Posted on 07/20/2005 6:42:57 PM PDT by SandRat
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (Army News Service, July 20, 2005) - A group of radio talk show hosts who don’t believe in always following the old media adage that “If it bleeds it leads,” visited military bases in Kuwait and Iraq to let service members tell the other side of the story.
Day after day, stories of car bombings and suicide attacks in Iraq take prominence over the many good news stories happening in the war-torn country.
But five talk hosts set out to change that with their “Voices of Soldiers Tour”.
With stops at Camps Victory and Prosperity in Iraq, and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, the five show hosts Melanie Morgan of KSFO in San Francisco, Martha Zoller of Martha Zoller Show, Rightalk Radio and WDUN; Mark Williams of KFBK in Sacramento; Michael Graham of WMAL in Washington D.C. and Mark Larson of KOGO from San Diego conducted live broadcasts of stories from the frontlines told by service members themselves.
The trip was sponsored by Move America Forward, a not-for-profit political advocacy group that supports both the War on Terror and the men and women of the military.
Using a three-tiered approach consisting of talk radio, Internet and grass roots efforts, Move America Forward works to publicize the good news stories coming out of Iraq that are often overlooked by mainstream press outlets, said co-chairman Howard Kaloogian, a former member of the California House of Representatives who founded the organization in March of last year to offset the steady stream of bad press the U.S. military was receiving in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal.
“We’ve all worked in politics and media, so countering established media is something we can do,” said Siobhan Guiney, executive director of Move America Forward.
“The goal of the [Voices of Soldiers] trip is to make sure that the mainstream media does not get away with turning Iraq into Vietnam,” said Melanie Morgan, co-founder of Move America Forward and host of the “Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan Show,” a talk program on KSFO AM in San Francisco.
Keeping the American public abreast of all the positive developments in Iraq is important, because if the national discussion turns to abandoning Iraq, the progress we have made there will be lost, Morgan said.
Throughout the weeklong trip, on-air personalities ate in military dining facilities, lived in tents and accompanied troops patrolling the streets of Iraq. At each stop, the hosts broadcast live programs back to the United States, often reuniting troops with their family members while on the air.
Portions of the broadcasts were carried on various talk radio programs throughout the United States, giving listeners from across the nation the chance to call and speak directly with service members.
The group’s final stop was at Camp Arifjan’s Zone 6 Community Center. Troops huddled around Morgan and Washington D.C.-based host Michael Graham as they beamed their programs back to the United States by telephone.
Maj. Jane Nealy of the 461st Personnel Services Battalion, a Reserve unit that’s deployed to Arifjan, waited with anticipation for her on-air interview with Morgan. When she’s not deployed, Nealy listens to Morgan nearly every morning as she navigates traffic on her way to work, she said.
“It’s good to see that there are media personalities that are interested in what Soldiers have to say and not just getting sensational photos for the T.V.,” Nealy said.
Although he normally prefers romantic songs to talk radio, Senior Airman Thomas Truong also said he was excited to talk about his deployment experience on “The Michael Graham Show.” Truong immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in1989.
The broadcasts went a long way toward educating ordinary citizens about the lives of service members serving in the war on terror, said Sgt. Alexander Gago of U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, who added that the trip also opened the eyes of the talk show hosts.
“I had them hiking into tents, up roads and through dust storms. They’ve had to go through some physical and mental challenges that have made them better people,” he said.
“I’ve never worn a Kevlar vest in 120-degree heat before. You have to experience it to understand it,” Kaloogian said.
(Editor’s note: Spc. Curt Cashour serves with the Coalition Forces Land Component Command Public Affairs Office.)
ping
This was a good thing these radio guys did. I wish I could have heard some of their reports.
This is why the stories about lowe moral are showing up in the MSM
Click below to listen. Streaming MP3 audio will automatically open in your default media player. Or you can choose to save each segment individually by right clicking with your mouse and choosing "save target as".
LESSON I
LESSON II
LESSON III
LESSON IV
LESSON V
LESSON VI
LESSON VII
Segment III
Jerry was recently promoted to hosting the afternoon drivetime show on KMBZ 4-7PM.
With stops at Camps Victory and Prosperity in Iraq, and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, the five show hosts Melanie Morgan of KSFO in San Francisco, Martha Zoller of Martha Zoller Show, Rightalk Radio and WDUN; Mark Williams of KFBK in Sacramento; Michael Graham of WMAL in Washington D.C. and Mark Larson of KOGO from San Diego conducted live broadcasts of stories from the frontlines told by service members themselves.
The trip was sponsored by Move America Forward, a not-for-profit political advocacy group that supports both the War on Terror and the men and women of the military.
There's a list of group threads at the top of News/Activism - in blue. There is one there for the Radio tour - inside that link you will find all the reports from the different radio people who went to Iraq - and there are a lot of wonderful stories to read about. Some might have audio .. but I haven't finished reading them to find out.
Thanks for the ping!
Good post!
BTTT!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.