“Salute to military” ads canceled
The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson scrapped plans for a "salute to military personnel" scheduled for Veteran’s Day after complaints from newspaper staffers, including editors.
The classified ads, similar to ones offered for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, presumably would have been purchased by friends and families of servicemen and women.
Star executive editor Steve Auslander said that when he saw the promotion for the ads, his advice was "cancel them or give them away."
Auslander said that they have received "vitriolic" letters from readers, some of them accusing newspaper executives of being "war profiteers."
But comments from readers were mild compared to comments made by newsroom employees. At a staff meeting, complaints were made about the commercialism of the ads.
Star ombudsman, Leo Della Betta noted in his column that classified salutes on Veteran’s Day have been around for years, but the situation in the Persian Gulf made this Veteran’s Day different.
As the ombudsman wrote, "Patriotism and commercialism are always a distasteful coupling, and the newsroom reaction again proved that."
The classified ads, similar to ones offered for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, presumably would have been purchased by friends and families of servicemen and women.
Star executive editor Steve Auslander said that when he saw the promotion for the ads, his advice was "cancel them or give them away."
Auslander said that they have received "vitriolic" letters from readers, some of them accusing newspaper executives of being "war profiteers."
But comments from readers were mild compared to comments made by newsroom employees. At a staff meeting, complaints were made about the commercialism of the ads.
Star ombudsman, Leo Della Betta noted in his column that classified salutes on Veteran’s Day have been around for years, but the situation in the Persian Gulf made this Veteran’s Day different.
As the ombudsman wrote, "Patriotism and commercialism are always a distasteful coupling, and the newsroom reaction again proved that."
Source: FineLine: The Newsletter On Journalism Ethics, vol. 2, no. 8 (November/December 1990), p. 8.
This case was produced for FineLine, a publication of Billy Goat Strut Publishing, 600 East Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Reprinted with the permission of Billy Goat Strut Publishing. This case may be reproduced for classroom and research purposes. Publication of this case in electronic or printed form requires written permission from the publisher and Indiana University. An exception is granted for use in readers designed for specific academic courses.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Sounds like the staff are far left, cold hearted liberals. The loved ones of the military really are hurt by their actions. I am a disabled veteran and storys like this is why I have become more conservative. I used to be borderline but not anymore.
October 9th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
It definitely sounds like the left wing liberals on this staff are unsupportive of war. Veterans should be honored for risking their lives for these unappreciative people. If these people are true patriots, they should be all for these ads. Many lost their lives in the persian gulf, and therefore should be commemorated for their efforts their.
March 24th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
It doesn’t sound like the staff are big fans of the war. They need to appreciate them fighting for their freedom.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
It seems that the responses to this case demonstrate that readers are not getting the actual point of the protests by the journalists to these ads. the imperative in these responses seems to be to accuse them of being ‘left-wing’ and ‘liberals’ and not to actually understand the reasons why they had issues with their own media outlet profiting off of the war.
The journalists and the editors opposed to accepting money in order to run ads in support of veterans did NOT have a problem with the commemoration, aid, support, and advertisement of these ads. The STAR executive editor said it best…’cancel them or give them away’. He meant: DON’T accept money for these ads. GIVE them freely. If you can’t give them freely then don’t sell the adspace for this purpose. To do so could make the paper look VERY bad. Advertising revenue is expensive, and it is the primary source of funding for any print/online/broadcast media news station. The money charged to loved ones in order for them to obtain an opportunity to promote support for their soldiers, marines, sailors, and airman downrange is akin to blood money. As such it should not be touched.