outlet, but the coverage of it directed at
civilians was scarce to non-existent.

I've seen many heartwarming photos of our troops being surrounded by
smiling and happy Iraqi children. But I am missing the stories that go with them. And let me emphasize, they don't have to be long, involved
accounts either, a caption will do, i.e, "this 8-year old Iraqi boy, whose
leg was wounded by an IED gets an unexpected ride to his school which is
a long walk from his home - high atop the shoulders of his new found friend,
(John Doe), a corporal in the USMC.

I would bet you've all heard countless stories like this that are just a
moment in time, but if conveye to the American public on a daily basis, could
go a long way in reinvigorating the support our troops so desperately
need and rightly deserve.

[quillhill]

I'm biased, of course, but I really believe LCpl Shawn Seeley's story deserves a greater spotlight than my small community newspaper has been able to give it.

Here's a link to a thread with my original story with PDFs posted:
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25070&highlight=Seeley

And here's a link to the thread with the follow-up story I did with Seeley in May (again, PDFs):
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29698&highlight=Seeley

Oh, and can't forget Sgt. Coffey. He's served in Iraq, though he's currently stationed at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, WA.

Here's a recent article on him featured in his base paper:
http://www.nwguardian.com/sports/story/5781463p-5167791c.html

I know a couple of public affairs guys with the 3/7, but they're both in Iraq right now and I haven't been able to reach them. I can always send Capt. Alvarez a message and ask if there's any good stories he thinks need to be told.

Good luck with your quest.

[horselady]

I'm biased, of course, but I really believe LCpl Shawn Seeley's story deserves a greater spotlight than my small community newspaper has been able to give it.

Here's a link to a thread with my original story with PDFs posted:
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25070&highlight=Seeley

And here's a link to the thread with the follow-up story I did with Seeley in May (again, PDFs):
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29698&highlight=Seeley

Oh, and can't forget Sgt. Coffey. He's served in Iraq, though he's currently stationed at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, WA.

Here's a recent article on him featured in his base paper:
http://www.nwguardian.com/sports/story/5781463p-5167791c.html

I know a couple of public affairs guys with the 3/7, but they're both in Iraq right now and I haven't been able to reach them. I can always send Capt. Alvarez a message and ask if there's any good stories he thinks need to be told.

Good luck with your quest.

Quill, that is a truly wonderful story and very deserving of attention by
people outside the Corps as you've said. But there is an inherent problem
with any story concerning our wounded heroes, and as you might guess,
it lies with the liberal media's interpretation of such stories.

Similar stories of severely wounded troops who want only to return to their company ASAP so they can help their fellow Marines/soldiers, etc. complete their mission in Iraq have made the rounds of the mainstream media. And althought the troops are praised for their courage and bravery and committment fulfill their obligation and more, a darker side of the story that is totally anti-war and anti-America usually accompanies sucn "tributes" when
spun by our liberal journalists. Nine times out of ten, the real message
that comes through, either blatantly or between the lines, is that our troops are getting killed and wounded for a lie, that they are hated by the Iraqi
people who only want them out of their country because life is much worse
there under the "American occupation" than it was under Sadam. Nowhere
do we hear about all the good that is being accomplished because of the efforts of our troops. Nowhere do we hear about the expressions of thanks
you get from the local people you are helping so much or about the kids who
are going to new schools, or the neighborhoods that have clinics and hosptals for the first time.

It disgusts me to say it but the majority of what we get are stories about
IEDs, troops killing innocent Iraqis more than helping them, and in doing so
are encouraging more and more insurgents to rid their country of the
American invaders. So-called "Marines" like Murtha get the most media
attention the more they make statements designed to undermine the
efforts of the troops. Not a day goes by when we don't hear from these
types, and the same stories are repeated ad nauseum.

I just know they would take the kind of story you posted here and use it
to show how such a young, brave Marine has had his life irreparably changed
for the worse because he volunteered for military service. A young man who
would have had a wonderful future had he not been lured into the service
by the false promises made by recruiters or the lies about why this country went to war at all.

It is to try and change that impression that I believe the public needs to hear a different kind of story. A few examples I have found in the short time I've
been searching this site are as follows:

Little Things Can Mean A Lot (Frontline News) about how soldiers had befriended an Iraqi family and were helping them to discover a better life,
not only by helping them to rebuild and giving them needed supplies, but by
treating them like family and forming a relationship that was reciprocal in
their mutual caring for each other, that crossed over cultural boundaries.
In doing so, these soldiers were planting the seeds that will one day bloom into a mass of young children raised on knowing the kindness and gentleness of American soldiers

A postive story about Haditha that the media would not want Americans to hear, about Marines spending long days rebuilding schools, hospitals
and giving monetary reimbursement to Iraqis to help them rebuild their property. How the Marines have brought security and stabiliity to the area
and in return have gained the trust and cooperation of the Iraqi people.

It's these kinds of stories that America needs to hear so that they
can stop believing the liberal spin that wants them to think all your
efforts are in vain and you are waging a losing battle that will only
get worse.

Stories such as yours need to be out there, but not right now,
in my opinion. I hope this doesn't offend you as I do understand
your good intentions. I hope you can suggest more ideas if possible.

Thanks,

Bonni

[quillhill]

Oh, I understand. There's so much to Shawn's story that I couldn't even touch ... the stories he could tell you about his experiences in Iraq, about throwing candy to Iraqi children from his Humvee and getting thumbs up, seeing towns transition from trash dumps to livable places. I keep meaning to mention that stuff when I write about him, but I get distracted. ;)

I just think his story deserves greater attention than I can give and whenever the time is right, that's fine by me.

By liberal media I must assume you're referring to larger outlets such as major news channels, large daily newspapers and so on. I guess this explains why my parent daily paper (though it was the only one to endorse Bush locally in '04) hasn't picked up my stories on Shawn or even tried to do their own. Or the editors are...well, I question their news sense.

In any case, I'll keep an eye out. Sgt. Coffey e-mails me often. I'll mention what you're interested in and see if he has any ideas. I'll also e-mail Capt. Alvarez again and see if he's still in Iraq. I'm guessing he is, since I haven't heard from him since I e-mailed him in May. He's a public affairs officer for the 3/7. I'm sure he may have some ideas.

This thread makes me think about something...it makes me wonder if most major media reporters know anyone in the military? I guess maybe I'm less objective because there's a tradition of military service in my family as well as my husband's. I didn't used to be ... less objective, that is.

Heh. No worries about offending me. I spent 90 minutes talking to sixth graders about my job on Thursday. I was jet lagged out of my skull and I'm talking and I look over and this girl mouths 'boring' to one of her classmates. At the end, she was brimming full of questions. Fascinating how things work out like that. :)

Let's keep discussing this topic. I like the idea of trying to push a different approach to reporting on Iraq from the inside, as well as the outside.

[horselady]

Oh, I understand. There's so much to Shawn's story that I couldn't even touch ... the stories he could tell you about his experiences in Iraq, about throwing candy to Iraqi children from his Humvee and getting thumbs up, seeing towns transition from trash dumps to livable places. I keep meaning to mention that stuff when I write about him, but I get distracted. ;)

I just think his story deserves greater attention than I can give and whenever the time is right, that's fine by me.

By liberal media I must assume you're referring to larger outlets such as major news channels, large daily newspapers and so on. I guess this explains why my parent daily paper (though it was the only one to endorse Bush locally in '04) hasn't picked up my stories on Shawn or even tried to do their own. Or the editors are...well, I question their news sense.

In any case, I'll keep an eye out. Sgt. Coffey e-mails me often. I'll mention what you're interested in and see if he has any ideas. I'll also e-mail Capt. Alvarez again and see if he's still in Iraq. I'm guessing he is, since I haven't heard from him since I e-mailed him in May. He's a public affairs officer for the 3/7. I'm sure he may have some ideas.

This thread makes me think about something...it makes me wonder if most major media reporters know anyone in the military? I guess maybe I'm less objective because there's a tradition of military service in my family as well as my husband's. I didn't used to be ... less objective, that is.

Heh. No worries about offending me. I spent 90 minutes talking to sixth graders about my job on Thursday. I was jet lagged out of my skull and I'm talking and I look over and this girl mouths 'boring' to one of her classmates. At the end, she was brimming full of questions. Fascinating how things work out like that. :)

Let's keep discussing this topic. I like the idea of trying to push a different approach to reporting on Iraq from the inside, as well as the outside.

Thanks quill and I do look forward to hearing from you more, as it seems like you might have good ideas which could become great human interest stories. Don't be shy about about throwing up lots of partial or incomplete
stories. As an advertising creative director, its my job to wade through
hundreds of ideas for any given product from staff writers and recognize what may be a tiny germ of a great idea from a mountain of possibilities. The two examples I gave you pretty much get to the heart of the military achievements that are making a difference in the lives of the ordinary
Iraqi citizen, yet each story was much more involved and detailed than
those short excerpts I included. But that's what I do everyday so it's easy for me to cut thru the clutter. So don't worry if what you have seems to ramble on and on, if there's good story to tell, I can find it and convey it in as few
words as necessary.

We have to remember that these national radio talk show hosts don't want to be reading long stories either, knowing the attention span of their listening
audience tends to be on the short side. If they can't capture their interest in the first few lines, listeners may tune out mentally and focus on something else for awhile, until the host captures their attention again with another
issue. Once they have their ear, they have about 60 seconds to get thru the story, covering all the main points of interest, then summing it up with their own take on it, such as, "You see, if you don't listen to this program, you'll never know there are so many great stories like this happening every day in Iraq. You won't get to hear about them on the 6:00 News or in Time magazine because it doesn't serve their "impeach Bush" agenda to have you thinking that our brave men and women are making great strides and earning the admiration of the Iraqi people."

Believe me, I know where you're coming from. My hubby is one of the
much maligned Vietnam combat vets who came home not as a returning hero but as a symbol of all that was wrong with America at the time. Welcomed with the cries of "babykiller" and worse from the antiwar crowds the moment he stepped off the plane at LAX, all but ignored by relatives who preferred not to discuss the war, he maintained a wall of silence about his experience with the Marines, and never wanted to talk about it, even with me. When I read him the story you sent, he concurred that the only reason Marines, when wounded, desired to return to their units, was to help their buddies, and nothing more, and he was screaming in anger that I wanted read more into it than that.

Then I read him some of the other stories, the ones that tear at your heart about how some Iraqi children's lives were changed for the better thanks to
the personal involvement of the Marines and soldiers. At one point he broke down and admitted, "That WAS me." And only then did I knew he was thinking that this is what US troops have always done, without any fanfare
or recognition from the public, today, less than ever before.

The mainstream media won't embrace these stories, but now we have
an alternatice media that consistently beats the competition in audience share, That's the audience I am hoping to reach via the hosts who have
been begging for good news stories from Iraq. And it seems hosts like Sean Hannity and others like him are only to eager to share them with their
vast audiences.

At least, it's worth a try.

[FistFu68]

:evilgrin: NOBODY EVER ASKED WHAT GOOD I DID,JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE I KILLED? :evilgrin:

[quillhill]

horselady, I totally get where you're coming from ... I'm kind of a weird reporter. I mean, I'm liberal and all, vote Democrat and everything (usually), but I just don't think like most reporters do. So, all the stuff you talk about, it's like, oh yeah yeah, I just hadn't thought of it like that.

I will remain on the lookout for story ideas.

I keep meaning to mention that you have the right idea as far as looking for stories. Going to any of the branches military (i.e. non-recruiting sites) will give you a plethora of ideas and those are stories I hardly ever see actually reported by mainstream media.

[horselady]

: NOBODY EVER ASKED WHAT GOOD I DID,JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE I KILLED?

I'd guess you were in Vietnam....or did you just return from Iraq?

I just want to smack people when they say things like that.


Next time, maybe you can whip out these photos and show them
the work of the ememy............

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/timedjumpoff/JAK09D_RTRIDSP_3_INDONESIA_Reut.jpg


and then show them the efforts of our troops.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/timedjumpoff/Iraq_9.jpg