Anna Nicole's death overshadows the tragedy of U.S. soldiers' deaths in Iraq
Commentary by Richard Prince
The news about Navy Corpsman Manuel Ruiz didn't stand a chance.
Ruiz, a 21-year-old from Maryland's Eastern Shore who could dance like Michael Jackson, was one of seven killed in Iraq Feb. 7 when a Marine transport helicopter crashed in al-Anbar province.
But who had time to notice? The next media cycle was overwhelmed by the death of former centerfold Anna Nicole Smith.
On CNN two days later, correspondent Jack Cafferty told Wolf Blitzer, "If you tuned into 'The Situation Room' at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, you were informed that Anna Nicole Smith had died. And that's all. That's the only story we reported for two solid hours. And we weren't the only ones.
"You wanted to know why there was no coverage of the war in Iraq and the deaths of seven or our troops there the day before? Or the Libby trial? Or the threat from Iran to strike American interests around the world if it was attacked?
"Those are all valid questions.
"Because of the eccentric and troubled and highly public life she led, as well as her overt sexuality, her death was tabloid gold and apparently we just couldn't help ourselves."
The Web site Think Progress.com had a stopwatch handy: "NBC's Nightly News devoted 14 seconds to Iraq compared to 3 minutes and 13 seconds to Anna Nicole. CNN referenced Anna Nicole 522 percent more frequently than it did Iraq. MSNBC was even worse - 708 percent more references to Anna Nicole than Iraq."
In Editor & Publisher , editor Greg Mitchell told readers that by noon Friday, there had been only seven press mentions of Marine corporal Jennifer Parcell, 20, who was killed with Ruiz in Iraq.
"In contrast to, say, Anna Nicole Smith, Parcell seemed to have a serious side. Even in Iraq, she was managing to take a course at the University of Maryland, the Baltimore Sun relates, adding: "Helping others was routine for (Parcell). She sponsored an African child through a mission charity. And when Pakistan was devastated by an earthquake last year, she and others in her unit were dispatched to the scene. She earned the Humanitarian Service Medal for her efforts."
On his attytood blog, Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News said he wished he had the resources of CNN, MSNBC or Fox News. He would "send all our spare reporters out into the field, maybe to track down the last person who saw Jennifer Parcell alive, or find that friend who could tell us about her life, and our loss. ...If a woman's death ever deserved wall-to-wall coverage, it was this one."
Richard Prince is editor of Black College wire and copy edits at The Washington Post .
This article was excerpted with his permission from Journal-isms, which he publishes on the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education website. http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/070209_prince/
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