PRINCE HARRY, third in line from the crown of Great Britain, has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. While the British media have known about this since he reported for duty there in December, no one in Great Britain reported the story. In fact, the British media, in a rare moment of non-competitive solidarity, all agreed to withhold the story until the prince was done serving his duty.
An American blogsite, the Drudge Report, broke the news blackout of the Prince Harry story.
Which raises the question: should the press have agreed not to release the story? Were they trying to protect Prince Harry and his peers, or were they censoring the news?
As a result of the coverage, the Brits pulled Harry out of action.
12 comments:
i saw this on CNN. they were debating a similar question. I don't think it was a question of censoring the news, because the press would've loved to run such a story. he is a celebrity, especially in britain where he is closer to a god, becuase the brits have their obession with their royalty. I think the British media was doing the right thing, and the drudge report just jumped on it. They obviously didnt report it for the sake of the Harry and his fellow soldiers who would become a serious target to the enemy. This seems like just another example of blogs rushing to release a hot story.
I think it was right for the British media to not cover the story. I feel as if the wrong people would have known where the Prince was, his life, and the life of all the soldiers around him would be in danger. I don't believe it was to censor the media at all. I am disgusted at what the Drudge Report did!
okay.. can more people comment on the blog? this is getting very annoying!
i think the press should have left it alone. Harry knows the dangers of war. He knows what he was getting himself into. I don't think they were reporting for his benefit.By releasing the story, they not only made him a target, but also his fellow soldiers.
I agree, I don't think the media was censoring the news. A story like this one would have gotten tons of attention but it was something that would have endangered many people had it been run. It was both smart and ethical for the media to choose not to run the story. There has to be a point when the media should draw the line and sacrifice a story for the sake of those involved.
I think that by not writing about Harry they weren't thinking about censoring the news, but keeping him safe. If our third in line was fighting in the war we wouldn't want anyone to have an idea about where they were either. Harry is royalty, his safety is a big concern, he could be a huge target. I also think that not only is it a safety measure for him but for everyone in his battalion.
I was actually going to email this story to you. This pissed me off so much when I read about it. Some half-wit in his basement broke the story, and as a result all the major media outlets began to publish stories and images of Harry in Afghanistan. I'm all for transparency, especially when it comes to the wars, but I really don't find it necessary to expose an individual soldier to potential risk just to get a story. I think Harry's going over there as a frontline soldier is admirable, especially because of his Royal links, and unfortunately the news media screwed him.
As learned in class, a journalist must have a conscience. I think the motives of the British media were to protect Prince Harry and his fellow comrades. The Drudge Report clearly stepped over the line.
I agree with Andy.
You definitely do not just release the story when you know you are putting the soldier at risk.
Before I heard this story I would have never thought someone like him, of such royal signficance would ever fight it war. He could have definitely gone by without doing it. It's amazing considering would anyone be giving him crap if he never went?
Releasing the story puts him and the people hes serving with at risk.
Why am i the only one that believes that Prince Harry is the same as everybody else. If you know somebody in the military, you are going to know if they are fighting overseas. There is no reason to hide this. If some American celebrity went over there to fight, we would all know about it and respect the fact that they were doing that.
I understand he wants to better himself as a person by being a soldier and whatnot, but really, the kid is a prince. If I were him, I'd rather roll around in my golden sheets all day.
To Justin: I see what your saying about Harry "just being another person" in that he is not super human or something to be idealized because of his blood line but the truth is that he a prince of Great Britain and that means something. Maybe not to you but he very well could be singled out by the enemy if he became headline news. So why draw unnecessary attention? It's for his safety which IS important.
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