U.S. Military moves reporter Geraldo Rivera from Iraq

Reuters | Monday, March 31, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Veteran reporter Geraldo Rivera, a correspondent for Fox News, is being removed from Iraq by the U.S. military for reporting Western troop movements in the war, the Pentagon said Monday. "He was with a (U.S.) military unit in the field and the commander felt that he had compromised operational information by reporting the position and movements of troops," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told Reuters. "The commander thought it best to get the reporter out of his battle space and we understand he is being removed from Iraq," Whitman said. Fox News in New York had no immediate comment, and Whitman said he did not have details of the incident. But media reports said Rivera, a former talk show host and veteran correspondent who has also reported the war in Afghanistan and high-profile stories such as the O.J. Simpson murder trial, had been with a unit of the 101st Airborne Division when the incident occurred. Whitman said Rivera was not officially "embedded," or assigned to the unit by the military, but was covering the troops at the time. Hundreds of reporters from around the world are currently assigned to U.S. and British military units to report the war in Iraq under ground rules that allow them freedom to report without compromising the security of the troops.

[ken5050]

Newsflash:..Geraldo Rivera has just enlisted in the US Army...

[Lauratealeaf]

Newsflash:..Geraldo Rivera has just enlisted in the US Army...

I bet he would if he could.

[Lauratealeaf]

Thanks. Guess some of the former reliable freepers are now part of that group.

[ken5050]

and three minutes later, he'd be asking for a "battlefield commission"

[k2blader]

From Reuters via The Washington Post:

"I would say that he is going to be leaving Iraq," added Whitman. "Fox has talked to us and they have indicated to us that they are going to remove him from the area of operations."

Whitman, who had earlier said the military was ejecting Rivera, later amended that to Fox agreeing to withdraw the correspondent.

So assuming Whitman is telling the truth, Geraldo has not been removed yet but will be in the (near) future at Fox's discretion?

[Eva]

Did you see this on Best of the Web. This is apparently where the rumor considering Geraldo came from, a satire site:

"Marking the first departure from the military's new program of 'imbedding' journalists with its units, an army unit has demanded that veteran newsman Geraldo Rivera be 'unimbedded' from their troops, effective immediately."--Borowitz Report, March 25 "Celebrity television journalist Geraldo Rivera, who has been on assignment covering the US-led war in Iraq, has been told by US military officials that he is no longer welcome to accompany US troops there."--Agence France-Presse, March 31

[mrsmith]

Synopsis:
Broken down cynical Fox personnel assistant executive Benjamin Willard is given orders to terminate the contract of a reporter who has gone native deep in the bowels of the 101st Airborne, running an unauthorized rogue broadcast operation...

"Stop The Lips Now"

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Now we find out that Geraldo was not an embedded reporter either -- he just hooked up with them.

Some people will do anything for a free lunch.

[KC_Conspirator]

I actually think these embedded reporters, including Geraldo, are a good thing. They report raw data and events from the front. The problem is when this data is gathered at some news desk, like Judy Woodruff's, where her and her liberal experts decided to act a filter to decide what their viewers see and hear.

[Eva]

Did you see this on Best of the Web? This is apparently where the rumor considering Geraldo came from, a satire site(Life imitating Satire:

"Marking the first departure from the military's new program of 'imbedding' journalists with its units, an army unit has demanded that veteran newsman Geraldo Rivera be 'unimbedded' from their troops, effective immediately."--Borowitz Report, March 25

"Celebrity television journalist Geraldo Rivera, who has been on assignment covering the US-led war in Iraq, has been told by US military officials that he is no longer welcome to accompany US troops there."--Agence France-Presse, March 31

[ET(end tyranny)]

I habe a question. Can anyone just ride along with the troops? Wouldn't someone in charge of these troops have noticed early on during the first day out that Geraldo was with them? And if he was NOT wanted why couldn't he have been sent back with the supply train early on?

Embedded or not, it just seems that someone would have had to have given permission for him to be with them. How many days has he been with them now? And only NOW he is a problem??? There have been more detailed maps on FOX than what he drew in the sand.

If they wanted him out why didn't send him back with the first returning supply train? You'd think they would gotten him out of there asap, instead of waiting days.....

[AzSteven]

Synopsis:

Broken down cynical Fox personnel assistant executive Benjamin Willard is given orders to terminate the contract of a reporter who has gone native deep in the bowels of the 101st Airborne, running an unauthorized rogue broadcast operation...

AILES: His reporting has become... unsound

WILLARD: Unsound sir?

AILES: Unsound...

ERIC BURNS : Your mission is to go up the Euphrates, 20 km north of Nasiraya. Rivera is reported to have an army of journalism school students there with him...

AILES: Its unspeakable, the things they have written... You need to find him and terminate his broadcasts.

WILLARD: Terminate...?

BURNS: Terminate, with extreme prejudice

[BullDog108]

Agence France-Presse

[sinkspur]

You'd think they would gotten him out of there asap, instead of waiting days.....

I don't think he's going anywhere. This is a dustup over nothing.

[Eva]

I am not sure that this is the whole story, though. My guess is that some of the posters that were here last night, complained about Geraldo and that was picked up by CNN and NBC and they all piled on together to damage FOX.

[bluecollarman]

Free Geraldo!

[ET(end tyranny)]

I figure he can't report anything without prior permission. If he did, they'd just have a 'technical' difficulty, when the connection is suddenly lost. Levanthal said they have someone near them when they broadcast to make sure they do not do or say anything that they aren't supposed to.

I thought it was entirely possible that he was told to draw that map, to help entice the IRG out in the open. Who know, maybe all this hoopla is just to help make his dis-info, more reliable? It's certainly very odd though!

[Clara Lou]

The troops like him, and he's a great cheerleader for this war.
I think that you're right. Geraldo is enthusiastic and very supportive. I find it hard to believe that what he said (the map in the dirt report) was that big a deal. [I could be wrong, though.]

[ET(end tyranny)]

Ok... he's under investigation, and the result has not been determined. Because he drew that map in the sand. The one showing that they went through Basra, then Nasyria, then Karballa.... like nobody knew that !! If you look real close you can see the little mile marker signifying where they are!

[mrsmith]

That's beautiful- and quick too!

Amusing statistic:
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Geraldo threads : 1623 comments today