Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Houston Chronicle
February 1, 2007
Paper to send family a letter of explanation, regret over using images of the dying Texan
By Michael Hedges, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The New York Times will express regret for hurting the feelings of the family of a Texas soldier after publishing a photograph and a video showing him as he lay dying in Baghdad.
The letter is part of an agreement reached Wednesday between the Army and the Times to resolve a controversy about the use of images of Staff Sgt. Hector Leija without his consent.
"The New York Times agreed to write a letter to Sgt. Leija's family explaining the process we go through to notify families and why we run the articles and photographs we do, and expressing regret that the family suffered distress," said a statement from the newspaper.
The decision came after a telephone discussion Wednesday between Times executive editor Bill Keller in New York, and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the Multi-National Corps-Iraq.
The images showed Leija after he was struck in the head by a single bullet during a patrol Jan. 24 in Baghdad.
An article about Leija and others on patrol, and a photograph of him on a stretcher hours before he died, was printed in the New York Times on Monday. Video of Leija before and after he was shot was posted on paper's Web site later in the day. It was still available for viewing on the Times' Web site Wednesday night.
Army commanders in Baghdad maintained that the Times violated a signed agreement, as a condition for being embedded with Leija's unit, not to publish images of any wounded soldier without the service member's consent. As a result, Times reporter Damien Cave and a contract photographer for the newspaper, Robert Nickelberg, were banned at least temporarily from embedding with U.S. units.
Leija's immediate family in the South Texas town of Raymondville has declined to talk about the soldier's death. A cousin of Leija, who did not see the photo, said she was shocked that the images were made public and that they would add to the family's burden. Army officials said they were angered by the images.
The newspaper maintained Wednesday that it had done all it could to spare the family pain while living up to its obligation to portray the realities of war.
"The New York Times is extremely sensitive to the loss suffered by families when loved ones are killed in Iraq," said a statement. "We try to write with respect and compassion for the inevitable losses. We believe the article was a portrait of Sgt. Leija's courage under fire and showed how much his men respected and cared for him."
An Army officer in Baghdad said that as a result of the conversation between the top newspaper editor and the commander, some journalists for the newspaper still would be allowed to embed with military units while the pair involved in the Leija story would not.
But a Times spokeswoman said the paper left the meeting with a different impression, saying a Times representative and military officials will meet to discuss embedding rules and that there was no word of any journalists losing the privilege.
February 1, 2007
Paper to send family a letter of explanation, regret over using images of the dying Texan
By Michael Hedges, Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The New York Times will express regret for hurting the feelings of the family of a Texas soldier after publishing a photograph and a video showing him as he lay dying in Baghdad.
The letter is part of an agreement reached Wednesday between the Army and the Times to resolve a controversy about the use of images of Staff Sgt. Hector Leija without his consent.
"The New York Times agreed to write a letter to Sgt. Leija's family explaining the process we go through to notify families and why we run the articles and photographs we do, and expressing regret that the family suffered distress," said a statement from the newspaper.
The decision came after a telephone discussion Wednesday between Times executive editor Bill Keller in New York, and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the Multi-National Corps-Iraq.
The images showed Leija after he was struck in the head by a single bullet during a patrol Jan. 24 in Baghdad.
An article about Leija and others on patrol, and a photograph of him on a stretcher hours before he died, was printed in the New York Times on Monday. Video of Leija before and after he was shot was posted on paper's Web site later in the day. It was still available for viewing on the Times' Web site Wednesday night.
Army commanders in Baghdad maintained that the Times violated a signed agreement, as a condition for being embedded with Leija's unit, not to publish images of any wounded soldier without the service member's consent. As a result, Times reporter Damien Cave and a contract photographer for the newspaper, Robert Nickelberg, were banned at least temporarily from embedding with U.S. units.
Leija's immediate family in the South Texas town of Raymondville has declined to talk about the soldier's death. A cousin of Leija, who did not see the photo, said she was shocked that the images were made public and that they would add to the family's burden. Army officials said they were angered by the images.
The newspaper maintained Wednesday that it had done all it could to spare the family pain while living up to its obligation to portray the realities of war.
"The New York Times is extremely sensitive to the loss suffered by families when loved ones are killed in Iraq," said a statement. "We try to write with respect and compassion for the inevitable losses. We believe the article was a portrait of Sgt. Leija's courage under fire and showed how much his men respected and cared for him."
An Army officer in Baghdad said that as a result of the conversation between the top newspaper editor and the commander, some journalists for the newspaper still would be allowed to embed with military units while the pair involved in the Leija story would not.
But a Times spokeswoman said the paper left the meeting with a different impression, saying a Times representative and military officials will meet to discuss embedding rules and that there was no word of any journalists losing the privilege.